You’re browsing Facebook Marketplace one day, when you come across a cheap, dirt-simple, unkillable Ford Crown Victoria. It’s perfect, you think, but for that one unfortunate association: Crown Vics are cop cars, and who wants to be associated with cops? If only there were some way to own that classic three-box sedan without every driver on the road thinking you’re out to ticket them — or worse.
This Crown Vic seller, on Facebook Marketplace in Ohio, seems to have it figured out. They’re selling a Crown Vic a bit older than the classic cop car, but there’s more than a model year to differentiate this from the black-and-white cars we all hide from on the highway. Cops, for instance, don’t generally have flames shooting from their hood-mounted exhausts or fake miniguns mounted ahead of the windshield. They don’t usually have open trucks full of ammo, fuel, and propane either. You might get confused for a Road Warrior in this Crown Vic, but likely not an active-duty trooper.
Almost too Mad Max
As “Mad Max”-styled cars go, this one is a bit on-the-nose. When I think about building a prop based on a universe, I’m very much interested in making it feel like it exists within that world. the symbol of the Immortan Joe on the rear glass fits that pretty well, but the “MAD MAX” lettering on the front ammo can is perhaps a bit much for a car meant to look like it’d pursue Max himself. The rear fuel tanks, clearly inspired by the extra tanks that adorn Max’s Interceptor, are a bit of both sides of this: On the one hand, the mishmash of fuel sources here is unlike anything else we’ve seen in the world; on the other, mounting a random propane tank into a car you plan on taking into combat does have its advantages.
Of course, there’s still the contradiction at the heart of this build: In making this $3,500 Crown Vic look unlike any cop car, it’s been built up to look like it’s from a universe we only see through the eyes of noted former cop Max Rockatansky. Yet, the sign of the Immortan positions this as a villain car rather than one driven by the titular Max, and this still accomplishes its goal — it’s unlikely anyone will slow down around you on the highway out of fear you’ll give them a ticket. Whether they slow down out of fear of your exposed propane tank, though, is another question entirely.
