End of an era

That's it - the very last Crown Victoria to come off the assembly line.

So if you decide one day to own one of these rear-wheel-drive cars, with a V8 engine in the front, you'll have to look for a used one.

I know that the modern car designs are cheaper, lighter, get better mileage, and have their advantages, but for me, a traditional family car is supposed to be big, have four doors, be rear wheel drive, and your Dad is supposed to have a set of snow tires in the garage that he puts on the car right before the first snowfall.

These cars were built at the St. Thomas Assembly Plant, which has (had) pumped out Ford automobiles for 44 years, and it is now being dismantled, and 200 employees just lost their jobs.

My 2008 Crown Vic just turned over 47,000 miles, and I intend to run it 200,000 more, which means it'll be in the driveway for a good long time. I'm keeping the faith I guess.