Brand new Mercury Marauder on eBay
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Cool car! Nice find.
I'd rather find a Marauder with a blown engine and replace it with one of these:
Originally Posted By: dishdude
Cool find but $30k buys so much better performance in 2018. Amazing what the last 15 years has brought us from a technological and performance standpoint.
True. Much like the Impala SS that debuted in the mid 90s, a body on frame "muscle sedan" is pretty much extinct, but I think a couple more years may need to pass to command a higher price tag.
That being said, I recall that exact vehicle from the Marauder forums. Some folks say it was taken apart "for storage" and put back together.
Cool find but $30k buys so much better performance in 2018. Amazing what the last 15 years has brought us from a technological and performance standpoint.
True. Much like the Impala SS that debuted in the mid 90s, a body on frame "muscle sedan" is pretty much extinct, but I think a couple more years may need to pass to command a higher price tag.
That being said, I recall that exact vehicle from the Marauder forums. Some folks say it was taken apart "for storage" and put back together.
Nice car, but not for $30K.
I wonder if the rear main seal has lived 8 of it's 9 lives?
They have been trying to sell that for a while now. Here is a neat little story about the car and an interview with the owners. https://jalopnik.com/this-couple-is-selling-a-never-registered-2003-mercury-1797702796
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Originally Posted By: dishdude
Cool find but $30k buys so much better performance in 2018. Amazing what the last 15 years has brought us from a technological and performance standpoint.
+1
And handling would be way different/better too.
Cool find but $30k buys so much better performance in 2018. Amazing what the last 15 years has brought us from a technological and performance standpoint.
+1
And handling would be way different/better too.
Car service car....paintable in whatever fleet color you want.
In my neck of the forest these old Fords are black, taxi yellow (a mango, really) and pea green.
Is there something special about the 4.6 in this car? How does it maraud? edit: I see its an>300 hp Mustang engine. Is it the aluminum block from Italy?
Does it have the deficient Taurus transmission?
The seller is looking for a pigeon.
In my neck of the forest these old Fords are black, taxi yellow (a mango, really) and pea green.
Is there something special about the 4.6 in this car? How does it maraud? edit: I see its an>300 hp Mustang engine. Is it the aluminum block from Italy?
Does it have the deficient Taurus transmission?
The seller is looking for a pigeon.
Originally Posted By: Kira
Is there something special about the 4.6 in this car? How does it maraud? edit: I see its an>300 hp Mustang engine. Is it the aluminum block from Italy?
This is no Taurus.
It's a Panther with the DOHC version of the 4.6L modular. I believe it also has some Crown Vic Police Interceptor parts in the suspension and perhaps an intake manifold(or exhaust manifold) from the same if I remember correctly.
It's very similar in concept to the 94-96 Impala SS.
Is there something special about the 4.6 in this car? How does it maraud? edit: I see its an>300 hp Mustang engine. Is it the aluminum block from Italy?
This is no Taurus.
It's a Panther with the DOHC version of the 4.6L modular. I believe it also has some Crown Vic Police Interceptor parts in the suspension and perhaps an intake manifold(or exhaust manifold) from the same if I remember correctly.
It's very similar in concept to the 94-96 Impala SS.
Originally Posted By: Kira
Car service car....paintable in whatever fleet color you want.
In my neck of the forest these old Fords are black, taxi yellow (a mango, really) and pea green.
Is there something special about the 4.6 in this car? How does it maraud? edit: I see its an>300 hp Mustang engine. Is it the aluminum block from Italy?
Does it have the deficient Taurus transmission?
The seller is looking for a pigeon.
It should have the same drivetrain as the Lincoln Town Car of that year, the 4R70W transmission (same as an F-150), 8.8 inch posi Ford rear axle, and the DOHC 4.6 modular. Sounds like a sad story, guy buys the car, wants to save it & never drives it, gets sick, dies, widow has to sell it. Looks like sticker was almost $35K, in another 15 years it might be worth that much. The bad news is, if it gets driven the value drops dramatically-and we all know storing a car like that in a protected, humidity controlled environment, isn't free. Now if I had a decent garage, and it was $15K instead of $30K-I would probably be interested, because it would likely last the rest of my life as little as I would drive it (3-4K per year).
Car service car....paintable in whatever fleet color you want.
In my neck of the forest these old Fords are black, taxi yellow (a mango, really) and pea green.
Is there something special about the 4.6 in this car? How does it maraud? edit: I see its an>300 hp Mustang engine. Is it the aluminum block from Italy?
Does it have the deficient Taurus transmission?
The seller is looking for a pigeon.
It should have the same drivetrain as the Lincoln Town Car of that year, the 4R70W transmission (same as an F-150), 8.8 inch posi Ford rear axle, and the DOHC 4.6 modular. Sounds like a sad story, guy buys the car, wants to save it & never drives it, gets sick, dies, widow has to sell it. Looks like sticker was almost $35K, in another 15 years it might be worth that much. The bad news is, if it gets driven the value drops dramatically-and we all know storing a car like that in a protected, humidity controlled environment, isn't free. Now if I had a decent garage, and it was $15K instead of $30K-I would probably be interested, because it would likely last the rest of my life as little as I would drive it (3-4K per year).
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For all of you saying that this is not worth $30k in 2018, I agree. Let me tell you a little story of the early-mid 2000s
There was a huge muscle car boom in the early 2000s, Barrett Jackson was televised for the first time on a tv channel that at the time was called speedvision. Chevrolet had just cancelled the Camaro and Mopar had no cars of any interest besides the viper. Ford was the only game in town if you wanted a V8 car, which at the time was a Crown Vic or a Mustang. Modern engine swaps were just in their infancy, so if you wanted a modern V8 in your car you almost had to buy new.
The muscle car boom lead to cars like the Maurauder, which had similar performance to an Accord V6 even at the time. Chevrolet SSR, Mustang Bullit and Mach-1. Baby Boomers had disposable income and American manufacturers wanted a slice of that muscle car market. Muscle cars were so cool that they actually tried to dress up a Grand Marquis and call it a muscle car. The SSR was built on the same chassis as the trailblazer, they were just trying to turn current or older designs into something they could market at that moment. People still bought cars back then, trucks had not taken over completely yet but more and more people were buying SUVs and trucks were getting more luxurious.
I remember these times well, as I was 13 in 2001 and had all the car mags. 400 both ways in a 2003 Cobra was a huge deal, 200 hp out of FWD V6 car in the Chrysler 300M was seen as a large accomplishment. Due to better technology, the days of weak engines due to emissions and fuel efficiency regulations were drawing to a close.
Now, 10-15 years later you can see that American manufacturers actually produced muscle cars again, which absolutely everyone was screaming for during the time the Maurauder was produced. Of course it is lame, it is a grand marquis. But at the time, it was considered a legit modern production muscle car. If you had one of those back then you were pretty cool. I assume most of them were heavily upgraded by enthusiast owners, which proves that they are taken at least somewhat seriously as a performance car.
A true time capsule.
EDIT: I was a big time American car fan at the time, I loved and still love muscle cars. I know this was pretty much the nadir of the American car industry, and there were numerous foreign options that made these cars look stupid. It was an important time, as the Americans started to build cars that North Americans wanted and not try to complete with foreigners.
The V8 muscle cars we know and love today were built because the marauder did not flop, even though it was essentially a 32v Grand Marquis.
There was a huge muscle car boom in the early 2000s, Barrett Jackson was televised for the first time on a tv channel that at the time was called speedvision. Chevrolet had just cancelled the Camaro and Mopar had no cars of any interest besides the viper. Ford was the only game in town if you wanted a V8 car, which at the time was a Crown Vic or a Mustang. Modern engine swaps were just in their infancy, so if you wanted a modern V8 in your car you almost had to buy new.
The muscle car boom lead to cars like the Maurauder, which had similar performance to an Accord V6 even at the time. Chevrolet SSR, Mustang Bullit and Mach-1. Baby Boomers had disposable income and American manufacturers wanted a slice of that muscle car market. Muscle cars were so cool that they actually tried to dress up a Grand Marquis and call it a muscle car. The SSR was built on the same chassis as the trailblazer, they were just trying to turn current or older designs into something they could market at that moment. People still bought cars back then, trucks had not taken over completely yet but more and more people were buying SUVs and trucks were getting more luxurious.
I remember these times well, as I was 13 in 2001 and had all the car mags. 400 both ways in a 2003 Cobra was a huge deal, 200 hp out of FWD V6 car in the Chrysler 300M was seen as a large accomplishment. Due to better technology, the days of weak engines due to emissions and fuel efficiency regulations were drawing to a close.
Now, 10-15 years later you can see that American manufacturers actually produced muscle cars again, which absolutely everyone was screaming for during the time the Maurauder was produced. Of course it is lame, it is a grand marquis. But at the time, it was considered a legit modern production muscle car. If you had one of those back then you were pretty cool. I assume most of them were heavily upgraded by enthusiast owners, which proves that they are taken at least somewhat seriously as a performance car.
A true time capsule.
EDIT: I was a big time American car fan at the time, I loved and still love muscle cars. I know this was pretty much the nadir of the American car industry, and there were numerous foreign options that made these cars look stupid. It was an important time, as the Americans started to build cars that North Americans wanted and not try to complete with foreigners.
The V8 muscle cars we know and love today were built because the marauder did not flop, even though it was essentially a 32v Grand Marquis.
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Always neat to see this, but what a waste IMO. Either stick it in a museum, or drive the darn thing. Problem is, I get it that they replaced most of the fuel system, but every other hose and soft part would be suspect before any real usage.
Makes me miss mine! These pop up every now and again, and honestly having owned one I don't get it. Yes, it's collectable but they aren't THAT collectable.
I bought mine cheap because it was already a bit rusty and had high miles. I beat the ever living [censored] out of it every day for 3 years and never broke a thing. That's what those cars were made for, being beat on and enjoyed.
But it's still a 40 year old platform (the Panther's came out in the 70's and weren't updated until 2003), and a boat. They aren't that fast, they GUZZLE premium fuel (I averaged 16 MPG in mine, and it was in perfect tune), and they're impossible to park in the city or in a tight parking garage. A Marauder is actually 2" longer than an Expedition! Oh, and they weigh 4,200 freaking pounds!
I bought mine cheap because it was already a bit rusty and had high miles. I beat the ever living [censored] out of it every day for 3 years and never broke a thing. That's what those cars were made for, being beat on and enjoyed.
But it's still a 40 year old platform (the Panther's came out in the 70's and weren't updated until 2003), and a boat. They aren't that fast, they GUZZLE premium fuel (I averaged 16 MPG in mine, and it was in perfect tune), and they're impossible to park in the city or in a tight parking garage. A Marauder is actually 2" longer than an Expedition! Oh, and they weigh 4,200 freaking pounds!
Hmm 16 mpg? Long, low, heavy? This is a world where you can now buy a F150 diesel that will get 30 MPG. It will haul, tow, and have a vastly larger interior. Sure the Marauder is only 30k but it has no warranty and you probably can't finance that. Add in the value of a warranty, easy financing, virtually no depreciation, and the Diesel F150 wins even if you have to spend 10-15k more. That is even before you consider any advantages of a double cab pickup truck vs a giant old car.
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