Former MM.net Users

[SID297]

I would like to bring more life to this forum. Since you guys are the M experts I'd like to hear what you'd like to see me add. The MM is one of my favorite cars and I'd really like to build a strong comunity here for you owners to enjoy, just let me know what you need.

 

[Fourth Horseman]

I would like to bring more life to this forum. Since you guys are the M experts I'd like to hear what you'd like to see me add. The MM is one of my favorite cars and I'd really like to build a strong comunity here for you owners to enjoy, just let me know what you need.

Don't really have any suggestions on what to add. Just wanted to say "thank you" for making a space for us over here! :beer:

 

[02JoeGhost]

Thanks for the space sid. I love my marauder to death and its noce to be part of a great site like this.

Joe

 

[Silverstrike]

Well I was the first one over here but thanks if you need an extra mod for this forum then I could possably do that. But what I liked on the old forums was the ability to attach photos on the threads.

 

[DEFYANT]

Expanding Darkside

I would like to bring more life to this forum. Since you guys are the M experts I'd like to hear what you'd like to see me add. The MM is one of my favorite cars and I'd really like to build a strong comunity here for you owners to enjoy, just let me know what you need.

Hello Other Defiant

Your opening statement says it all. Good attitude. When Mustang guys find themselves needing a moe pracitcal car, link them up with us. Most of us are 30 something with young families who are former Mustang owners (like me). This car allows you to have the best of both worlds. Performace, practicality, and exclusivity. There is an aftermarket for our cars, perhaps you can bring them over here too.

For those just joining in;
This part of SVTP has been growing stedily for about 18 months now. As more owners come over, it will grow, obviously. Most of us are members of MM.Net also. This area took off as a place to "vent" over some of the management policies at MM.net. Not to say that Logan runs things badly...I have seen why it is necessary to shut some of the rants over there down.

We have gotten away from the "bitch about MM.net" crap and focused more on threads about our cars, mods and experiences.

This "Darkside" (as it has come to be known) is fine as it is. Thanks for having us over. :rockon:
:thumbsup:

 

[DEFYANT]

Also...

How about some general sticky thread/posts that tell the curious ones WTF a Marauder really is. WTF is a frequent turm used when wondering....WTF it is.

This was from a story written about the MM back on 5/20/2002 when is was released:

2003 Mercury Marauder
Mining the right kind of heritage.



Is Mercury in Ford's Future?

A musclecar experience packaged with contemporary dynamics - that's how Mercury bills the 2003 Marauder, a hopped-up Grand Marquis with a name harking back to a past when the brand's product throttle opened a lot wider.

How well does it fill the bill? Of America's full-size sedans, none has the potential to conjure the musclecar era like the Grand Marquis on which the Marauder's based. That's because it's the only big rear-driver at its price. Coincidentally that's also the reason it dominates the police-car market.
With a stoked-up version of Ford's mass-market V-8, it's a practical and inexpensive foundation for all sorts of mayhem. And when it comes to reviving the true musclecar in four-door form, the Marauder's virtually alone in its ambition.

So does it win on virtue or single-mindedness?
How about both?

Time bandit
How Mercury gets from the stuffy Grand Marquis to the swinging Marauder is no unsolved mystery: it's a simple formula, what with its massaged motor, better shocks and gallons of jet-black paint, the same path taken by garage jockeys and Big Three skunkworks alike for decades. (More colors are coming, we're told.)
Underneath the Marauder looks like a history lesson in how cars used to be made: full frame, iron-block engine and a big V-8 with an automatic transmission. But though the platform might have been born in the late 1970s, it's gradually edging its way to modernity. Over the years it's been substantially reworked, and for 2003 use in the Marauder (and Grand Marquis/Crown Victoria) it gains hydroformed front frame rails and new crossmembers for a roughly 20-percent increase in body stiffness. Monotube shocks are fitted, and rack-and-pinion steering also makes the cut for the first time.

Ford's modular 4.6-liter V-8 has many horsepower guises, and here it's tuned for 302 ponies. From the stock powerplant found in the Marq and Vic, the Marauder's V-8 adds a more efficient air intake and better upper and lower intake manifolds and higher-flow fuel injectors. Wide, stainless-steel exhausts help give the big Merc a rumbly, authentic American engine note. A four-speed automatic is the only gearbox and there's no thought of a six-speed version, mostly because the front-end structure would have to be completely reworked to accommodate a do-it-yourself shifter, say Merc reps.

The front suspension pairs short and long arms and a Tokico monotube shock; the rear end combines a Watts linkage with control arms and the rear axle itself, as well as load-leveling air springs.

Road rules
Though our experience with the Marauder was brief - a two-hour, four-lane drive punctuated by an hour on West Virginia's Summit Point road course - we can confirm most of what that opening line promises. The Marauder is indeed more musclecar-like than any vehicle we can think of short of Ford's own Mustang (we're not counting in the terminal Camaro/Firebird). And the dynamics, heirloom in essence, are modernized enough to keep the comparisons to Town Cars to a minimum.

Smart tuning performs the equivalent of a Just For Men dye job here. The Marauder's still-generous body roll isn't too much a mismatch for the quick and decently weighted rack-and-pinion steering gear. Once you modify your driving style to accommodate the motion of the Marauder's 4165-lb heft, it becomes fairly simple to push it into a corner, rotate it gently with a squeeze on the gas, and let the 18-inch tires claw their way out.

The ride quality won't remind you of any German sedan. It's far too plush for that consideration set, although the average Marquis driver might think he's stumbled on the long-fabled de Sade edition. You might actually hear a thunk over a pothole passing beneath, but the bumps aren't felt distantly, they're practically estranged. It's not as completely isolated from reality as Al Gore, but the Marauder's still a battened-down version of a highway cruiser, not an Integra.

Black arts
The Marauder's commoditized shape wears its somber suit pretty well, and the details are nicely understated. The headlamps are blacked out in part, the taillamps smoked and bright foglamps are faired in neatly. True, those big polished wheels are as giveaway Detroit as a Red Wings jersey and the accompanying hockey hair, but the fabulous godhead logo on them and on the seats is an indication that Ford really does know what heritage it should be mining.

Inside the white-faced gauges have long since been de-hipped, but look decent, as does the metallic-look dash trim. A strong 140-watt Alpine CD player is a welcome piece of hardware, as are the steering-wheel controls for it. The tightened handling does spell a little trouble for the driver snared into the Marauder's driver's seat, though. Unique sport seats can't overcome the vast side-by-side room and slick leather seating offered up by the basic large-car architecture. It's up to the armrest and the floor-mounted shifter to pin the driver in the proper seating position.

As for safety equipment, four-wheel anti-lock brakes are standard, as is Ford's Personal Safety System of front, side and curtain airbags. The merits of a full-perimeter frame and more than two tons of battle heft speak for themselves.

Like Ford's other men in black - the F-150 Harley and the Lincoln Blackwood - the Marauder asks you to dial back the conventional strengths of a perfectly fine vehicle for more than an inkling of attitude. If you want something big, bad and black, it's probably the most realistic choice of the three. And most of all, it's a good way to have one last fling with disrespectability while getting used to the idea of bumping around in a Grand Marquis on golf days.

2003 Mercury Marauder
Base price: $34,495
Engine: 4.6-liter V-8, 302 hp
Drivetrain: Four-speed automatic transmission, rear-wheel drive
Length x width x height: 211.9 x 78.2 x 56.8 in
Wheelbase: 114.7 in
Curb weight: 4165 lb
EPA City/Hwy: 17/23 mpg
Safety equipment: Dual front and side impact airbags, curtain airbags, anti-lock braking
Major standard equipment: Air conditioning, keyless entry, 140-watt Alpine AM/FM/CD player, leather seating
Warranty: Three years/36,000 miles

Adds were published also:

 

[The Wraith]

I dunno everything seems fine to me. :-D

 

[BillyGman]

I think this is a great board, and I really like visiting this forum just as I also like the www.mercurymarauder.net board too. I like the board policies over here better, however, it's a whole lot easier to post pics on MM.net than it is here. Is there anyway that you can make it more user friendly here? I've tried to post pics here in various forums, and despite a number of instructions from your moderators, it just aint happening, and I know that I'm not the only one who has trouble with that here. And I haven't any difficulties posting pics over at MM.net at all. In fact, I can even post short vids over there. I wouldn't even think of trying that here since I cannot even post pics.

 

[JB]

the problem is that we're a very large forum and hosting pictures would increase our already huge database to an unmanageable size

by using a free hosting site such as imageshack and then putting a link to it in your post, you can display the images over here

 

[crispy23c]

One Idea...

The MM section of SVTP is awesome, Sid. Love it!
Just one suggestion...

I never see MM's for sale in "The Market" on SVTP. How about one in here? I know the thread wouldn't be as busy as the Mustangs for sale (there are so many of them produced), but do you think that the MM section could have it's own "for sale" area?

Just another thought...maybe it could be entire cars and Marauder accessories/parts. Could be a beautiful thing!

 

[SID297]

No more threads than it would be you could just post them in your main forum here.

 

[BillyGman]

I just want to say that I do appreciate your inquiry Sid. And although this isn't Marauder specific, i also want to say that one of my favorite things about this board is that you have a special forum set aside for "Kill" stories, and that's appreciated, since people can post their "kills" w/out being harrassed, or condemned by others who are the self-righteous types when it comes to high spirited street driving.

 

[The Wraith]

since people can post their "kills" w/out being harrassed, or condemned by others who are the self-righteous types when it comes to high spirited street driving.

I've posted here about a corvette kill and the self righteous babys are here as well..So watch it when posting..

Also Sid how about having a section for Marauders to post in the 12 second club..

 

[Sully008]

I got "killed" and posted over at MMnet. 89 views. Zero repies. I guess no one wants to hear someone lost?? BTW, great site, Sid! I can't think of anything to change right now.

 

[BillyGman]

I've posted here about a corvette kill and the self righteous babys are here as well..So watch it when posting..

..

Yeah, but then you can always hit em with something like..."Then what's this forum for? If you don't like Kill stories, then don't visit the ROAD KILL forum. Since the owner of this board has decided to have a forum just for Kill stories, then stop your crying, because I'll continue to post mine". after that, they cant have any comeback that's even worth replying to.

 

[BillyGman]

I got "killed" and posted over at MMnet. 89 views. Zero repies. I guess no one wants to hear someone lost??

Please don't take this the wrong way Mike, but my guess is that nobody was all that surprised to hear about your car losing since there are many cars on the street that will outrun N/A Marauders. 13 second street cars are plentiful out there. And there are plenty of low 14 second cars driven even by old granny types. I had a lady on side of me who was well in her 60's try to race me with her Mercedes. ofcourse I beat her, but her car did move out better than many N/A Marauders do. So that's probably why you didn't get any replies. Don't take it personal. It merely has to do with the level of modification of your car.

 

[Sully008]

Yeah, that's what I thought. At first I was really bummed that I lost, but then I realized that he's almost 1000 lbs lighter, paid a whole lot more for his car, and was probably a little upset that my tank pretty much stayed fender to fender with him. I'm guessing he thought that he'd blow me into the weeds once we hit the go pedal.

 

[00 Aggie]

How about setting up a "how to" section over here for MMs?

I have the best of both worlds: 03 Cobra + 04 MM = :burnout:

 

[BillyGman]

I have the best of both worlds: 03 Cobra + 04 MM = :burnout:

I think you definately woulf if you S/Ced your Marauder. I can't say that I know anyone with more than one S/ced vehicle, other than my favorite engine tuner Lidio Icobelli.

 

[00 Aggie]

I think you definately woulf if you S/Ced your Marauder.

Its only a matter of time! I use the MM as my DD, so I miss the S/C whine during the day!