Is that true an Asian exchange student might get harassed for driving a Crown Victoria?

I'm a student in British Columbia here. Just wanted to buy a dirty cheap first car. I knew most of cabs are Jetta in China; they were cheap to fix and reliable. So i used the same logic and researched that most of cabs here are Ford Crown Victoria. Usually retired police cruisers. They had some excellent reviews too. So i went to a few used car dealerships. The car salesman told me an foreigner SHOULD not drive a police cruiser. The cops might intentionally pull over me for being a wannabe. The other car dealer said he had never seen a SINGLE ASIAN IN HIS LIFE driving a Crown Victoria. Why did I sense they were joking or lying? Both of them asked me to look for a BMW or "at least Honda Civic". What's so wrong about an Asian driving a Ford? Is that very offensive?

Added (1). did I miss some culture clues here? What did I do or say wrong?

The salesman is trying to switch you to a more profitable car.

They were both trying to steer you a car they will make more profit on. Police do pull over Crown Vics not looking for wannabes - looking for impersonators who pull people over, then rob them. Used police Crown Vics are designed to get 500k miles. Hoses outlast engine. Oversized radiators for great heating/cooling. Go For It! Just NOT with these Dbags Your biggest expense will be tires Have them filled with Nitrogen - Not Air. Will reduce wear and blowouts sidewall

The fact that you had to deal with this is inexcusable. Maybe that car dealer never has seen an Asian drive a Crown Vic, but nobody ever saw an African American ride in the front of the bus until Rosa Parks. There's a first for everything, and you should not let small minds stop you from doing what you want. In fact, I believe that the dealer was playing on what he believed to be an Asian's sense of propriety in order to steer you toward a more expensive car.

Used car salesmen didn't get their jobs for their high intelligence levels. How do you tell when a used cars salesman is lying? Answer: His lips are moving.

Since Crown Vics are getting older and cheaper now, the sales idiot was simply wanting a more profitable sale, and obviously didn't have much respect for Asians.

Sure