Quote:
Originally posted by PA_SVX
I heard Chrysler will be putting out a RWD car soon that might be suitable for patrol work. I don't think a V-6 would work though. Not just for power, but I think they get beat up more then V-8's. I remember seeing an Outback Police Car in Drive magazine once. That was cool. I have also seen Volvo's, but they are just warmed over fords now. BMW 5 series is probably the best in the world, but WAY too expensive. The Poleizi in Germany use Audi's, VW's, BMW's, and Opel's. Short of using Caddy CTS's I don't think GM really cares about all the money they lost in police fleet sales. 75% of U.S. police cars were Chevy in 1995. Now they only have about 20% with the way inferior Impala. That's why I dread Subaru being under GM control in the future. I hope Fuji can hold onto a majority share.
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Your right. Starting next year with the introduction of the Magnum wagon, all Chrysler/Dodge full-size cars will be RWD, will the possible option of AWD on some, and a Hemi V8 option on all. The Intrepid will be replaced by a 4-door Charger, and the 300M by the 300N. The Concorde should still be the Concorde.
As for GM's partial ownership of Fuji, I really wouldn't worry about it much. GM may not be what it used to be, but they at least haven't done the ford thing, and have tried to leave the marques they purchase alone as much as possible. Saab is starting to get some direction from GM, but let's face it, Subaru makes a hell of a lot more profit then Saab. And I'm hoping that the new GTO is a sign of things to come from GM. And if rumors hold true, then you may get your wish of a V8 RWD GM sedan, in the form of the Holden Commodore being the basis for the next Impala/Monte.
Now for ford. There is not a car company in the world that I despise as much as ford. My list of reasons is far too long to list here, so I'll list my first and my worst.
First: My father is a ford fanatic, much like I with Subaru. His first new ford ever was an '89 or so V6 Ranger. At about 10K the engine blew, hard, with absolutely no hope of rebuilding it. When it went, ford gave him an even trade for an identical Bronco II, a little pricer than the Ranger. The Bronco hit about 30K before it did the same thing.
Worst: ford is trying to rebuild the automotive world in their image. They buy everything they can, and start putting their crap in it. Mazda, Aston Martin, Jaguar, Land Rover, and Volvo have all fallen into fords hands, resulting in ford engines, chasis', trannies, etc... powering these cars. They were once great and respected marques, now they're just more ford junk. How long is it going to be before we se a Focus based Jag? And to make matters worse, to celebrate their upcoming anniversary, ford is now claiming responsibility for all the great cars the company built before ford even bought them. The E-type, the Range Rover, even Bond's DB4, ford had nothing to do with any of them. Sacrelige! This is also what backs their claim of 300 million cars sold before their 100th. If ford had been the one to start buying Fuji stock, you can guarantee we'd already have a Zetec FWD Impreza. ford is the anti-Christ of the automotive world.
