I love the Panthers. I have owned 40 of them, an '81 and '88 Crown Vic, and two '09 Grand Marquises.
Cheapest cars to own and maintain, dollar per mile, I have ever had in 47 years of buying cars.
Here's my last one, a Toreador Red '09 ---
I highly advise you upgrade it a little bit - like I did to my red one --
1. Grab front and rear Merc Marauder sway bars and some good HD shocks.
2. Install a cat-back Police Interceptor type dual exhaust
3. Install a full size matching spare tire oin a matfching reburbished rim and mount it on the shelf above the trunk space, where your donut spare is now, as seen on the Police Interceptor models
4. A set of 4 factory Grand Marquis mudflaps do wonders in keeping the car clean in winter snow rain and slush conditions.
5. If your '06 is a low spec one, you can knock out the black cardboard inserts (SEEN BELOW) and buy and install the higher level factory fog lights right in there, and I installed as lit toggle swotch on the left dashboard just below the3 headlight knob.
6. for about $75 you can buy a wonderful metal dead pedal, so you can cruise for miles and miles and have something to comfortably rest your left foot on and not to have it dangle in the air. This I think is a must, The guy who fabricates them lives and works in Florida and is reputable. The dead pedal is specifically engineered for this Mercury Grand Marquis model and works perfectly and is made of tough steel, and works perfectly for i9ts intended purpose.
7. A 35% window tint works and looks well on these, and is legal in most places.
Yes they are BIG! (by today's standards. But they are perfect for American highways) and I even decided to riff on that idea with these stickers sold by and fpr the Mini Coopers!
They and the Crown Victorias were built at STAP (The St Thomas Assembly plant) just across the bridge from Detroit into Canada. The STAP has been disassembled. Even the sign has been taken down. End of an era...
Here is the VERY last one ever made. It was built on January 4th, 2011. There was not even a celebration. I think the very last one should have been put into the Ford museum and preserved. But no: It was unceremoniously shipped to Saudi Arabia to begin service in a rental fleet. It was an end without dignity.
