in as a replacement for both the Ford Taurus and Crown Victoria. By 2007, the Crown Victoria was supported nearly entirely by fleet sales, outselling only the Ford GT in retail sales. After the 2007 model year, Ford ended retail sales of the Crown Victoria, with the Five Hundred renamed as the Ford Taurus; further retail sales were adopted by Lincoln-Mercury. As part of The Way Forward, Lincoln Town Car production shifted from Wixom Assembly and was consolidated with Ford and Mercury at St. Thomas Assembly in Canada. In January 2009, Ford announced that design efforts towards its global rear-wheel drive platform were canceled. The same year, Ford announced that 2011 marked the final year of the Crown Victoria Police Interceptor, with production of a successor to follow for 2012. 2011 would slowly mark the phaseout of both Panther-platform production and of vehicle production at St. Thomas Assembly. On January 4, the final Grand Marquis rolled off the assembly line, becoming the final Mercury vehicle ever produced. During August, the final Lincoln Town Car rolled off the assembly line. For the 2012 model year, all Crown Victorias were produced for export; as the vehicle was not produced with stability control, it was no longer legal for sale in the United States or Canada. A short run of Crown Victorias were produced for GCC export (Middle East); intended for export to Saudi Arabia, the final Ford Crown Victoria rolled off the assembly line on September 15, 2011, ending production at St. Thomas Assembly. While the closure of the Mercury division would leave the Grand Marquis without a direct successor, by the end of production, Ford introduced functional replacements for the Crown Victoria/Police Interceptor and Lincoln Town Car (in the sixth-generation Ford Taurus/Police Interceptor Sedan and Lincoln MKS, respectively). With the exception of the Police Interceptor Sedan, sales of the Taurus and MKS shifted from a high dependence on fleet customers to a higher proportion of retail sales. The Lincoln Town Car name made its return for livery customers, with Lincoln developing a livery/limousine variant of the Lincoln MKT with the MKT Town Car name. As of current production, the Ford division no longer produces full-size sedans, with the Ford Fusion (Mondeo) serving as the largest Ford-brand sedan; the Lincoln Continental is now the sole full-size sedan produced by Ford Motor Company in North America. References Panther 1970s cars 1980s cars 1990s