The Crown Victoria was produced on the rear-wheel drive, body-on-frame Ford Panther platform, sharing its chassis with the Grand Marquis and Lincoln Town Car.

From 1997 until their 2011 discontinuation, the three model lines were the sole four-door sedans produced in North America with a full-length frame, rear-wheel drive, and a standard V8 engine.

For its entire production, the Crown Victoria was produced by Ford Canada alongside the Grand Marquis at St. Thomas Assembly in Southwold, Ontario.

Similar to the Mercury XM-800 concept car (though changed in angle), the B-pillar was fitted with a wide stainless-steel band ("crowning" the roof), giving a sleeker appearance to the roofline.

[7] To distinguish the model line from its Mercury (Grand) Marquis counterpart, Ford revived the stainless-steel band to trim the B-pillars (in heavily revised form); the design was used on examples with the standard vinyl half roof.

Discontinued after the 1991 model year, the LTD Crown Victoria (and LTD Country Squire station wagon) marked the final usage of the Ford LTD nameplate in North America.

Due to a market shift in family-oriented vehicles, the Crown Victoria was offered exclusively as a four-door sedan, with the wood-trimmed LTD Country Squire station wagon discontinued.

Although launched in 1978, the Panther chassis underwent extensive upgrades to improve its road manners and handling; major updates were made to the steering and suspension tuning.

Though the Taurus became wildly popular in its market segment, Telnack's "aero" look proved to be either a love or hate proposition with potential buyers of the Crown Victoria.

Though better received than the 1991 redesign of the Chevrolet Caprice, the 1992 Crown Victoria was met with disapproval from some critics and buyers, leading Ford to revise the exterior.

For the 1995 model year, a midcycle redesign had more extensive changes to the Crown Victoria; a 6-six-slot grille replaced the egg-crate design, and wider taillamps were added to the rear with the license plate positioned between them on the trunk lid.

Although the previous Ford Crown Victoria had better critical and marketplace acceptance than the controversial styling of the 1991 Chevrolet Caprice, its sales struggled to match those of its Mercury Grand Marquis counterpart.

In an effort to gain acceptance among buyers (and increase parts commonality), for the 1998 model year, the Crown Victoria adopted much of the exterior design of the Mercury Grand Marquis.

The redesigned Crown Victoria adopted the formal notch-back roof-line of its Mercury counterpart, causing it to lose its rear C pillar windows.

The rear fascia underwent a redesign, as large tail lamp units were mounted at the corners of the body, replacing the previous full-width design.

Ford's "Securi-Lock" anti-theft system (PATS) was now standard on all retail models; the move necessitated the switch to a transponder key and a new key-less entry remote.

Heated side mirrors became standard in 2002, along with floor mats, power pedals, and improved cloth upholstery; for LX-trim vehicles, a trunk storage organizer became an option.

The Crown Victoria was offered with PPG laminated side glass beginning in 2004 to reduce the transmission of UV light in the interior; it was one of the first American vehicles to do so.

For the 2007 model year, the optional side airbags underwent revisions to better protect passengers in side-impact collisions; they were made standard in 2009 along with recessed window switches and power pedals.

[32] The Crown Victoria saw numerous deletions including the removal of the remote locking fuel door, body-colored mirror caps, auto parking brake release, engine compartment lamp, front seat bottom pouches, dual media CD/Cassette radio, power-adjustable pedals (except LX models), foam sound absorbing inserts inside the headliner, black B-pillars (now body-colored), silver "V8" emblem on the engine cover, and the elimination of the rear stabilizer bar on all non Fleet, Handling, or LX Sport versions.

It added an auto-dimming rear-view mirror, heated exterior mirrors, monochromatic exterior trim (on select colors), 17-inch “Sport” wheels, standard leather interior trim, a floor-mounted shifter with center console, front bucket seats, an AM/FM/CD/Cassette radio (the cassette player was eventually deleted), as well as steering wheel controls for the radio and climate control.

However, the Crown Victoria badge was still affixed to Police Interceptors equipped with the optional Street Appearance Package for vehicles that required ordinary styling.

Compared to the standard Crown Victoria, Police Interceptor models had a host of heavy-duty features that enabled them to be used for emergency response style driving and long idling times.

In Kuwait, where the Crown Victoria was outsold by the higher-trim Mercury Grand Marquis, only the Standard and Long-wheelbase versions were sold after 2000 (the LX was discontinued in 1999).

On GCC-Spec Crown Victorias, the EHP option is externally distinguished by a monochromatic paint scheme, with Ford offering Dark Toreador Red, Silver Birch, Tungsten, and Black as color choices.

Exclusive to GCC-Spec Standard models, the cosmetic package added several cosmetic features, including a three-bar grille (in the style of the Ford Fusion), Mercury Marauder trunk lid spoiler (derived from EHP), chrome trim on the front and rear bumpers, "Special Edition" logos on the front fenders, trunk lid, and dashboard, as well as an AM/FM/CD Premium stereo.

As part of The Way Forward plan of 2006, the St. Thomas Assembly Plant was switched to a single daily production shift in an effort to reduce operating costs.

The Lincoln Town Car joined its Ford and Mercury counterparts in production at St. Thomas by 2008; the Wixom Assembly Plant, where it was produced, fell victim to the plan and ceased operations following the 2007 model year.

[43][44] Another reason why the Crown Victoria was discontinued was due to its lack of electronic stability control, which became federally mandated for all new vehicles in the US and Canada for the 2012 model year.

For 2002, a revised intake manifold with a bolt-on aluminum thermostat housing and anti-freeze crossover was produced and fitted to all new vehicles in an attempt to remedy the issue.