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Vic News... NEW: this site is now retired. Check my new site www.crownvicmuscle.com for the new stuff. below is a list of all the news stories i ran while this site was active.

PANTHER CARS @ THE WOODWARD DREAM CRUISE: 07/20/01

Stephen -- "Even though the response wasn't as great as we were hoping for, we have decided to reserve 25 spaces in Pontiac for August 17th and 18th. The Panther team will be filling close to 10 of these spaces ourselves with the company's own special cars. We need the rest of these spaces to be filled by enthusiasts!! For them, this is a great opportunity to meet the group of people that designed and developed their baby. Plus, they get to park their own special Panther next to Ford's special Panthers. Could it get any cooler?!? Remember, this invite is open to Crown Vic, Grand Marquis, and Town Car owners only, preferably performance modified. Please have all interested parties RSVP with me as spaces are limited. Have them email me at sjacobse@ford.com."


Panther guy -- "The Woodward Dream Cruise is the largest in the World as far as I know. I think I heard about 30,000 cars last year. You can find the site by searching Yahoo - Took one of the Maurauders to the local car show last night, and it got a lot of interest. Cant show the suspension yet."

"I got the OK to get the Panther parking spots. Pontiac is not the ideal city (the name), but my girlfriend wanted to go up there last year. The cruise route is about 10 or 12 miles long, and Pontiac is on the North end. I usually hang out near the center of the route. So we will have 25 spots. I will arrange for some of our special cars and a few of my friends with special Panthers for about 10 spots. This leaves about 15. Stephen will reserve spots for distant visitors and unique Panther vehicles. Finding a spot to park can be a real hastle, and they charge around $250 to park in some places. Seems odd, as the cars are the show, but every one is out to make money, and they have to pretty much close their business for a couple of days, so I guess I understand.
The Ford Public Affairs people have the main Ford display in Birmingham - the center of the cruise. There will be live entertainment - people you have heard of, and large tents. The public is invited on Saturday night - listen or dance. Privately owned cars displayed around the perimeter will be some of the best Ford hotrods in the US, CART, NASCAR, model Ts, T-Birds, Cobras, etc. At the South end, the Mustang guys, will set up Mustang Alley - in Ferndale. If you want to attend (Birmingham) on Friday night, it's $175 I believe - hosted by Edsel Ford, and the 175 goes to charity. You get special food and drink and and an autographed (Edsel) model car - perhaps T-Bird, but I don't know for sure. Ford had lots of posters the handed out. Every corporate exhibot is handing you something. I think I got about a dozen posters last year. GM has there stuff in this general area. There are buses that drive the route so you can get from one end to the other, but it is fun to walk.
Burn outs are discouraged, and tickeded. I have never got a ticket, and I will say no more. It's a safe event - there are lots of cops around. At 10 PM Saturday the Police form a rolling road block on Woodward followed by Reliable Semis, that block the side streets, so cruisers don't sneak in behind the cops. It's pretty cool. Of course you can just wait an hour or so - pull out on to a completely empty Woodward Avenue - and - we'll you can guess - my car vs. blown car - no thanks - just drive home carefully. Anyway, I think you should try to make it."

Are y'all excited yet ?? All these details are enough to have me seriously thinking about driving up to Pontiac Michigan from Georgia to attend...rsvp Stephen at sjacobse@ford.com if you are going to be there...spots are limited -- let's GIT it ON !!

Geoff

07/29/00 -- Crown Victoria still a classic: Ford mainstay shows power, athletic handling. Al Haas - Knight Ridder Newspapers. Saturday, July 29, 2000 Police forces traditionally have favored big, affordable, rear-drive V-8 sedans. There is a lot of room in them for felons and doughnuts, and they have enough power to catch most of the bad guys....

06/13/00 -- Quick update; while the side-impact results for the CVs are below, check the NHTSA front and side results for 2000 Heavy Passenger Cars: The Crown Vics and Grand Marquis' got 5 out of 5 stars for the frontal crashes. We rule...even while (lord forbid) crashing in a head-on.

06/02/00 -- Crash test video results on the Crown Victoria: Specifically, the deadly SIDE IMPACT test...Ford's response to the good results is at the bottom of the article. You will note that Cadillac & Ford (both 4 stars) complained about the "version" of the dummy used in the NHTSA tests...something about not using / using the european version ? Anyhow, in the video, the "test" car looks like a '97 (older '92-'97 body style) to me...the CV got 4 out of 5 stars from NHTSA! I heard from another news source that this is the highest side impact rating for ANY full-size american car. Can some one back me up on this with a link, if possible...so i can compile a CV Safety section under Vic Pitstop ? Also, if you have the time, check the Lexus side impact results -- they received 5 stars. Why is this ? The CV & Lexus dummy "damage" seemed very similar...I sort of liked how the CV responded to the side impact: the whole car just seemed to slide sideways as one solid piece, while other cars folded in half almost ! Geoff

4/20/00 -- If you have time, send Matt accurate info (i am working on this, too) on the following: Hi Geoff -- My name is Matt Marion. I'm an associate editor at Men's Heath Magazine. I edit a section of the magazine called "A Man's Life" and I'm trying to put together a short piece called "How to Copify Your Car." The idea, as you might guess from the title, is to tell our readers who own late model Crown Victorias how to modify their car to make it as close as possible to a Police Interceptor. We want to list the parts they would need, where they can get them, and how much they'll cost. Additionally, want to show a cutaway view of a CV's engine compartment, suspension, and brakes. When I saw your site (pretty impressive) I figured you might be able to help. I personally love fast Fords--I'm the owner of a 1970 Mustang Mach 1-- and would love to see this article make it in the magazine. If you think you can help, I need to know asap since I'm under an extremely tight deadline. Thanks in advance for any help you can offer. Matt Marion Associate Editor Men's Health Magazine (610) 967-7678.

Geoff « ggill@hotmail.com »