1997 Ford Crown Victoria

The 1992 model year brought the redesigned Ford Crown Victoria, the car that dropped the LTD prefix used in the 1980s and adopted a rounded aero body that lowered the sedan's drag coefficient. Built on the same rear-wheel-drive, body-on-frame Panther platform shared with the Mercury Grand Marquis and Lincoln Town Car, the 1992 Crown Victoria was offered only as a four-door sedan after the previous station wagon was retired. The biggest mechanical change was the engine: the 4.6L SOHC two-valve modular V8 replaced the pushrod 5.0L (302) and 5.8L (351 Windsor) Windsor V8s. The 4.6L came in a standard single-exhaust tune of about 190 horsepower and a dual-exhaust high-output tune of about 210 horsepower. The transmission progressed from the AOD through the electronic AODE to the 4R70W four-speed automatic during this run. All 1992 Crown Victorias received standard four-wheel disc brakes, and a 1992-only Touring Sedan paired the dual-exhaust engine with police-derived suspension and a limited-slip rear axle. The Police Interceptor, identified by the internal order code P71, was built across this generation and made the Crown Victoria the standard North American police cruiser. The 1992-1997 Crown Victoria used recirculating-ball steering; the later 2003 update changed it to rack and pinion.