CHICAGO -- Cabdrivers wanted one, cab customers wanted one, but most important, lots of states are starting to want one.

So Ford will begin offering a longer version of its Crown Victoria sedan for taxicab and livery service for 2002.

The Crown Vic cab has been stretched 6 inches, its wheelbase to 120.7 inches, its length to 218 inches. Basically, the platform is similar to that of the long-wheelbase Lincoln Town Car introduced a year ago.

While the stretch will mean longer doors for easier passenger entry and exit, bigger windows, increased cabin space for more leg room and added luggage room in the trunk, the primary reason Ford has opted for a stretched Crown Vic is that more cities are demanding fixed partitions between driver and passengers for safety reasons.

"The City of New York, for example, is considering mandating partitioned cabs," Ford spokesman Miles Johnson said.

Ford expects to produce 3,000 copies for 2002 just for the cab and livery trade and not your walk-in-off-the-street consumer, unless the consumer plans to use a meter when taking the spouse to the grocery store.

Ford says it "has no plans" to use the stretched Crown Vic platform for any other vehicle derivative.