Paul T. Casey
10-10-2005, 11:13 AM
Well it's raining here in New England, going to stay that way for the entire week, which means a final trip to Epping is out for me, so, I figured I'd take a little time and "grade" my Marauder after the first 100K miles.
First, the bad stuff. I'm not pleased wih the paint. I figured after a hundred or so years, the folks at FoMoCo would be able to get black right. It seems overall thin, I have some runs, and I have some "misses" (read that holidays for anyone who knows about coatings). This is somewhat minor to me, it's not as bad as some I've seen, and with hard work and diligence, I can make it look acceptable. Next, the stupid fake oil gague. While some here have put a real one in, I have not. Stupid to keep delaying this, but it slips my mind from time to time. But, with a $35K+ sticker, one would think you'd get a real gague. Lastly, and my biggest concern, this thing is a sponge. I lkes to hold water in many places. I'm not talking about the deluge that comes in when it's raining and I open the window either. I realize that is aerodynamics, and I could cure it with some ugly visor/shield type things (ugly IMHO only, no flame intneded for those who have installed them. What I'm talking about here is the water that collects in the trunk area (poor drainage planning), the doors, the mirrors, on top of the fan shroud, the areas on the inside of the front of the rear fenders where mud builds up. All these areas are prone to corrosion, and require a lot of attention to assure the car doesn't start to body rot here. Just more work that I shouldn't have to go through on a car with this price.
Now the good. It looks good. When all shined up at dusk, it is about the prettiest thing to come out of Detroit, Japan, Europe, anywhere in quite a while. I used to like the Impalas, but this is better. It turns heads. As far as performance, IMHO it was good not great right out of the box. With just modest mods, (a good tune and u/d's) it walked anything from the average GT Mustang on down. I've amassed more than 200 time slips, and it beats a lot of stuff that people think is fast. Couple this with a somewhat sleeper look, it's a blast. I love it when at a test and tune night some ricer or GT guy goes through the trouble to line up against me, only to see my taillights 1302 ft later. It's good on the second half of the track, which to me is sweeter, love to run them down. Mechanically, it still seems pretty sound. My only "non-self induced" problems were with the radio. I've run it fairly hard (200 timeslips, stop light antics, burnouts across America, etc.) and it's stronger than ever. I'm a big fan of body on frame construction, and large size. I can pack for a 3 month trip for work for me and my wife and still be comfortable enough to drive for the whole tank of gas without having to stop and rest. That brings me to fuel economy. I averaged 26.8 mpg on my trip back from Illinois last week. My best tank was over 28 mpg. I get 20 plus around town. To me, great numbers for a two ton performance luxury sedan.
Now the best. Being a Mercury Marauder owner, I've had the opportunity to meet some of the best people in the world. No matter where I go, and it's a lot of places, I've never met a fellow MM'er who is less than a friend. I'll clarify the met part by including the ones who I've only met on-line. If it weren't for the car, I would have missed on the aquaintence of each and everyone here. We used to say smiles instead of miles. I've got to believe that I'm getting at least 10 smiles per mile. Thanks to Steve Babcock, Elena Ford, and mostly to the folks here! See all of you on the road someday. :2thumbs:
First, the bad stuff. I'm not pleased wih the paint. I figured after a hundred or so years, the folks at FoMoCo would be able to get black right. It seems overall thin, I have some runs, and I have some "misses" (read that holidays for anyone who knows about coatings). This is somewhat minor to me, it's not as bad as some I've seen, and with hard work and diligence, I can make it look acceptable. Next, the stupid fake oil gague. While some here have put a real one in, I have not. Stupid to keep delaying this, but it slips my mind from time to time. But, with a $35K+ sticker, one would think you'd get a real gague. Lastly, and my biggest concern, this thing is a sponge. I lkes to hold water in many places. I'm not talking about the deluge that comes in when it's raining and I open the window either. I realize that is aerodynamics, and I could cure it with some ugly visor/shield type things (ugly IMHO only, no flame intneded for those who have installed them. What I'm talking about here is the water that collects in the trunk area (poor drainage planning), the doors, the mirrors, on top of the fan shroud, the areas on the inside of the front of the rear fenders where mud builds up. All these areas are prone to corrosion, and require a lot of attention to assure the car doesn't start to body rot here. Just more work that I shouldn't have to go through on a car with this price.
Now the good. It looks good. When all shined up at dusk, it is about the prettiest thing to come out of Detroit, Japan, Europe, anywhere in quite a while. I used to like the Impalas, but this is better. It turns heads. As far as performance, IMHO it was good not great right out of the box. With just modest mods, (a good tune and u/d's) it walked anything from the average GT Mustang on down. I've amassed more than 200 time slips, and it beats a lot of stuff that people think is fast. Couple this with a somewhat sleeper look, it's a blast. I love it when at a test and tune night some ricer or GT guy goes through the trouble to line up against me, only to see my taillights 1302 ft later. It's good on the second half of the track, which to me is sweeter, love to run them down. Mechanically, it still seems pretty sound. My only "non-self induced" problems were with the radio. I've run it fairly hard (200 timeslips, stop light antics, burnouts across America, etc.) and it's stronger than ever. I'm a big fan of body on frame construction, and large size. I can pack for a 3 month trip for work for me and my wife and still be comfortable enough to drive for the whole tank of gas without having to stop and rest. That brings me to fuel economy. I averaged 26.8 mpg on my trip back from Illinois last week. My best tank was over 28 mpg. I get 20 plus around town. To me, great numbers for a two ton performance luxury sedan.
Now the best. Being a Mercury Marauder owner, I've had the opportunity to meet some of the best people in the world. No matter where I go, and it's a lot of places, I've never met a fellow MM'er who is less than a friend. I'll clarify the met part by including the ones who I've only met on-line. If it weren't for the car, I would have missed on the aquaintence of each and everyone here. We used to say smiles instead of miles. I've got to believe that I'm getting at least 10 smiles per mile. Thanks to Steve Babcock, Elena Ford, and mostly to the folks here! See all of you on the road someday. :2thumbs: