I highly recommend the Ford Crown Victoria. It is a rather unique car with many good attributes.
Room. The car seats five comfortably and six in a pinch, and the trunk space is obscene. Unlike many cars, rear seat passengers have both head room and leg room.
Power. The car is not designed for roasting people at stop lights, but on the freeway it accelerates effortlessly up to whatever speed you desire. It does so with considerably less drama than other cars, and on only barely perceptible increase in engine noise. Why bother deciding between a 4 and a 6 when you can have an 8?
Ride. This is my favorite part. You don't feel the road in this car, you just sort of hear it from time to time. Expansion joints, railroad tracks, potholes; everything is just turned into a muted *tha-thump* that occasionally reaches the cabin. Despite this soft suspension, the car doesn't wallow much in corners and is easy to put wherever you want it on the road. Why in the world the industry ever switched from body-on-frame and RWD is a mystery to me.
Safety. The car is generally rates as being one of the safest vehicles on the road, and my experience bears that out. I have been involved in two wrecks where the other car was totalled, at a cumulative cost to me of 1 cracked turn signal and some scratched paint on my bumper. Insurance is cheap, and there's little chance of this thing getting stolen.
Other than that, it looks good (but not in a "look at me" way), gets 26-27 mpg at cruising speed on the freeway, and is about as reliable as a crowbar. The Ford 4.6 engine, 4R70W tranny, and 8.8 rear end are all considered to be benchmarks for reliability; hence the police and taxi services' affection for them. Parts are cheap as can be, too.
Depending on how much you're willing to haggle you can easily get a well equipped '03 for a shade over 20K new from the dealership. Come to think of it, "nicely equipped" is the only way that these cars come. None of that "power windows cost extra" stuff here. I am unaware of any vehicle that offers near as much content for a similar price.
If for some reason you decide that 4500 pounds of automotive throwback isn't the way to go, I also recommend the Nissan Maxima. Exceptionally smooth with the V6, and overall great build quality. Good resale values too.
but it drives like a 6. Also check out the new V6 Accord...very fun to drive.
