2003 Mercury Marauder Ad

[Mark B. Morrow]

[TomServo92]

Yep. I remember seeing it.

[Traveler]

I really liked the Marauder and probably should have tried harder to get one in 2005 rather than the Crown Vic. However, I only liked it in black (no black DDs) and I wasn't really too crazy about the premium unleaded thing. Plus, there was just likely a better deal to be had on the Vic.

 

Anyway, I remember seeing the print ad in the parking deck, but not a commercial. Frankly, I don't know what possessed Ford to build the car. Don't get me wrong...I liked it, but it was a specialized car for a dwindling market and about 7 years too late to compete against the LT1 Impala SS. The print media was just sitting around waiting for a car to kick and anything Panther-derived gave them that opportunity. Ford is often too late with good ideas. If they could have done this car around 1998-2000, I think it would have had a better shot. Then again, I think the entire line would have benefited by making the engine an option. By 2003, they should've had a supercharged model. It was just too slow an effort to make the big car popular.

 

Of course, with the likelihood of the SRT-8 cars depreciating, I may forget the Marauder and buy a black Charger SRT-8 instead.

Edited December 30, 2007 by Traveler

[P71_CrownVic]

Beautiful car...it's only problem was the parent company of the company that made it.

[rmc523]

I really liked the Marauder and probably should have tried harder to get one in 2005 rather than the Crown Vic. However, I only liked it in black (no black DDs) and I wasn't really too crazy about the premium unleaded thing. Plus, there was just likely a better deal to be had on the Vic.

 

Anyway, I remember seeing the print ad in the parking deck, but not a commercial. Frankly, I don't know what possessed Ford to build the car. Don't get me wrong...I liked it, but it was a specialized car for a dwindling market and about 7 years too late to compete against the LT1 Impala SS. The print media was just sitting around waiting for a car to kick and anything Panther-derived gave them that opportunity. Ford is often too late with good ideas. If they could have done this car around 1998-2000, I think it would have had a better shot. Then again, I think the entire line would have benefited by making the engine an option. By 2003, they should've had a supercharged model. It was just too slow an effort to make the big car popular.

 

Of course, with the likelihood of the SRT-8 cars depreciating, I may forget the Marauder and buy a black Charger SRT-8 instead.

 

I don't remember ever seeing that ad.

 

My uncle has a Marauder, he likes it.

[suv_guy_19]

 

I loved that car. I see one around from time to time.

[armadamaster]

Yeah, I can count on one hand how many times I saw that commercial back in 2002 (IIRC). I knew then Ford wasn't serious about the Marauder when they did not give a version/option of that engine to CVPIs and Town Cars.

 

Speaking of Panther advertisements, I was watching the final season of the X-files over the last couple of weeks, noticed Robert Patrick cruising around most of the time in a sweet 2002 Crown Vic Sport. Of course, no CV sport in the big series finale, instead they shoved them all into the current bodystyle Expeditions (all-new then) and I recall a story on the web about Ford using the X-files finale to promote them. You may now return to your scheduled Panther hating.

Edited December 30, 2007 by Armada Master

[StevenCaylor]

One of my favorite articles for the Marauder featured the tagline "Mr. McGarrett, your car is ready". The pic was of a jet black Marauder. I remember they used a triple black 68 Mercury Park Lane Brougham for the first four or five seasons of Hawaii File-O.

[Traveler]

Motor Trend did a pretty fair article on it when they actually compared it to a Mercedes in the same article. It was Merc vs. Merc. Certainly, the Mercedes had more panache of course, but they did say a few kind things about the brawny Marauder. Plus, the Mercedes cost enough to buy 3 Marauders.

[Anthony]

I still have an unopened promo DVD from Mercury for the Marauder.

[suv_guy_19]

Motor Trend did a pretty fair article on it when they actually compared it to a Mercedes in the same article. It was Merc vs. Merc. Certainly, the Mercedes had more panache of course, but they did say a few kind things about the brawny Marauder. Plus, the Mercedes cost enough to buy 3 Marauders.

 

The real problem was that the car was slow. It was slower to 60 than the Accord V-6. I believe one magazine said it was like losing a fight to your little sister.

[Traveler]

I'm not really sure how much hp/torque the Accord was making then, but I can almost guarantee that the straightline numbers for an Accord that could best the Marauder would have been courtesy of a manual transmission and a V6 engine. I'd bet that in most encounters on the road, the results would have been a very lopsided win for Mercury in most cases. Problem is few people would really opt for the V6 and manual transmissions. Then, too it was apples and oranges. You were talking about a mid-size vs. a full size and probably a weight difference of 600 pounds in 2003.

 

The Marauders were capable of high 14s in 2003. Probably a bit better at the end of their run in 2005 with better programming. Heck, a car like mine is good for mid 15s which is better than most sedans on the road.

Edited December 31, 2007 by Traveler

[Mark B. Morrow]

Just a couple of years before the Marauder hit the streets 300 hp was a very big deal. The Cobra Mustang was putting out 300 in '96. By 2003, the ante had been raised and 302 in the heavier Merc wasn't very exciting. Its too bad. The Marauder was a great idea a sporty sedan for people who needed a real back seat and a trunk. The 2002 suspension upgrades improved the handling. The exterior was nice with the blackout trim and special wheels, as was the interior with the buckets and console. With 25 more horses and a decent marketing effort the Marauder might have worked out well.

[Traveler]

I completely agree. The Marauder would have perhaps been more popular had it debuted in about 2000, however I sometimes questioned if the Mercury was the best car to use of the Panthers and then why did Ford do the Crown Vic Sport for near $30k without offering the same Marauder options? It was a bit bizarre.

 

You know, I don't know how true it was, but it was said that if the Marauder had held on, was going to get the 03-04 Cobra motor. In fact, I think the two-door convertible concept was supercharged...although I'm not so sure of my recollection.

 

Of course, that probably would have escalated the price as well. To me, that was a big deal in the beginning. Fully loaded, the Marauder was going for $34,000+ and really didn't get discounted until it was obvious that the demand wasn't going to be that high. This was going to be a selective niche sedan that few would pony up for.

 

For me, I would have been delighted to have had the opportunity to get a 350 horsepower, supercharged 4.6 DOHC V8 in a Crown Vic Sport with cloth seats and 17" wheels for around $32k MSRP. Where they could've additional cut some corners is simply using the CVPI coil springs over the air suspension, cutting out dual power seats and climate control as standard. Also, as stated, the cloth seats would have been fine to me. That's the problem with a lot of higher performance models...the manufacturers want to build them practically all the same way with the same equipment which forces a higher price.

[waymondospiff]

The Marauder suffered from more than just bad marketing (and the fact that it was a Mercury, not a Ford.) The Marauder screamed for torque to spin the wheels all day long - instead it got a peaky cammer under the hood. Then what could have kept it interesting was either the 2-door convertible or the supercharger. The 2-door/convertible would have required too much work/cost, but the supercharger would have been relatively easy to add. But it wasn't added - by that time it seemed that Ford had lost interest in the Marauder and the buying public quickly did too.

 

Of course, that ignores that fact that a better car with more power, more style, more sophistication, and more potential stole all of the Marauder's thunder within two years - the Chrysler 300C.

 

Scott

[matthewq4b]

The Marauder suffered from more than just bad marketing (and the fact that it was a Mercury, not a Ford.) The Marauder screamed for torque to spin the wheels all day long - instead it got a peaky cammer under the hood. Then what could have kept it interesting was either the 2-door convertible or the supercharger. The 2-door/convertible would have required too much work/cost, but the supercharger would have been relatively easy to add. But it wasn't added - by that time it seemed that Ford had lost interest in the Marauder and the buying public quickly did too.

 

Of course, that ignores that fact that a better car with more power, more style, more sophistication, and more potential stole all of the Marauder's thunder within two years - the Chrysler 300C.

 

Scott

 

I agree. they needed a torque monster for a motor. Some thing could spin the tires all day long. Some thing that really caught the essesnse they were going for A rebirth of the 60's full size muscle sedan.

 

And the 300C did steal the maruders thunder what could have been if Ford had ponyied up the 427 sedan sheet metal on the on the Panther chassis the 300C and the Charger would have been foot notes in a long line of failed Chryco products.

 

 

Matthew

[Marauder2299of7839]

I have a pile of Marauder literature in my archives, I wanted one from the time the show car came out, and I have an 03 in the driveway.

 

I would have been the target audience for such a car, I never saw that ad or knew of its existence until now. way to go ford marketing...

 

BTW no way an accord will straight line beat this car. I sell parts to, and employ enthusiast honda drivers every day, they are afraid of this car and have found out first hand that it will beat them. wheel spin is the primary limiting factor, as it runs 14.5s stock, not getting much traction until 3rd gear. a pair of drag radials is in the budget for this year to see how much it will help reduce wheel spin. yes low end torque is lower than I'd like, but it catches up quickly then promptly overpowers the tires they should have offered optional 4.10s and a blower as they originally rumored about, as it killed sales as people tired of waiting for those features to arrive. (BTW it only outweighs the mustang by a scant few hundred pounds, not bad for a full-frame car)

[P71_CrownVic]

I have a pile of Marauder literature in my archives, I wanted one from the time the show car came out, and I have an 03 in the driveway.

 

I would have been the target audience for such a car, I never saw that ad or knew of its existence until now. way to go ford marketing...

 

BTW no way an accord will straight line beat this car. I sell parts to, and employ enthusiast honda drivers every day, they are afraid of this car and have found out first hand that it will beat them. wheel spin is the primary limiting factor, as it runs 14.5s stock, not getting much traction until 3rd gear. a pair of drag radials is in the budget for this year to see how much it will help reduce wheel spin. yes low end torque is lower than I'd like, but it catches up quickly then promptly overpowers the tires they should have offered optional 4.10s and a blower as they originally rumored about, as it killed sales as people tired of waiting for those features to arrive. (BTW it only outweighs the mustang by a scant few hundred pounds, not bad for a full-frame car)

Just tuning my 2001 and upgrading to the MM airbox and MAF...made a HUGE difference. It is faster than my grandparents 1994 Taurus SHO.

[Traveler]

You have the stock '01 CVPI exhaust?

[P71_CrownVic]

You have the stock '01 CVPI exhaust?

No. I replaced the mufflers with Flowmaster Delta Flow 50 series mufflers and the cats with Magnaflow direct-fit converters.

 

Other than that...all stock.

[Explorer4X4]

If you mean saw it on actual television, no. But I've seen it on the internet before.