Panther Appreciation Week rolls on with this look at the platforms sales since 1995 (sorry, our sales data doesn’t go back farther) compared to some key competition. As the last several years of the graph prove, large sedans were hit fairly hard by the “Carpocalypse,” but Panthers were in a terminal sales decline anyway. In the mid 90s, Ford was selling nearly 100k each of its Ford, Lincoln and Mercury-branded Panthers, but steady updates from large, cushy FWD competition like the Avalon slowly eroded sales.
Meanwhile, the 300/Charger combo from Chrysler looks to be the Panther of the 21st Century. Beloved by fleets and Donkophiles alike, the LX sedans beat the mass-market-branded large, RWD competition… such as it is. Heck, it even beat FWD rivals like the Avalon, the Genesis (21,889), the Lexus ES (48,485) and the Taurus (45,617) in 2009. And with the updated 2011 Charger in strong competition for police fleet business, Chrysler could just be building big, old-school, rear-drive sedans in the American style for some time to come. The Panther is dead… long live the LX?
As long as Chrysler’s quailty continues to improve, then God bless ’em. Then FWIW I was one of those people who actually liked the Crossfire. But I fear owning such an orphan.
The question is how durable will the LX be longterm, and what goodies might Ford import from down under to replace the Panther. The key for fleet buyers is durability since it is an economy on its own, gas prices be damned….to a point. I think the fall of the Panther comes from a lack of a more modern/efficient powerplant.
Oh, and BTW, did I mention poorly placed gas tank.
I call BS. The alleged gas tank issue involves rear impacts at something like 70 mph. Yes, there have been some terrible accidents, but show me a car that doesn’t do bad things under those conditions.
Police vehicle reconfiguration had a bad habit of placing gas tank piercing equipment along the vehicles longitudinal axis. Think of a rifle placed for logical easy quick access. Now smack into the rear of the vehicle, and the gun is driven right through the gas tank. Same for jack handles, etc etc etc. What made sense for the user (police dept), created a potentially dangerous situation.
LX is immensely rigid and durable and will continue to improve as Chrysler refines it.
I rented a V6 300 on my last trip for a few days, it is very much the Panther of the 21st century. It didn’t have many of the bad old things the Panthers have, yet it retains most of the big soft wafting charm of old American cars.
Long live LX.
Here here!
The ability to effortlessly soak up immense quantities of highway mileage is one of the things I like best about my Magnum. Particularly on a newly paved road, I liken it to driving on velvet.
The NAG1 gearbox in the V8 LX cars is also quite stout as it is rated for a peak torque of 796 lb-ft. This type of ruggedness is rare in today’s autos, and I hope Chrysler manages to keep the NAG1 as part of the V8 LX powertrain as long as possible.
But they’re small on the inside!
Tommy
But they’re small on the inside!
The LXs are actually not too bad. The Magnum’s trunk is a little disappointing, but that has more to do with the floor height than anything else. Otherwise, they’re pretty roomy for a class of car that’s notorious for wasting space and the perception of (lack of) space has a lot to do with the (lack of) window glass.
Now, the Panthers on the other hand….
Genesis? Did you mean Azera?
The Genesis isn’t FWD.
Would the Impala count as a competitor? I think that it would.
My rough math says that there were about 70K units of panther moved altogether in the most recent year. Those 70K sales have to go somewhere. I figure that at least half will go to LX cars. This is the fleet buyer and people like me who prefer rear drive. But a lot of the older buyers care more about soft ride than which wheels do the driving. Avalon and Buick (Lacrosse and Lucerne) will pick up most of the rest of them.
It will be nice timing for Chrysler to bring out a fresh and improved Charger and 300 at the same time that Ford is discontinuing the car’s closest competitor.
One interesting question is, where did all of the GM B-Body customers go? The Chevy Caprice and Buick Roadmaster were discontinued in 1996, but the Panthers didn’t get much of a bump from the demise of their closest rival. My guess is the B-Body customers went to SUVs and to various fwd models like the Avalon.
Most stayed with GM and bought Bonnevilles, LeSabres, Park Avenues and Impalas.
That would be me.
I went to an SUV, then a truck, then an Acura RL. Would love to get back into a genuine RWD car. Won’t tolerate the paranoia and expense buying German entails. That makes me a candidate for a decent domestic RWD car.
What TriShield said, or something smaller and Japanese (Camcord, etc.) or shuffled off to their mortal coil.
Those graphs remind me of the numbering of demographic segments within the “greatest generation” still alive.
Out there but declining daily.
The Baby Boomers will be there some year.
That should tickle generations X, Y, Z, Me, and whatever later generations are labeled.
After reading so much negativity across the Web about those cussed unwanted obviously evil Baby Boomers who are responsible for all evil I hope we bankrupt everybody and everything as we steadily die off and again, make the world safe for democracy, ascend Hamburger Hill. Defoliate the Ah Shau Valley, spray the pot fields with paraquat and commit every politically incorrect act known to humankind and concoct a few new ones.
I’ll be at my dumpster diving for dinner if needed.
If GM doesn’t come through with a civilian Holden Caprice for the NA market I’ll be looking at a Chrysler 300. I’ll wait a couple of years for Chrysler to get its act together and improve quality.
Interesting how all these charts always seem to point south.
Does anything sell anymore?
Yes, yes, I know. Hyundais.
LX also has a nice 120″ wheelbase. 6″ longer than the std. Crown Vic, plus a 126″ LWB version. Longer wheelbase, shorter overhangs, just what a 21st century Panther could have been.
I’ll preface this by saying that my career at Ford pretty much encompassed the Panther years (I hired in during 1978 – the year the Panther was introduced – and retired at the end of 2007), and during the 1980’s and 1990’s I said a silent thanks every time I saw a non-fleet CV/GM/TC for having contributed to my profit sharing/bonus.
Having said that, I remember the time in the 80’s when I saw a copy of the Ford New Car Buyers Study that showed the average age of Town Car buyers was somewhere north of 65 and the modal occupation was retired. I also knew I didn’t see much aspiration on the part of my contemporaries to actually own one of the things. At the time, I decided it was a classic example of a product you milk as much as possible, then drop when it becomes unprofitable (or really, when it needs so many updates you can’t justify it). I’m honestly surprised it hung on as long as it has. Cops and Cabs (and airport transport) kept Panther alive beyond its time, but it’s tough to build a business case purely on the basis of fleet sales. Of the roughly 70,000 deliveries in 2009, I’d guess the 25,000 or so Grand Marquis buyers were the only people using their own money to buy a car at a profitable (including development costs) price, and you can’t justify a unique platform at an affordable price with that few people willing to actually buy the thing.
I wish Chrysler luck in conquesting disappointed Panther owners.
Would have liked to see Cadillac DTS numbers on this chart too. Yes, it’s FWD, but it is a direct competitor to the TC and kinda-sorta the 300 (since Chrysler has not yet seen fit to reintroduce the Imperial).