2003 Marauder

[bnvus]

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?

[Lizard King]

I think thats the look they're going for. A spoiler would look out of place.

[MercCougarXR7]

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]

Just saw the preview on http://www.mercuryvehicles.com/
SCHweet!

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

[castorall]

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]

Argh, a convertible!??!! What a complete lack of structural rigidity. Oh, the horror

[castorall]

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]

very interesting, any more images of the marauder'?

[TcobrA]

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]

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]

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]

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]

well, just as we thought!! this car did not sell. soon to be in some cabbie fleet somewhere

[450HPviper]

A six speed would be nice. It would match the engine nicely.

[thehemi]

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.