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2003 Marauder


bnvus
08-24-2001, 12:40 PM
So...has anyone seen Mercury's new kid on the block?

I would likw to make the following suggestions to Mercury concerning the production of the new Marauder;

1. NEED A REAR SPOILER!

2. Offer a SIX SPEED!

3. Liven up the front end bumper cover...it still looks like an old man car

4. Do something better with the instument panel.

The car has potential...make it REALLY stick out. 300 horses is nothing to sneeze at, so lets make it look aggressive.

After all...who wants to be compared to an Impala SS?


:devil:

Lizard King
08-24-2001, 02:16 PM
I think thats the look they're going for. A spoiler would look out of place.

MercCougarXR7
09-09-2001, 04:00 PM
Well, the Marauder that is coming to production will have tiny fogs in the corner of the bumper. Have you guys seen the 'CobraVic' from that racing school? THe guy took a Cobra R bumber, chopped i in the middle, stretched it and put that on a Vic. Looks real good. I'd like to see a 6 speed, but thats very unrealistic. And, Spoilers do exactly that - spoil the clean lines of a nice car. I think the Marauder would be best to come out with room for improvement, so aftermarket tuners can work their magic :).

TriStateGuy
01-30-2002, 12:08 AM
Just saw the preview on http://www.mercuryvehicles.com/
SCHweet! :D

Just ditch that 4 speed auto tranny and I'm good to go. Should be good competition against the BMW 540/740

castorall
08-10-2002, 02:41 PM
mercurys gonna come out with a convertible marauder. my friend brought back pics from the mercury show in michigan a little while ago. the convertible looks really awesome. its kinda of like the thuinderbird, but its bigger and has the same marauder engine, not a 3.9 v8. nothing looks out of place, all body lines are perfect. and i think it will have a manual option. of those choices, i definately voted for 6 speed. all performance or muscle cars should at least have the option.

Chris
09-21-2002, 10:58 PM
Argh, a convertible!??!! What a complete lack of structural rigidity. Oh, the horror:eek:

castorall
09-23-2002, 07:17 PM
if mercury does decide to make the convertible, its supposed to be supercharged too. mercury isnt doin too good financially so they might not even dcome out with the convertible.
2 weeks ago, the local mercury dealer lent out my friends dad (the president of the mercury club) 2 brand new marauders and a 1968 cougar xr7 with a 390 ci v8. thats three cars in all and only 2 people to drive them to the car show to put them on show at the speedway, so i got to drive all the cars (im only 16 too). the marauders are baadddddd i tell you that. theyre so smooth and fast as hell. they handle really well through any curve at high speeds. good brakes too. the interior is the most comfortable car i have ever been in. i could drive for months without stoppin cuz my ass is asleep.
when you open up the throttle, that car moves, it throws your whole body into the seat pretty rough. the exhaust is perfectly tuned to where it unnoticable at idle, and where you cant hear yourself think at wide-open-throttle.
anyway, when the weekend was over we had to take back our marauders to the dealership, and our fun was over.

Euro19
09-24-2002, 09:36 AM
very interesting, any more images of the marauder'? :rolleyes:

TcobrA
11-20-2002, 07:55 AM
First off, my 62 year old mother just bought one....
If you're going to make a muscle car, give it some muscle!

1. Free up the intake flow. Flows like it has athsma!
2. Bigger exhaust
3. Better internals (rods and crank from '03 Cobra)
4. Chip it -- make it more agressive
5. A better AOD with higher shift points or a T-5 or T-56
6. Drop it at least 1"
7. Bigger rubber
8. Big suspension upgrade.

This car could compete with an M5 if and only if it is given a full helping of testosterone!
As it stands today, it's a Grand Marqis with a "pepier engine". READ OLDFARTMOBILE! It will spaun a new breed, let's call them oaters (not ricers) that will put AARP, VIAGRA, and RETIRED stickers all over it!

It's a decent car, but it could be soooooo much more!

MercCougarXR7
12-13-2002, 01:22 PM
TCobra - you've hit the nail on the head.

I am a fan of the car, and like most other enthusiasts - KNOW that it needs help/work.

Check out www.mercurymarauder.net for some of the crazy stuff going on with them. I was looking at one, but because of cost, and insurance am settling on a Lincoln LS instead :).

Oh yeah Chris - the Marauder is a FRAMED car, so even without the roof - structural rigidity isn't affected ;).

Michael_S
12-17-2002, 05:05 PM
I had this discussion with a Ford/Mercury fanatic friend of mine. His reasoning is that the Maruader is much faster than your average sedan already but it still offers a very reasonable 17 mpg city / 23 highway.

He figures an enthusiast that wants real performance would get a Marauder, put in the bigger intakes and exhaust and slap a supercharger on it for a 5-5.5 sec 0-60. The drive train, transmission, and engine block are already built to handle that kind of power, so those mods wouldn't cause any unusual wear and tear. That's only a few thousand more dollars of work for probably 100 extra horsepower, amazing performance (and awful gas mileage).

That's exactly what I want to do, in about six years. I should be able to afford a used one by then (still paying off current car and college loans).

TcobrA
12-17-2002, 05:17 PM
It's a nice car BUT most enthusiasts looking at luxury will look at an M5... lots of older codgers out there with $$$ and no time to mod a merc.... THEY SHOULD PUT MORE GO IN AT THE FACTORY -- this segment of the market is FULL!!!

redimpss5
02-22-2003, 03:03 AM
well, just as we thought!! this car did not sell. soon to be in some cabbie fleet somewhere

450HPviper
03-19-2003, 09:06 AM
A six speed would be nice. It would match the engine nicely.

thehemi
05-14-2003, 05:33 PM
It is too bad the market did not react better
to the Marauder. It would be nice to see the
future versions if it was successful, but with
the end in sight, I doubt we'll see the goods.

lovess
10-11-2003, 07:36 PM
So...has anyone seen Mercury's new kid on the block?



After all...who wants to be compared to an Impala SS?


:devil:
Wouldn't be a Marauder if it wasn't for thr Impala SS :nono:

redimpss5
10-12-2003, 02:09 AM
very true! even on the page to say how cool the marauder is, they compared it to the impala ss! ford did very well with the idea, it just missed in a few areas!

daveshapellSVT
02-25-2004, 09:29 AM
i think it's a little late.. they should had made that car to compete with the 96 impala with the LT1 in it.. i personally don't think it will sell well.. normally people that buy lincolns are old and stuff, whats the use of a sporty lincoln...

Michael_S
02-25-2004, 10:44 AM
Well, what's nice about a nice beast of a big car is muscle in something you can actually use to transport groceries, take your family on a trip, or take 4 coworkers with you to lunch in comfort.

The 4.6L DOHC V8 is, in my opinion, the sweetest sounding engine on the road and I would love this car.


Ford made one huge mistake with it, though - they never really advertised it. I don't think I saw a commercial for the Marauder, ever. That's beyond stupid.

If they had advertised it, I am certain it would have sold a lot more. If they had made it available with a 5 or 6 speed auto or a 5 or 6 speed manual, it probably would have sold much better, too. But from what I understand the Panther platform (the foundation for the Crown Vic/Mercury Marquis/Mercury Marauder/Lincold Town Car) would require extensive re-engineering to support anything other than their 4 speed automatic transmission.

423REED
06-15-2004, 10:18 PM
So much thought (and action) obviously went into the MM, that it is very difficut to suggest any truly meaningful improvements or changes to the basic MM formula, other than the oft-mentioned horsepower issue. I'm very happy with my new MM, but If I had to suggest some improvements, they would likely be as follows:

1) Build the MM with the cool rear decklid spoiler installed at the factory (OEM), so that you don't have to drill fresh holes (which can cause rust up north) in the paint after the new car delivery. I personally didn't install the rear spoiler only for this reason, even though I do like it very much.

2) I'm happy with the power and its delivery in my MM. But I would still opt for more power. Maybe 330-340 hp, or installing the new Mustang SVT Cobra engine which is supposed to be 390 hp. More power is always a good thing. And please don't change the engine to an inferior design.

3) I think the dash and instrumentation layout is very good for a car which was developed off another model's basic dash design. Cars like the MM have always had to compromise in the dash design. I would like to see the Auto Meter gauges moved up on the dash into the driver's normal line of sight, so they'll be more usable. But they're still a very cool addition. I'm still amazed that L-M actually thought enough to add them!

4) Please move the CD changer from the trunk into the center console, as is done in the Ford Explorer. And also, please make the CD changer an eight (or more) disc changer.

5) Wheels and tires. Please no changes here, I think they look and perform great.

6) On the exterior, I like the way it looks. That's part of the reason that I bought the MM! I would love to have a ram air hood. But please no tape stripes or emblem packages. Some more color choices would be nice. I think that the Grand Marquis body style is very attractive when it is tricked out with the monochrome paint and blackout treatment, and with no extra emblems. That can't get any better.

7) On the interior, how about a two-position memory driver's seat? I personally like the Light Flint leather trim with the contrasting dark gray dash and door trim.

8) How about offering the MM owners some Ford Motorsport types of things, such as, performance mod parts, accessories, metal cars, clothing, etc.

'97ventureowner
11-06-2007, 01:45 PM
Old outdated thread. Closed.

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