hemmings article

[buckyboy]

just read the compartive article between the imp ss and the merc mm..they tore the merc apart. The only thing they seemed to like better was the interior! Real indepth article, was nice to see so much attention given, but wasnt thrilled with the substance! oh well!:)

[Scott Leininger]

What majazine was it in?


just read the compartive article between the imp ss and the merc mm..they tore the merc apart. The only thing they seemed to like better was the interior! Real indepth article, was nice to see so much attention given, but wasnt thrilled with the substance! oh well!:)

[Dr Caleb]

When someone writes an article like that who actually owns the vehicle as a daily driver, as opposed to gets use of the vehicle for a couple hours, then I'll pay attention.

[Tallboy]

the article was in hemmings muscle machines. this is a duplicate thread.

[TripleTransAm]

It really peeves me when folks 'evaluate' a car without knowing anything about it. Actually, it peeves me when folks pass judgment on anything without taking the time to properly soak something in... in this case, based on what's been said, it almost seems like they based themselves on reprints from other car magazines (and possibly even coloured it with personal brand preference!).

[PAPAJOHN]

It really peeves me when folks 'evaluate' a car without knowing anything about it. Actually, it peeves me when folks pass judgment on anything without taking the time to properly soak something in... in this case, based on what's been said, it almost seems like they based themselves on reprints from other car magazines (and possibly even coloured it with personal brand preference!).
Te government liks us ---- 2004 Marauder 5 stars across the board for safety!
www.safercar.gov

[Bluerauder]

Te government liks us ---- 2004 Marauder 5 stars across the board for safety!
www.safercar.gov
Same for the 2003 Marauder except they didn't test the side ratings.

[Silver_04]

Hemmings it teh loser!

("the" misspelled on purpose...internet joke)

[423REED]

just read the compartive article between the imp ss and the merc mm..they tore the merc apart. The only thing they seemed to like better was the interior! Real indepth article, was nice to see so much attention given, but wasnt thrilled with the substance! oh well!:) The reason that I held off buying my '04 DTR MM, was all of the negative press that I was continuously bombarded with. I fell in love with the MM when I first saw it at the Chicago Auto Show several years ago. Now that I drive my own '04 MM, I don't understand what these auto test writers are talking about. Its like they aren't testing the same car that I own and drive. Its almost like a conspiracy to kill off the MM!

My '04 MM drives and handles great, and it also rides very comfortably (although probably not as cushy as a GM), considering it really is a 100% performance car. The interior is great (yes I like the comfortable leather seating a lot), and it has all of the luxury goodies that we all like to have today. If you take the time to research and read the specs on the MM, you'll find that all of the right parts are in this baby...with no obvious compromises.

The V8 engine (obviously), the brakes, chassis, suspension, wheels and tires, dual exhaust, automatic transission, rear differential, etc. Its all here. I also can't get over how well the B.F Goodrich tires and wheels perform. They're magnificent. In the past I've owned Michelin X and TRX's, Goodyear GT+4 and Gatorbacks's, etc., but these tires are really great. The only downside of course will be the tire wear. But that's to be expected, considering their all-around performance.

F-LM can at least be proud of the final car (extra power or quality issues of some owners not withstanding). Its not a paint and stickers "performance" car like in the past. It really is the "real deal".

I've hardly ever read anything decent about the MM from the motoring press. I've owned cars that matched their press coverage, for better or worse. But the MM is not like those cars, it does not even vaguely resemble the descriptions these people write about. Sometimes I wonder if they've even driven the MM! This definitely is an "ask the man who owns one" car, to steal a line from the famous Packard ads. I've owned other performance cars, such as an '94 Taurus SHO, '87 Mustang GT conv., '88 Thunderbird Turbo Coupe, '84 Mustang 5.0LX conv., just to name a few. But this MM is absolutely the best performance car I've ever owned, for numerous reasons, such as it just does everything so well! Why can't the magazine people see this value in the MM like we do? Have they all got mass myopia!

For example, I have a friend who has a '96 Impala SS. He said he couldn't get over what a great car the MM is! Can you believe that, from a Chevy guy? All I get is positive comments from all my friends, family and co-workers. They all have that "I would die to own this car" look on their faces. One guy at work stopped talking cars with me after he saw the MM. I think he's just so jealous of me owning the MM. Everyone respects our MM's, except for the motoring press. I sometimes wonder if Mercury forgot to entertain these dipsticks enough to get their collective attention.


__________________________
1994 TAURUS SHO (62K MILES)
2004 MARAUDER DTR (WITH ALL OPTIONS)

[duhtroll]

Magazines - all of them - cater to those who buy advertising space in them. It's how the marketing world goes around.

The only way to avoid "spin" for anything you choose to buy (or buy into, meaning any product, politics, whatever) is to evaluate it for yourself. People that believe only what they read deserve what they get.

'Nuff said.

-A

[buckyboy]

well said:up:
The reason that I held off buying my '04 DTR MM, was all of the negative press I was continuously bombarded with. I fell in love with the MM when I first saw it at the Chicago Auto Show several years. Now that I drive my own MM, I don't understand what these auto test writers are talking about. Its like they aren't testing the same car. Its like a conspiracy to kill the MM!

My '04 MM drives and handles great, and rides very comfortably, considering it really is a 100% performance car. The interior is great (yes I like the seating alot). it has all of the luxury goodies we all like today. If you read the specs on the MM you'll find all of the right parts in this baby...no compromises. F-LM can at least be proud of the final car (extra power or quality issues of some owners not withstanding). Its not a paint and stickers "performance" car. Its the real deal. I hardly ever read anything decent from the motoring press. I've owned cars that matched their press. But the MM does not even vaguely resemble the descriptions these people write. Sometimes I wonder if they've even driven the car! This definitely is a "ask the man who owns one" car. I've owned an '87 Mustang GT, '88 Thunderbird Turbo Coupe, '84 Mustang 5.0LX just to name a few. But this MM is the absolute best car I've ever owned for numerous reasons. Why can't the magazines see the value of the MM like we do?


__________________________
1994 TAURUS SHO (62K MILES)
2004 MM DTR (WITH ALL OPTIONS)

[GordonB]

Hi,
That's why we bought 2 MMs! We liked the first one well enough that the second one was a `no brainer'. Mrs GordonB (Joan) actually suggested the idea of buying another one! Now, I'm busy outfitting the second one the same as the first one!!!
GordonB :rock: :coolman: :banana: :beer:

[TripleTransAm]

The only way to avoid "spin" for anything you choose to buy (or buy into, meaning any product, politics, whatever) is to evaluate it for yourself. People that believe only what they read deserve what they get.


Very well said. Lemmings be damned...

[423REED]

Magazines - all of them - cater to those who buy advertising space in them. It's how the marketing world goes around.

The only way to avoid "spin" for anything you choose to buy (or buy into, meaning any product, politics, whatever) is to evaluate it for yourself. People that believe only what they read deserve what they get.

'Nuff said.

-A I know what you mean. When I heard that the production of the MM's was going to end on June 25th '04, I got my butt in gear and went to the dealer that showed the exact MM that I wanted, in stock, on the internet. When I actually took a test drive, I was in love! I bought my MM. My MM was $ 36,680 list. But between the discount on the sticker and all of the factory incentives, I got $ 8,600+ off the sticker, which just sweetened the deal even more. While I've owned many Ford cars, I had never owned a Mercury. I've found my dealer, Elmhurst Lincoln-Mercury to be a really great dealer. Where were they all my life!

The moral, as you so correctly stated it...is to always look it over in person, sit in the car, and by all means do take a test drive to decide for yourself. Never listen only to the "press" or your friends and family. Buy the car that you truly love! A great car is like a great marriage...always marry for love. In this instance I learned the lesson that they were all wrong. None of them got it right at all.
_____________________________
1994 TAURUS SHO (62K MILES)
2004 MARAUDER DTR (LOADED)

[jerrym3]

People are funny.

While they may look at your (and my) car and give you all kinds of "atta boys" and "cool" praises, that doesn't mean that they are going to run out and buy one.

The guy in my gas station loves my 94 TBird, but he doesn't want to buy it.

I know this from personal experience. My Thunderbird draws a crowd, but there are Thunderbirds sitting on dealer's lots everywhere with huge discounts. (During my test drive last year, an attractive blonde riding shotgun in a Porche was twisting and turning all around to get a better look at the car.)

And, if the Thunderbird had been a sales success, Ford certainly would not have pulled the plug.

So, I take all those looks of admiration and jealousy with a grain of salt.

Anyway, it doesn't matter. I love the car.

[TripleTransAm]

The sad part about having a rare automobile such as the Marauder is that it's hard to enjoy get-togethers if there aren't many around. With more cars around, you get a better sampling of folks to choose from, and a greater chance of finding someone as enthusiastic about the automobile as you are.

Example: leaving work yesterday, merging onto the highway, I heard the familiar exhaust note. There is something specific about the Marauder's exhaust note that is unique among all the 4.6l DOHC cars I've heard... it caught my attention RIGHT away. Sure enough, another black Marauder, with a plate number I didn't recognize, that passed me on the slower lane as I was slowly merging left to the somewhat quicker lanes (we were pretty much dealing with stop and go highway traffic).

So I figured: he MUST have seen me! I saw him merge ahead, so I made my way as left-ward as I could, to gain ground on him and hopefully come up alongside him. Eventually I was in the leftmost lane which was now moving a bit nicer, and spotted him in the lane just to the right of mine. As I came up alongside him, he began creeping aggressively into my lane, but I was unable to give him enough room before passing alongside him, just as the lanes were slowing again.

As we passed, my wife waved (as best as she could through our 20% tint). It was an older gentleman, looked like he was in a suit, looked somewhat annoyed when I honked as I passed with my wife waving. No sign of any sort of recognition that we were driving identical-looking cars. He got into my lane behind me, so I figured he MUST be able to see the Marauder lettering on my bumper, no matter how "NOT" a car guy he could be! He fell behind... no sign of wanting to set up an impromptu caravan as we began to pick up speed on the highway.

I lost him within another 2 minutes.

Hence my hope that this car would sell better... giving me a greater chance of hooking up with a local enthusiast.

[423REED]

just read the compartive article between the imp ss and the merc mm..they tore the merc apart. The only thing they seemed to like better was the interior! Real indepth article, was nice to see so much attention given, but wasnt thrilled with the substance! oh well!:)Well, I finally got my hands on a copy of the Muscle Car addition of Hemmings, which has the article comparing the Impala SS to the Marauder.

First, why do they think its ok to compare an SS with a modified suspension (IAS Edelbrock shocks, H&R springs, lowered 1/2" to 1") with the '04 MM with its high-performance stock suspension? They said the two cars handled about even. Does that mean that the '04 MM would be much better when compared to the true stock Impala SS suspension? I think so, Daaaaa! If the suspension has been modified, then wouldn't the V8 engine be suspected of some sort of performance mods? I think its a possibility, regardless of what the owner would say. You read about modified Impala SS's all the time. It's very popular to add engine mods, many of which are not always visible to the eye. The SS also has an Edelbrock dual exhaust system installed. They say that the SS has a 3.08:1 rear gears. But isn't it also possible that the owner had put in a new differential ratio? Would the modified suspension of the SS allow a quicker launch from standing still? Would the modified exhaust sytem of the SS allow a quicker launch from standing still? Maybe or maybe not. When you modify one area of a car, everything then would come under suspicion in my mind.

Look, I personally have no animosity toward Chevrolet or their SS cars and owners. I think they're great and cool looking cars. I've owned Chevrolets, such as Corvairs (3), a Nova (1), a Caprice (1), and a Vega (1), etc. The Chevy owners just always seem to want to bash Ford's and now Mercury's performance products. And I have read many of their write-ups on their Chevy and SS forums and in the Chevy performance car magazines. As a result, I wouldn't put it past one of them to put a ringer in if they thought that they could get away with it.

Second, the writer is obviously biased in favor of the SS. Its in his biased tone, as he describes the SS, and then he tells us all about the inferiority and lack of style of the '04 MM, by comparison. The MM is not, not, not a Grand Marquis. There are so many modifications to that body, that it is really unfair to constantly be making that comparison. I think the only reason for their continous comparisons to the Grand Marquis is because they think the GM is an inferior car, and this comparison allows them to belittle the Marauders. I never think of the Impala SS as just a Caprice. The Impala SS is a highly modified, beautiful performance car! I don't think of the Impala SS as just a glorified Caprice!

Then at the end of the article he gives the Marauder one more death slap by showing there was only a 800+ production run, thus making it appear that no one wanted to even buy one! There is no excuse for a mistake this glaring. He didn't really take the time to research the correct production numbers of the '03 MM and '04 MM, which is about 11,000 cars. While that number still falls short of Mercury's original plans, it is still a number that's worth respecting.

I'm thinking of writing a letter to Hemmings myself, and sending them a several page copy of a listing I've compiled, that shows all of the many modifications which Mercury's engineers performed in order to create the Marauder, as the excellent performance car that it is. I'll also send them the production figures too, and I'm going to ask them to print a correction in a future issue. I think all subscribers who own or appreciate the Marauders should write to them and complain also.
____________________________
1994 TAURUS SHO - DK GREEN
2004 MARAUDER - DTR

[M Stickler]

just read the compartive article between the imp ss and the merc mm..they tore the merc apart. The only thing they seemed to like better was the interior! Real indepth article, was nice to see so much attention given, but wasnt thrilled with the substance! oh well!:)

Having owned both of these machines, and having put many miles on them 98000 on the SS and 25000 on the MM, I feel that, I have a unique perspective. The Impala SS is a great machine and I enjoyed every mile that I drove it...however the MM is a bit better in every aspect that is important to me. Almost all of my driving is highway, so I look for creature comforts, passing capability, handling in all weather conditions and overall performance. What really matters is what you think about your ride. My MM is a gas to drive, and I plan to drive it until the wheels are to small to turn.

[423REED]

Having owned both of these machines, and having put many miles on them 98000 on the SS and 25000 on the MM, I feel that, I have a unique perspective. The Impala SS is a great machine and I enjoyed every mile that I drove it...however the MM is a bit better in every aspect that is important to me. Almost all of my driving is highway, so I look for creature comforts, passing capability, handling in all weather conditions and overall performance. What really matters is what you think about your ride. My MM is a gas to drive, and I plan to drive it until the wheels are to small to turn.VERY WELL SAID! MY FEELINGS EXACTLY.
__________________________
1994 TAURUS SHO - DK GREEN
2004 MARAUDER - DTR