Ford Panther platform

Design overview

The Panther platform utilized the body-on-frame construction with live rear axle suspension. While commonplace during its late-1970s introduction, it is a design found almost exclusively in large SUVs and pickup trucks today. The durability resulting from the body on frame construction (which allows easier repair after minor collisions),and their relatively simple design make the Panther cars appealing as fleet vehicles, including police cars and taxicabs. The Lincoln Town Car appealed largely to livery services, and is the most commonly used limousine in North America, due to its ability to be easily "stretched" by lengthening the frame without compromising chassis strength.

Although introduced in 1978, the Panther platform has undergone major changes along the way. Through its design life, it has been produced in three distinct generations:

First generation (1978–1991)

The first cars introduced on the Panther platform were the downsized 1979 Ford LTD and Mercury Marquis. Both were available in coupe, wagon, and sedan bodystyles. For 1980, federal fuel-economy regulations forced the Lincoln Continental to downsize; for the first time, the flagship cars for all three divisions shared a common platform. All Ford and Mercury models were now built on a common wheelbase; aside from grilles and taillights, the bodyshells were identical as well. In the Lincoln lineup, the Continental, Town Car, and Continental Mark VI shared nearly identical bodywork. In 1982, the Town Car became a model line of its own as the Continental became a mid-sized Fox-platform car; the Mark VI ended production in 1983. While Lincoln coupes (Mark VI and the rare Town Coupe) based on the Panther platform were discontinued in 1983, Ford and Mercury coupes lasted until 1987, when low demand brought their cancellation.

Ford made relatively few changes to any of the 1st-generation Panther-platform cars throughout their production life aside from nameplate changes. A 1988 re-style of the LTD Crown Victoria, Country Squire, and Grand Marquis improved their aerodynamics. 1990 marked the addition of SRS airbags to the Panther platform. The Lincoln Town Car came with dual air bags standard, but the passenger air bag remained an option on Ford and Mercury versions until 1993.

The 1st-generation Panther was also:

Second generation (1990–2002)

The American automotive landscape had changed significantly throughout the 1980s, although Ford had left the Panther platform essentially unchanged. A combination of changing consumer tastes as well as increasingly more stringent fuel economy standards forced Ford to make significant changes to the Panther cars in order to keep them in production. Bucking industry trends of the time, Ford chose not to downsize it any further or to replace it entirely with a front-wheel drive platform, opting instead for more aerodynamic bodystyling (which had been popularized by the smaller Taurus) and an all-new powertrain. As a result of changing market trends towards minivans and sport utility vehicles, one casualty of the redesign was the Country Squire and Colony Park station wagons; at the time, their de facto replacement was the Ford Aerostar.

In October 1989, Lincoln introduced the second-generation Town Car. In early 1991, the Crown Victoria (the LTD prefix disappeared) and Grand Marquis received total redesigns of their bodies for 1992. The Ford was restyled to have more of a family resemblance to the Ford Taurus, while the Mercury was styled as a more contemporary version of its predecessor (a formal family sedan).

In 1991, the 4.6L SOHC Modular V8 debuted under the hood of the Lincoln Town Car. It was the replacement for both the 302 and 351 cubic-inch Windsor V8 engines; in 1992, it became available in the Crown Victoria and Grand Marquis. Although the torque peak for the Modular V8 was 1,200 rpm higher than for the 302 V8, the 4.6L was available with up to 60 more hp (with optional dual exhaust).

In 1997, Ford significantly upgraded the exterior designs of all three Panther platform cars. The Town Car received the most extensive changes with its entire body being restyled. To increase parts commonality between the two, the Crown Victoria was redesigned to share the rear roofline (and much of the exterior sheetmetal) with the Grand Marquis, which saw minor cosmetic changes itself. Underneath the sheetmetal, a Watt's linkage was added to the rear suspension (still a live rear axle) in an effort to improve handling.

Third generation (2003–2011)

For 2003, Ford Chassis Engineer Trever Skilnick completely redesigned the frame of the Panther platform using a hydroformed steel frame and a bolt-in cast aluminum stressed member that held the powertrain. The front and rear suspension were also completely overhauled in an effort to improve handling; rack and pinion steering replaced the recirculating-ball design. While the sheetmetal of the Crown Victoria was left alone, the Grand Marquis and Town Car both received updates to the exterior and interior in an effort to bring them in line with the rest of their respective product lineups. The "Cast Aluminum #2" frame crossmember won Casting of The Year for Tier 1 supplier CMI - Hayes Lemmerz, and the new chassis was reviewed favorably by journalist Dan Neil of the Wall Street Journal .

For 2003, Mercury introduced the Marauder, a high-performance variant of the Grand Marquis. Designed in a similar fashion as the 1994–1996 Chevrolet Impala SS (with black also being its most commonly available paint color), it featured the engine of the Ford Mustang Mach 1. The Marauder sold poorly; it was dropped after 2004 after just over 11,000 were built.

Variants

Discontinuation

During most of the 2000s, design efforts were under consideration at Ford to consolidate the Panther and EA169 platforms (the latter being used by the Ford Falcon/Territory of Australia) into a single global rear-wheel drive platform. Concept vehicles such as the Ford 427, Lincoln MKR, and Ford Interceptor served as speculated previews of what form a future full-size Ford or Lincoln would take. Though elements of the vehicles would be used in other vehicles, as a whole, they would not reach production. In January 2009, Ford announced that design efforts towards its global rear-wheel drive platform were canceled.

Since the 2007 model year, the full-size retail presence of Ford shifted from the Panther platform to the Volvo-derived D3 platform, the larger of the two cars introduced as the successors of the D186 (Taurus/Sable) platform. In 2009, Ford announced that 2011 was to be the final year for the Crown Victoria Police Interceptor with a new police-specific vehicle to begin production; in 2010, the company phased out the Mercury division.

2011 would slowly mark the phaseout of both Panther-platform production and of vehicle production at St. Thomas Assembly. On January 4, the final Grand Marquis rolled off the assembly line, marking the end of Mercury production. During August, the final Lincoln Town Car rolled off the assembly line. After a short run of 2012 GCC-export models were produced (as it was no longer legal for sale in North America), the final Ford Crown Victoria rolled off the assembly line on September 15, 2011.

In the current Ford and Lincoln model lineups, the Crown Victoria/Grand Marquis and Lincoln Town Car have largely been superseded by the sixth-generation Ford Taurus and Lincoln MKS (soon to become Lincoln Continental) in their respective product lineups. In large contrast to their Panther-platform predecessors, the Taurus/MKS is less dependent on fleet sales, with many sales through retail purchases. As a replacement for the previous Crown Victoria Police Interceptor, Ford has developed a Ford Police Interceptor Sedan, based on the Ford Taurus SHO. Alongside livery variants of the Navigator SUV, to replace the Town Car, Lincoln has developed livery and limousine variants of the Lincoln MKT full-size CUV as a replacement, with specific versions adopting the Town Car name.