xcel
09-09-2006, 02:31 AM
The Crown Vic’s 4.7-liter V-8 is still on its original set of plugs. (http://media.ford.com/article_display.cfm?article_id=24192)
John Hiner - Ford Motor Company - Sept. 8, 2006
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/501/2006_Ford_Crown_Vic.jpg
2003 - 2007 Ford Crown Vic - Realible would be an understatement.
John Hiner’s 2003 Ford Crown Victoria doesn’t look different from any other Crown Victoria on the road today. The Victoria wears a nondescript Arizona Beige paint job and sports standard cloth seats and an AM/FM stereo with cassette tape and CD player. The only thing unusual about this car is the number on the odometer: 465,015.
That’s 465,015 actual miles.
Hiner is publisher of Twenty First Century Publishing in Harrah, Okla., near Oklahoma City, so it comes as no surprise that he’s written a book about his car titled “The Car I Couldn’t Wear Out.”
“Maybe I should have called it ‘The Car I Can’t Wear Out,’ ” laughs Hiner who still tools America’s highways in his car.
Hiner’s book chronicles the tale of how he came to be the owner of the Crown Vic, while his wife has suffered through a host of Chrysler minivans.
Hiner grounded himself after 9/11, not because of a fear of flying, but more because of a disgust with the way airlines were treating business passengers. Hiner, an executive platinum frequent flier with more than a million miles on American Airlines, found himself delayed by luggage searches and missing flights on many occasions.
“After a year or two of going through this rigamarole at the airports, I said enough is enough. I’m going to get a car and start driving,” he says.
He decided to narrow his choices to cars made in North America and, remembering his pleasant experiences in rented Lincoln Town Cars, went shopping for the Ford equivalent. The Crown Vic fit Hiner’s criteria for safety and the capability for carrying books and other products.
He routinely drives across the United States from Harrah to Orlando, Fla., or Los Angeles to catch flights out of the country, leaving the Vic parked for weeks at motels.
What may be more impressive than the 465,015 miles on the odometer is that Hiner has driven that far without making any major repairs other than replacing a rear wheel bearing at 110,000 miles. He changes the oil every 9,000 miles and has the fluids topped off. He averages 24 miles per gallon driving 75 mph on Oklahoma interstates. The Crown Vic’s 4.7-liter V-8 is still on its original set of plugs.
“I bought a set at Wal-Mart just in case,” Hiner says. “They’re still in the Wal-Mart bag in a box in the trunk, along with a set of belts.”
Mounted in the trunk next to the box of plugs is the original full-size spare.
“It’s been on a few times,” Hiner says. “But I only left it on long enough to get the tire repaired.”
He’s on his third set of Michelins. The car went 106,000 miles on its first set, and Hiner got 160,000 miles out of the second set.
Speaking of Wal-Mart, Hiner spent several years working for a company that sold hand trucks to Wal-Mart and Sam’s Club stores. He thinks Wal-Mart would be a great place to sell the Ford Crown Vic.
John Hiner - Ford Motor Company - Sept. 8, 2006
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/501/2006_Ford_Crown_Vic.jpg
2003 - 2007 Ford Crown Vic - Realible would be an understatement.
John Hiner’s 2003 Ford Crown Victoria doesn’t look different from any other Crown Victoria on the road today. The Victoria wears a nondescript Arizona Beige paint job and sports standard cloth seats and an AM/FM stereo with cassette tape and CD player. The only thing unusual about this car is the number on the odometer: 465,015.
That’s 465,015 actual miles.
Hiner is publisher of Twenty First Century Publishing in Harrah, Okla., near Oklahoma City, so it comes as no surprise that he’s written a book about his car titled “The Car I Couldn’t Wear Out.”
“Maybe I should have called it ‘The Car I Can’t Wear Out,’ ” laughs Hiner who still tools America’s highways in his car.
Hiner’s book chronicles the tale of how he came to be the owner of the Crown Vic, while his wife has suffered through a host of Chrysler minivans.
Hiner grounded himself after 9/11, not because of a fear of flying, but more because of a disgust with the way airlines were treating business passengers. Hiner, an executive platinum frequent flier with more than a million miles on American Airlines, found himself delayed by luggage searches and missing flights on many occasions.
“After a year or two of going through this rigamarole at the airports, I said enough is enough. I’m going to get a car and start driving,” he says.
He decided to narrow his choices to cars made in North America and, remembering his pleasant experiences in rented Lincoln Town Cars, went shopping for the Ford equivalent. The Crown Vic fit Hiner’s criteria for safety and the capability for carrying books and other products.
He routinely drives across the United States from Harrah to Orlando, Fla., or Los Angeles to catch flights out of the country, leaving the Vic parked for weeks at motels.
What may be more impressive than the 465,015 miles on the odometer is that Hiner has driven that far without making any major repairs other than replacing a rear wheel bearing at 110,000 miles. He changes the oil every 9,000 miles and has the fluids topped off. He averages 24 miles per gallon driving 75 mph on Oklahoma interstates. The Crown Vic’s 4.7-liter V-8 is still on its original set of plugs.
“I bought a set at Wal-Mart just in case,” Hiner says. “They’re still in the Wal-Mart bag in a box in the trunk, along with a set of belts.”
Mounted in the trunk next to the box of plugs is the original full-size spare.
“It’s been on a few times,” Hiner says. “But I only left it on long enough to get the tire repaired.”
He’s on his third set of Michelins. The car went 106,000 miles on its first set, and Hiner got 160,000 miles out of the second set.
Speaking of Wal-Mart, Hiner spent several years working for a company that sold hand trucks to Wal-Mart and Sam’s Club stores. He thinks Wal-Mart would be a great place to sell the Ford Crown Vic.