...My last issue of MM&FF

[Petrograde]

I subscribed to Muscle Mustangs and Fast Fords a year ago. I just received my last issue, and I'm not renewing...here's why:

It's all MM and no FF! Don't get me wrong... I'm a Ford guy, I like Mustangs. If you go back over last 12 issues and count the Marauders,.. you won't see too many. and I have yet to see a Marauder featured.

They may as well just call it Muscle Mustangs.

ok,... end of rant. thanks! :burnout:

[rocknrod]

..........over last 12 issues and count the Marauders,.. you won't see too many. and I have yet to see a Marauder featured........ For as few there are, at least there are some.
How many Supercharged Marauders attend the "Power Tour" ?
Ya have to be where the magazine guys are, to be seen. Just a thought.
But my cars have never been in magazines, not many anyway:D

[blackf0rk]

Well, it IS titled "Muscle Mustangs AND Fast Fords" - the name can be taken two ways. One is that there's a complete mix (most often in this instance it's not), OR That it mainly about mustangs, and then they put "Fast Fords" on there to justify a few other of Fords cars once and a while.

[the fat bastid]

all ford mags are really just mustang mags.
all muscle mags are really just chevy mags.
sad but true...now i'll go back to reading hot chevy...er...hot rod magazine.

[DEFYANT]

I agree. Thats why I do not subscride to any MM&FF anymore. Granted alot of the tech they do can be related to the MM indirectly since the MM and Mach 1s are closely related. Not enoght to make it worth the subscription though.

[Joe Walsh]

all ford mags are really just mustang mags.
all muscle mags are really just chevy mags.
sad but true...now i'll go back to reading hot chevy...er...hot rod magazine.


I here you!

I still like MM&FF.....It beats 'HOT RAG' and 'CHEVY CRAFT'! :D

[martyo]

I feel guilty. My MM&FF and 5.0 Mustangs (MM&FF's sister publication) subscriptions run for like another three years. :D

[Bradley G]

I just subscribed to both,

They were sponsers at World Ford Challenge.I wanted a T-shirt as a souvenier anyway,twenty bucks and I got one year subscription and a shirt.
I was the only late model Marauder there,Amongst nearly five hundered Stangs.
MM& Fast Fords features what/where thier adverti$ing dollar$ are best spent.
Bradley G

[DEFYANT]

More MMs and CVs / CVPIs and they will have more subscribers and more advertisers.

[Shaft333]

I bought an issue for reading on the plane a couple weeks ago. I thought it was a fairly bad magazine.
Too many features of people's cars that had no merit to be in a magazine. "This is Cindy... her boyfriend bought her this hot red 94 Mustang GT after she fell in love with his. Since then she put a spinning air freshener, new fender badges and a red shifter knob...." Oooooh... big frickin' deal. :down:

It is all Mustangs... that's where the money is.

[Bradley G]

Sorry!, not hardly ,One of ten cars Ford has sold in thier entire history has been A Mustang.

I am not saying the Stang is better, Just that in #'s we are small potato$,If only two MM's and four total Panthers, showed at the largest event Ford holds the whole year WFC VIII (1- '63 & 1- '04)That does'nt indicate much interest.
Bradley G

More MMs and CVs / CVPIs and they will have more subscribers and more advertisers.

[twolow]

Sorry!, not hardly ,One of ten cars Ford has sold in thier entire history has been A Mustang.

I am not saying the Stang is better, Just that in #'s we are small potato$,If only two MM's and four total Panthers, showed at the largest event Ford holds the whole year WFC VIII (1- '63 & 1- '04)That does'nt indicate much interest.
Bradley G
Mustang may be 1 in 10 but I bet the % of that car being fixed up with aftermarket parts far outweighs the 9 other Ford cars sold. The minivan isn't going to get headers, the Crown Vic grandpa may at the most add some pin stripes, and the massive amount of trucks Ford sales meet its death in 15-20 years with maybe some mud flaps and a tool box added.

[twolow]

Sorry, I misunderstood your post Bradley...you were agreeing not disagreeing :P

[AzMarauder]

For as few there are, at least there are some.
How many Supercharged Marauders attend the "Power Tour" ?
Ya have to be where the magazine guys are, to be seen. Just a thought.
But my cars have never been in magazines, not many anyway:DI'm with Petrograde on this one ! When this subscription runs out.... I will be letting mine go.

As far as being where the car guys are.... if the won't a diversified magazine... the could reach out a bit... Yeah, I know, they have something they think everyone wants (to be featured) but ... if they wanted to REALLY cover the scene, they'd be surfing the web trying to find US and seeing if they could come to the MVIII. Come to think of it.... why doesn't someone INVITE THEM to MVIII. They could cover the Woodward Scene.... but specifically the MVIII !

Hey... wait.... I think this qualifies as an EYE- DEE- UH !

:eek:

[AzMarauder]

I agree. Thats why I do not subscride to any MM&FF anymore. Granted alot of the tech they do can be related to the MM indirectly since the MM and Mach 1s are closely related. Not enoght to make it worth the subscription though.
Well.... even tho I agree ... and plan to drop mine.... Lidio DID get a bit of coverage... albeit for his Mach One !

[Svashtar]

It's like with the gun mags. I subscribe to Guns, Guns & Ammo, Shooting Times, American Handgunner and Gun Tests, and get American Rifleman for free. On the regular slick mags, how many times do you see a 1911 on the cover? Why? Because .45's sell. The last Guns I read had something different, a 1911 in .38 Super by Les Baer for $2200!

They give folks what they want, cars or guns. Big bore revolver and MM guys take the back seat. :)

Norm

[marauder307]

Y'know...seeing this thread has reminded me of my own efforts to get the word out in print. What follows are a couple of emails I sent downrange some months ago now.

This first one went to Steve Turner at "5.0 & Super Fords" magazine, on or about December 20th, 2004. Follow along, if you will...

"To Steve Turner,

I richly enjoy reading your publication, but I feel obliged to point out something: You guys are lacking in information/articles on the 2003-04 Mercury Marauders! While I'll admit that these cars aren't exactly plentiful in number, and in fact have gotten a pretty nasty rap in the automotive press, there are still a fair amount of us out there who own/drive/race/and otherwise use them.

I would like to make you an offer: As a dedicated Marauder owner of nearly two years now (since February '03), I've had ample opportunity to "feel out" the car and experience it in its entirety, from good to bad. I would volunteer to write up a review, based on my experiences, and submit it for publication as the definitive article on what is arguably the best "bastard" that F-L-M has ever put out. This article would include a road test and a quick-and-dirty review of the various shops associated with tuning Marauders, as well as a small number of photos.

I have at least some writing experience, as I've had to produce produce professional research papers at the Master's level for a graduate degree. I would be more than willing to adhere to whatever conditions you may stipulate for this article, and (just so we're clear on this) the article would be written without financial remuneration in mind (read that: I'd do it for free---just so the public would get the information).

Thank you! I hope we work together on this!"


The reply came back, "blah, blah, blah, yeah I know the title says 'Super Fords' but we're really just a Mustang mag, blah, blah, blah, why don't you try over at 'Muscle Mustang and Fast Fords'?, blah, blah, blah...." and so on.

So I did. This email went to Jim Campisano at MM & FF on or about Jan. 11th of this year:

"To Jim Campisano,

I've been referred to you by Steve Turner, at your sister publication "5.0 Mustangs and Super Fords". I richly enjoy reading your publication, but I feel obliged to point out something: You guys are lacking in information/articles on the 2003-04 Mercury Marauders! While I'll admit that these cars aren't exactly plentiful in number, and in fact have gotten a pretty nasty rap in the automotive press, there are still a fair amount of us out there who own/drive/race/and otherwise use them.

I would like to make you an offer: As a dedicated Marauder owner of nearly two years now (since February '03), I've had ample opportunity to
"feel out" the car and experience it in its entirety, from good to bad. I would volunteer to write up a review, based on my experiences, and submit it
for publication as the definitive article on what is arguably the best "bastard" that F-L-M has ever put out. This article would include a road
test and a quick-and-dirty review of the various shops associated with tuning Marauders, as well as a small number of photos.

I have at least some writing experience, as I've had to produce produce professional research papers at the Master's level for a graduate
degree. I would be more than willing to adhere to whatever conditions you may stipulate for this article, and (just so we're clear on this) the
article would be written without financial remuneration in mind (read that: I'd do it for free---just so the public would get the information).

Thank you! I hope we work together on this!"

Never got an answer at all. *******s... :shake:

F-L-M wants this car dead and buried. Period. No help, no acknowledgement, no warranty work, nothing. The few of us who have been able to actually get help on some matters (like myself, just for starters) are still facing massive uphill battles on the major work (valvetrains that rattle worse than a PowerStroke diesel, paint jobs that are steadily sloughing off the sheetmetal, transmissions that maybe work and more often don't, differentials that grind up their own bearing races, etc.).

I'm too far invested on this car to be able to unload it...and I tend to run hot and cold on the subject of unloading it. I look over at the Chargers (which turned out better than I thought), at the Pontiac GXP line (of which there are 2---the B-ville GXP and soon the Grand Prix GXP---and the B-Ville's been cancelled), and I wonder if the grass really ain't greener...of course, then I eat up a SRT-4 that got too ornery, and feel better for awhile...until my @#$!# valves start rattling again, and I see all the swirls/chips/dings in my worthless paint, and aaaaaAAAAARRRRRRGGGGHHHHHHH!!! !!!!!!!!!!!! :mad2: :mad2: :mad2: :banghead: :banghead: :banghead: And I still owe $24k plus on this thing....!

[MENINBLK]

I send my money to the "Tuner Transformation" guys....
At least they sent me a T-Shirt and a really cool set of Decals.

Now I'm waiting for them to roll up and want to customize my Marauder...

[metroplex]

Most of these "tuner" magazines are just overpriced collection of advertisements. It's like subscribing to Shotgun News... wtf. you pay to have ads sent to your house?

I find that most of the info I need or want regarding car modifications can be found online for free and information should be kept in that manner - freely accessible to a certain extent (proprietary info should, obviously, be kept secure) to help everyone.

[Shaft333]

Reality is... can you really expect to find a better article on a Marauder than what you can on this forum?
Seriously.

Yeah the internet might not have the clout of a published magazine (just ask my service manager what he thinks of this site :rolleyes:) but just about every word is written by an owner based on their experience. And, here's the good part, you have several other owners that will back the post up, or call them a fraud.

All with minimal advertising!

All we really need is a couple of good photogs to up the ante on our picture taking skills - and post a LOT more of them. :D

[mrjones]

They were sponsers at World Ford Challenge.I wanted a T-shirt as a souvenier anyway,twenty bucks and I got one year subscription and a shirt.


That's the only time that I've subscribed to MM&FF. I'm a cheap bastwich, and they don't have deeply discounted subscription rates like most mags. I've found a site where you can get a lot of subscriptions for $5/yr, and those are about the only ones I get a sub for.

[Bluerauder]

Y'know...seeing this thread has reminded me of my own efforts to get the word out in print. What follows are a couple of emails I sent downrange some months ago now.

This first one went to Steve Turner at "5.0 & Super Fords" magazine, on or about December 20th, 2004. Follow along, if you will...
I understand what you were trying to do. :D However, upon reading both letters, the editors may have gotten the impression that you were interviewing for a job as a car writer/reviewer. :rolleyes: Your desire to do the article yourself rather than offer to have one of their staff do it may have been interpreted incorrectly. :dunno: That may explain the no response and the curt reply. :( Just my :twocents: IMHO.