On a clear, still balmy October evening my friend Peter (to be pronounced “paay-ta,” the German way) and I witnessed a historic moment at a Mobil station on the outskirts of Albany: Two Mercury Grand Marquis. And if that wasn’t enough, a third one was parked outside the low-cost Days Inn where we spent the night. One at the gas station was from 2005 with a half Landau roof, the other from 2010. The one at the Days Inn was maybe from 2008 and had a full Landau roof. All of them were from the fourth (and last) generation. Their combined value was way below $10K, to judge from their condition.

Peter and I were on a little road trip between one aerodrome (Rhinebeck, NY), two car museums (Newport, RI and Norwich, NY), and a model car “museum” (also Norwich). The Newport Car Museum has specially assigned, well-curated and expensive galleries for Ford/Shelby and Corvettes. It’s a feast for everyone who is interested in muscle cars but also Italian supercars and Porsches. The Northeast Classic Car Museum in Norwich is very different, covering exclusively American cars from the beginnings to the muscle car era. It’s much bigger but also less well-funded, based on a local business man’s car collection. Have you heard about the Franklin Automobile Company? I had not, and this museum changed that in dedicating a whole exhibition hall to them. Franklin started developing air-cooled vehicles in 1902. By the late 1920s it had established itself as a high-end manufacturer, offering the only ever V12 air-cooled engine in a car, competing with Duesenberg, Cadillac, and Packard. Many fancy car brands did not survive the crash of 1929 and Franklin, whose pockets were not as deep as some competitors, had to declare bankruptcy in 1934. So, the trip suggested any number of transportation topics for this column, but the Grand Marquis story struck me as a piece of real American car history.

From 1979 until 2011, the Grand Marquis shared the rear-wheel drive Panther platform with the Ford Crown Victoria (first called LTD Crown Victoria), the Lincoln Town Car, and the Lincoln Continental Mark VI (1980-83). In 2008, Ford ended private sales of the Crown Victoria in the United States, leaving the Grand Marquis the popular “old-people car” of this conservative line-up. The Lincoln Town Car had been the fleet car of choice for limousine services, while the Crown Victoria was still the favorite for the police and taxi drivers (in New York at least) until its end. (I have been driving in this country long enough to remember when you had to look out for the headlights of the Ford Crown Victoria Police Interceptor in the rear-view mirror.) Another loyal customer – especially for the long wheelbase version – were the Arabic Gulf states.

The rest of the world didn’t care, which doesn’t come as a surprise considering not only the dismal fuel economy but the terribly mushy suspension. I only had the “pleasure” sitting in the totally worn-out backseat of a New York Crown Vic taxi a few times. The memory still triggers sciatica and sea sickness. Not to be a broken record, but compare both the fuel consumption and the driving habits to Mercedes Diesel sedans and station wagons(!), that are still the first taxi choice in Europe.

Despite these deficiencies, I hear that there are still a lot of cops and taxi drivers that are mourning their “Panthers.” And the two dudes at the Mobil station were clearly proud of their Mercuries. These were the last body-on-frame passenger cars produced. Much of their popularity stems from the old-school simplicity of these cruisers, which allows keeping maintenance to a minimum and do-it-yourself remedies. And these cars can handle a lot of abuse!

The last Crown Victoria left the assembly line on September 15, 2011. Ford estimates that approximately 9.6 million vehicles on the Panther platform were built. I am not sure if this qualifies as the second-most produced vehicle in the US, but in my humble opinion, its long production and omnipresence make it the second-most important US vehicle after the Ford T. While the Ford T is undoubtedly the No. 1 because it revolutionized car production and availability, the Panther vehicles were so successful because of their conservatism.

The St. Thomas Assembly Plant in Ontario, Canada was the only location where the Panther cars were produced in the end. The last Crown Victoria built by the remaining three hundred employees was sent to Saudi Arabia. After over eight million vehicles were produced at St. Thomas from 1967 to 2011, the factory was decommissioned soon after and was largely demolished by the end of 2016. Now, Amazon runs a fulfillment center there. In 2007, Ford closed the Windsor Engine Plant and the adjacent Windsor Casting iron foundry in Windsor, Ontario, which was opened in 1934. The only remaining Ford vehicle that is still assembled in Canada is the F-Series Super Duty in a truck plant in Oakville, Ontario. Engines are still produced in the Ford Essex and Windsor factories.

But for how much longer? With someone in the White House who just threatened to raise the tariffs on Canadian goods (including Ford products) again from 25 to 50 percent, these are bleak times not only for the Canadian car industry but also for American car buyers. When will this trade war have an end? Canada used to be our friend and closest ally. In this context I appreciate Ursula von der Leyen’s attempt to make Canada an associate member of the European Union. While I am writing this, the results of the midterms are coming in and I see more light for the future of American relationships with the rest of the world.