Pondering ownership and membership after 8 yrs

[MERCMAN]

In 2003 I purchased the MM because I loved the way it looked sitting at the dealer and how it sounded when I fired her up and drove her. I signed up on MM.net about a month before I purchased it.

8 years later I look back and wonder,,had I not found MM.net, would I still have this car? I believe that my answer would be an emphatic NO. I just know that this car would have been traded in a few years ago with high miles and no regrets. Thanks to this site, I found out just how special this car is and how much MORE special the people are. I am sure that a great number of people here are still amazed at how this site has brought people from all walks of life together.

Without MM.net, I am sure that I would have just considered my car as a hopped up GM. I would have never gotten the full potential of performance from the 4.6 and I would not have become somewhat of a "gearhead" This car would have just become another in a long line of Fords stretching back over 30 yrs,, transportation only,,somewhat "disposable" and always happy to upgrade.

Miles and smiles, meet and greets, bourbon and burnouts, birthdays, weddings, LCR, Maraudervilles and dragstrips. Friendships forged, friends that have passed, and friends I have not yet met. Lived through the "darkside", the sale of the site to new owners, the loss of some members who left and never returned. Thanks to the members and vendors who contribute their money, products and time to help us maintain the best MM site in the world

[CBT]

Well said, big daddy. :beer:

[Mr. Man]

:eek:Jeez!!! Dan I thought you were thinking of bowing out. I agree with you 100%. This site has acquainted Ms.D and I with so many new friends some of who will probably become life long relationships even w/o the MM. Looking forward to seeing you and the Mrs at Hershey this Fall if not somewhere else sooner.:)

[Da Dark Jedi]

I was thinking the same thing... You put it all into words.

[Rockettman]

So many have helped me over my time with my Marauder; I have not actually met anyone face-to-face; yet people on here are so eager to help out another member.

I too, would have not known the significance(sp) of these cars, if not for this site.

It's so great to know that people like you all, are out there.
:beer: to all of you!!

[SC Cheesehead]

True that! :up:

However, I hold you and MercMa'am personally responsible for my introduction to the other MM (Makers Mark), and the consequences thereof.;)

Hey, speaking of MM, I got my barrel :woohoo:
http://www.makersmark.com/Images/BarrelImages/803104_1100.jpg

(Sorry for the thread hijack)... :o

[Flynlow]

I must agree with Mercman ! I am a recent member but I have been lurking MM.net for over a year.

I am a huge fan of Ford Panthers, currently own a 2004 CV and is my third CV I have owned. I have loved the MM since it first debuted in the show circuit. In another month my CV will FINALLY be paid off and I am going to start my save and search for a MM finally !!!

I get alot of ***** from friends cuz I am "young and single" and drive a full size instead of a little sporty car. I have a lead foot and drive my cars like they are meant to be, if I got a little car I would wind up wrapped around a pole or with a list of tix a mile long. The thing I love about Panthers is that cops tend to notice you less. Anyone ever get pulled over doing 65 in a 25 and only get a warning ? I have and attribute alot of it to a full size car, had it been a Mustang I prolly would still not have my liscense back!

This site has informed me soooo much more on what the MM can become and let me see what a tight knit community there is out there for such a fine FoMoCo product ! I have been driving nothing but Fords, full size RWD for over ten years now, and for life !

Thank you for such a great site and look forward to meeting some of ya all someday. Until then, Drive it with Attitude, Own it with Respect !

[RoyLPita]

Dan,
I have to thank you for getting me a great deal on my extended policy through Ed at Tipton Ford (Mercury). I would buy another policy for my next car from him if I didn't live in the state of Florida.

[Cobra25]

Mercman I have to agree with you 100 also. Their have been a few times over the years I though of walking away but the good people & friends I've made here have kept me here. Some really good times I must say & Great memorys too.

[Blackened300a]

This is the longest I ever kept a car and besides my passion for it, this forum and the people I met here are why I plan to keep it for quite a long time.

[DOOM]

Just said the very same thing in another thread! :beer:

[SC Cheesehead]

Just said the very same thing in another thread! :beer:

Yeah, where else can you talk about big, fast cars and short, hot wimmen at the same time? ;)

[MM2004]

My passion for the Marauder began when Dad bought a new 1969 X-100 model off the lot.

Years passed, and finally heard the MM was returning in '03 but with a hefty price tag.

Never thought I would see the day owning one. And it happened in October of '04.

I knew next to nothing about the MM until I joined this site the following month.

Lurked for a very short while and began posting while learning as much as I could about these cars.

Knowing the MM had always been a limited production vehicle, the more I learned, the more I realized just how special these cars really are.

It became more than that after faces and voices were matched with screen names beginning at my first meet at Cruztaker's in Cleveland.

Then in Seymour.

Then in Louisville.

Then Indianapolis.

Because of this, I cannot see ever getting rid of my Marauder.

New members signing up on a regular basis as many are now 3rd. Generation owners and realize early on that MM.net is the
authority when it comes to the '03 and '04 Marauders.

Best damn site on the I-net!

The members of this long running site are the best. Hands down!

Here's to many more miles of smiles...
:beer:

Mike.

[Papillon]

I don't even own a Marauder but the love for the car that I developed after meeting Paul was undeniable. (It's the only reason I keep him around ;) :P Just kiiiidding!!! :D)

I wasn't even an official member of the site but after attending Marauderville last year, meeting everyone and seeing the comradery that everyone had for one another & the car, I was hooked. We hadn't even made it out of the hotel parking lot to head home from Charlotte and I was already running ideas past Paul for MV9.

Now, I find myself logged on all day at work refreshing the screen for unread posts!

I've learned a thing or 2 about cars from the site too. Not to mentinon y'all folks! The people here are awesome!

I look forward to meeting more of you at Carlisle and Marauderville. :beer:

[LeoVampire]

Well said and I totally agree with you!

This site has made the experience of owning my Marauder all that much more pleasurable die to everyone's dedication to making her a better car and known where ever we go with them!

Plus the genuine words and actions by all when help is needed or a kind word needed is always there by all!

Thanks mercurymarauder.net and all the members.

[Ms. Denmark]

Dan, it's like you read my mind when you wrote that....the car and the forum are inseparable in my experience. One enhances the enjoyment of the other. And then there are the people behind the screen.....absolutely incredible! Look at Eric and me...we just spent a chunk of our vacation time with fellow MM.net members (who have become friends) and had a wonderful time enjoying each other and our cars!

[MM03MOK]

I couldn't have said it better, Dan! ♥ Before we became Members here and owners of two Marauders, most of our vacations were taken in the UK and Bermuda - not often, but that's where we went. We never traveled around the Good Old USA.

Now that we have friends across the country, having connected through this website and the love of the Marauder, 80-90% of our vacations are meeting up with our Marauder friends. I'd never been to places like Cleveland, OH; Seymour, Tipton, Muncie or Indy, IN; Jacksonville, FL; St. Louis, MO; Hershey, PA; Louisville, Bowling Green and Horse Cave, KY; Ennis, TX - anywhere in TX, for that matter; London/St. Thomas, ON; Detroit, MI; Charlotte, NC.....

So, OK, we usually fly, but that's fine with us. Cape Cod is a long way away from y'all but we won't let that stand in the way of breaking bread (and drinking booze) together. As Dan said, many smiles across the miles. I look forward to many more gatherings across the country - meeting up with long-time friends and making new friends.

[SC Cheesehead]

I couldn't have said it better, Dan! ♥ Before we became Members here and owners of two Marauders, most of our vacations were taken in the UK and Bermuda - not often, but that's where we went. We never traveled around the Good Old USA.

Now that we have friends across the country, having connected through this website and the love of the Marauder, 80-90% of our vacations are meeting up with our Marauder friends. I'd never been to places like Cleveland, OH; Seymour, Tipton, Muncie or Indy, IN; Jacksonville, FL; St. Louis, MO; Hershey, PA; Louisville, Bowling Green and Horse Cave, KY; Ennis, TX - anywhere in TX, for that matter; London/St. Thomas, ON; Detroit, MI.....

So, OK, we usually fly, but that's fine with us. Cape Cod is a long way away from y'all but we won't let that stand in the way of breaking bread (and drinking booze) together. As Dan said, many smiles across the miles. I look forward to many more gatherings across the country - meeting up with long-time friends and making new friends.

You forgot Charlotte? :confused: ------> :bigcry:------> ;) -------> :D

[Bluerauder]

Picked up my Marauder in October 2003 after pondering the idea for almost 18 months. Finding a blue one was a complete accident. Didn't find the MM.Net site until nearly 4 months later.

My first "leap of faith" was linking up with a couple MM owners (merc and Mad 3-R) in Chantilly with the Northern Virginia Mustang Club in March 2004. This was followed by a cruise up to Philadelphia in April 2004 for Ray's "Support the Troops" cruise. There were 18 Marauders for that one and that was the day I met BigDogJim, Ladyhawke, Haggis, Murader03, MarauderMark and GordonB and others. After that was a series of CAM meets at Big Bat's on Kent Island and more and more Marauder owners like DEFYANT, Mike Poore, Joe Walsh, Steven Soulsby, MyTMerc. Every month the circle continue to expand and more events, Maraudervilles, Carlisles, Louisville, and much much more. DOOM, Brutus, FreddieH, ctrlraven, JET, the_fat_bastid, vkirkend, CRUZTAKER and on-and-on-and-on

This was all a very new experience for me and I would have never dreamed at the time that I bought the car that it would lead to a club, friendships, events all over the country, and obsession with cleaning and waxing the MM. I am not a gearhead and prior to 2003, I probably wasn't much of a car guy either. But I have learned tons of information from the smart and knowledgeable folks here.

Its been a wild ride for nearly 8 years for me too. I enjoy driving the MM as much as I did when I drove it off the lot with 54 miles on the odometer. The Bluerauder is now coming up on 80,700 miles and I am still "tickled" whenever I drive it. I have enjoyed meeting every MM owner and being part of what I consider to be a very unique experience in ownership and friendship associated with the Marauder. It is a great club to belong too and a fun gang just to hang out with. Having a Marauder is good; but the MM.Net makes the total experience a GREAT one.


+100 Dan :up: :up: :up: Awesome, simply awesome.

[MM03MOK]

You forgot Charlotte? :confused: ------> :bigcry:------> ;) -------> :D
Yes, I did forget Charlotte, but I was thinking I'd been to NC (Sanford) to visit family. I will add Charlotte! :D

[Mr. Man]

Now that you know about the Outlets in Tilton I suppose your a regular:lol:

Any good buys on Sunday?

[Bluerauder]

Yes, I did forget Charlotte, but I was thinking I'd been to NC (Sanford) to visit family. I will add Charlotte! :D
.... and Hagerstown, Skyline Drive, Luray, Alexandria and DC (MV5). ;)

[MM03MOK]

.... and Hagerstown, Skyline Drive, Luray, Alexandria and DC (MV5). ;)
OK - adding Skyline Dr., Luray and Hagerstown. Been to DC and Alexandria before. ;)

[PonyUP]

Well said Dan, I was a member on here for a couple of years before I got my Marauder. But with that having been said, I can totally see getting rid of the Marauder..............

When I replace it with another Marauder :D

[Mike]

I remember when I first saw a Marauder not even knowing what it was. I was looking to buy a "06" Mustang GT but thought that if the kids and I went on vacation where was all the luggage gonna fit. So my daughter (I think 10 or 11 y/o at the time) searched the internet till "we" found the right one. Bought my 1st MM which was a black ProCharged one :D. After buying it, drove to the neighborhood car wash and while drying it off, some guy came up to me and introduced himself as Mac :bows: and he said something to the fact of...."nice car ya got there, I've got one too". I looked over and saw his and heard a whine just like mine did :D he popped the hood and was introduced to a Kenny Brown :burnout:. That's how I was not only introduced to MM.net but to Zack as well. Shortly after that I was asked to go on my first KY trip where I met Gary, Gail, Mary, Bob and the list goes on and on and on and on :D Memories and friends for a lifetime!!!!!!!!!!