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Thread: Stop making Marauders?

  1. #16
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    I think the over priced marauder was just that over priced with lack of performance was its demise........Now if they just dropped in a 03-04 cobra motor with that price tag or even a little more the car sales would have gone wild, just like the last year of the Grand nationals.
    • 82 GT coyote swap started
    • 03 300a Marauder, stroked,cammed,T/S Trilogy Supercharged # 216,Best Et 10.77@129.72 on slicks, 93 pump gas. driven to the track.
    • 2011 GT 500, 3.4 whipple,93 pump gas,10.47@133,Driven to the track.
    • 2003 azura blue Mach 1, cobra motor,2.9 Whipple,crusher inlet,built 4r70w trans,04 IRS rear.full weight street car, Corn Fed

  2. #17
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    By mid 04 they were planning on supercharging the MM, IIRC from Steve it was more that Elena Ford was changing the direction of Mercury, poor sales of course didn't help, but with the SC, sales may have increased and as was mentioned it was supposed to be a 3 year run to begin with.
    Steven

    2004 Marauder Black, loaded
    Vortec S/C
    4.10s
    3500 PI Stall
    Kook's headers
    476.9 rwhp 385 lbs/tq
    KVR's, QA1's, M&Z control arms, rear sway bar
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    2004 Suburban Dark Charcoal
    1970 W-30 442 convertible twilight Blue

  3. #18
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    More money than is should have been
    Less power than it should have had
    Didn't let enough people know about it (advertising)

    Add in Ms Ford and the writing was on the wall

    I, for one, never expected it to last long, because if you look at Mercury's history they have never had a special high performance model that lasted very long. They've had some great cars, but never for very long.
    1963 Marauder S-55, Super Marauder 406
    Only factory 406 powered Marauder, and earliest built Marauder documented to still exist.
    https://sites.google.com/a/wmich.edu/supermarauder/
    ______________________________ _____________

    First retailed 2003 Marauder
    Bought 6 June 2002
    #168

  4. #19
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    Quote Originally Posted by stevengerard View Post
    I'd like to have your first car - love that color
    I sold it in 1981 and I still have dreams about it and regret it to this day. When I get the money I want to hunt down the exact car in the copper color I had. It was way, way cool.....

  5. #20
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    This isn't the exact car but it looked exactly like this. Tan top, wide quarters, rally wheels, bucket seats. 350 Rocket, only a 2 barrel since it was a 72. Still had decent power.

    Regrettably I only have a few pics of it. None with me by it but one with my HS sweetie in it. So that's a bonus. On my home computer.
    Last edited by tbone; 11-29-2017 at 04:42 PM.

  6. #21
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    Quote Originally Posted by hotford View Post
    I think the over priced marauder was just that over priced with lack of performance was its demise........Now if they just dropped in a 03-04 cobra motor with that price tag or even a little more the car sales would have gone wild, just like the last year of the Grand nationals.
    I asked Steve Babcock this question at MV9 and he said the Cobra motor wasn't though development in time for the Marauders scheduled launch time of April/May of 2002. Also having the foresight that Elena was lukewarm about the Marauder to begin with a delay in release to incorporate the Cobra engine became a non-option. Would have been a great engine in the Marauder though.

    Also seem to remember Steve mentioning at the car show at MV Cleveland that the '05 Marauder might have had a S/C option and it wasn't clear to me if it was to be on the DOHC or SOHC engine. Car was to be white as stated, but what color white had not been officially chosen. I asked him about the interior colors for '05 and he said nothing had been officially chosen there either.

    A convertible, wagon and a Ranchero style Marauder based cars were pitched as well with the convertible getting as far as the concept stage. I asked him about future Marauder direction and he said other than keeping up with things like USB, Bluetooth etc. they hadn't really gone into to much future planning. Makes me think the writing was on the wall before the Marauder was even released in 2002. Only phenomenal sales would have kept the Marauder going. Wonder what Ford would have called the Marauder if it had been a success and Elena still ran Mercury into the ground, a Ford or a Lincoln?

  7. #22
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    IMO Because Ford Up sold the crap out of the car's "low end Performance" And how much of a Muscle sedan it was. It didn't take long for folks to find out Ford was full of crap and the sells numbers show it. Close to 8,000 cars in 03 and then sells dropped like a rock in 04 to just over 2,000. Couple that with the 35k price tag and your Muscle sedan could get out Muscled by a fully loaded V6 Honda Accord for 10k less. The value wasn't there. Had they tuned the Engine for more low end or upped he gears to 3:73's it would have made a difference. Look at the sales literature from 2003. 0-60 in 6.5 seconds. Most cars mags and auto reviews where happy to get 7.5 0-60.

    I love this car, I truly do. I know I bash on it a lot, but it's not the car i'm hating on its Ford. One thing I have learned about Ford thus far his how they Half Ass a lot of what they do. And the Marauder is a great example.
    2003 Mercury Marauder- Stock with 223k miles.

    2000 Crown Victoria P73. Deep Wedge Wood Blue.
    SW longtube headers and high flow cats, magnaflow mufflers, 3.55 gears w/track lock, 70mm Aviator TB, PnP factory plenum, ADTR intake tube, 87 octaine tune by MO. Bilstein HD shocks, Mecto Rear control arms w/ watts link, Addco custom order 1.5 inch front sway bar (38mm), 1.25 inch rear bar 31.75mm (only 11 made).

  8. #23
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    I still think they should widen a Mustang by 6 inches, add 1.5 feet in length, add 5 inches of roofline headroom height, add a third and forth door, Pack the biggest fastest supercharged engine under the hood, and call it a Marauder.


    2003 300A Black, #4918 of 7838, 17,400 Miles
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    2003 300B Silver Birch, #21 of 419, 29,800 miles
    Tune, JLT, FlowMaster 42441 Res Delete, New Nitto 235/255 Bigcarsforever dead peddle & custom SRP peddles, 5 coats Zymoil Titanium, Addco front and rear sway bars, KYBs, 1/2 inch coil cut, Sparta Watts link and Control Arms, Carfixer alignment.

    2003 CV Sport Matador Red, 19,280 Miles, DD, Curless Full Service Royal flush, Marto Tune, 18 Chrome Wheels w 235/265 front/back Nitto tires, NEW OEM Sport Springs -1 coil & Monroe Severe Duty (front) shocks, Addco front and rear sway bars, KYB rear Shocks, Carfixer Alignment.

    2004 CV HPP Silver Birch, 93,000 miles. Son's DD, 18 Chrome Wheels w 235/265 front/back Nitto tires (thank you Lowndex!)

  9. #24
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    I bought my 2004 Mercury Marauder in April 2004. It was for my wife but I knew that meant I would drive it just as much as she would. No other car out there at the time had the size, performance, and comfort like my gangster car. Ford/Mercury stopped making this great car for many reasons but poor sales numbers did it in. I remember getting 5G off sticker price spanking new. Loved the car then and still to date it still makes me smile.

  10. #25
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    Quote Originally Posted by Bondfreak13 View Post
    Had they tuned the Engine for more low end or upped he gears to 3:73's it would have made a difference.
    Steve Babcock told us at the Chicago Marauderville that the car was supposed to have 3.73s or 4.10s from the factory, but the bean-counters nixed that due to the Gas-Guzzler Tax. It just squeaked by with the 3.55s.
    The Blackbird
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  11. #26
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    Quote Originally Posted by RF Overlord View Post
    Steve Babcock told us at the Chicago Marauderville that the car was supposed to have 3.73s or 4.10s from the factory, but the bean-counters nixed that due to the Gas-Guzzler Tax. It just squeaked by with the 3.55s.
    I believe it was also or more so because of the decibel level of the car. Remember they had to meet certain restrictions for sound level and with different gears the car was too high up in the RPM level (only by a little) enough that they had to scale back the revs to allow it to pass. They have to start out at a certain speed and accelerate past a second sensor, they average those readings and it gad to be below a certain level.
    Steven

    2004 Marauder Black, loaded
    Vortec S/C
    4.10s
    3500 PI Stall
    Kook's headers
    476.9 rwhp 385 lbs/tq
    KVR's, QA1's, M&Z control arms, rear sway bar
    Lidio tune
    2004 Suburban Dark Charcoal
    1970 W-30 442 convertible twilight Blue

  12. #27
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    Quote Originally Posted by stevengerard View Post
    I believe it was also or more so because of the decibel level of the car. Remember they had to meet certain restrictions for sound level and with different gears the car was too high up in the RPM level (only by a little) enough that they had to scale back the revs to allow it to pass. They have to start out at a certain speed and accelerate past a second sensor, they average those readings and it gad to be below a certain level.
    Along those lines, I was told by Kevin (head of drive-line) that they worked long and hard on the exhaust and were under the limit by only a half a db.
    1963 Marauder S-55, Super Marauder 406
    Only factory 406 powered Marauder, and earliest built Marauder documented to still exist.
    https://sites.google.com/a/wmich.edu/supermarauder/
    ______________________________ _____________

    First retailed 2003 Marauder
    Bought 6 June 2002
    #168

  13. #28
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    Quote Originally Posted by kirk View Post
    Along those lines, I was told by Kevin (head of drive-line) that they worked long and hard on the exhaust and were under the limit by only a half a db.
    I'm over the limit by a lot and lovin' every minute of it!

  14. #29
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    I think the Marauder just needed advertising. As is, it was still a good car and was a good baseline. Probably even should have had the dohc 302 horsepower become the main panther engine to keep the old dog Crown Vic and Grand Marquis more keep up with the times.. But then for the Marauder, there should have been an X-100 or options to add supercharger, etc. for the die hard enthusiast.
    2003 Mercury Marauder 300B (Daily Driver)
    1988 LTD Crown Victoria S

  15. #30
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    Quote Originally Posted by kirk View Post
    Along those lines, I was told by Kevin (head of drive-line) that they worked long and hard on the exhaust and were under the limit by only a half a db.
    Someone must have changed the rules, compared to today's cars the stock MM note is quite tame even under throttle.

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