50 years ago today the oldest surviving Mercury Marauder was built. http://homepages.wmich.edu/~dillery/3Z68G516447.html
We don't know exactly when they started building them, but we know that as of this date they were being built.
I bought this car from Ridgeway Motors (15-20 cars on a dirt lot) in Aiea, HI in 1981 for $325. It ran but I had to tow it off the lot. I knew nothing about Marauders when I bought it and I didn't know it was a preproduction car. I did know it was a factory 406 car (had never seen a 406 before), though the salesman kept telling me it had a 427 in it. I bought it because of the 406. I suspected it was rare. I had no idea how rare it would turn out to be. The things I've learned along the way. WOW!
(Please pardon my self indulgence with today's entry but I love to tell this story. I intend this series to be about the birth of the Marauder, not about me.)