If Ford built a new Marauder, would you buy it???t

[DJP]

However, the larger the Corporation, the farther from reality they are.
Sad but true

I agree, the bean counters have taken over. Hopefully, now that the big 2 are downsizing as a direct result of designing and mass producing cars like widgets, a new strategy will kick them in the head.....a case study of the AMF-Harley fiasco would be a good start. LOL.

 

[DJP]

Blown Marauder is what they should have built....Coulda' shoulda' woulda'....I think if it had more balls in the next model year, it would have been a home run. Still has a chance (IMO) with a facelift...My wife is a BIG Marquis fan (we got one when we got kids). Later, we looked at the Marauder. We liked ALOT of what we saw, but thought (for the price at the time) it should have had stiffer suspension & more balls.
No slap intended at all, we are still BIG fans of MMs. But...now that the (D-C) 300 came out w/345hp and the Charger came out w/345 hp for $30k, it's hard to beat. Plus, you have the SRTs (w/425hp) @ $40k. If only they would sharpen the Grand Marq's/Crown Vic's sheetmetal & give it a nose & tail lift, this would sell out, IMO. It's a GREAT car. A big car. It just needs updating. Then, when it really starts to sell, offer a MM with a blown 4.6 Cobra motor. Now, that would be SWEEEEEET!!! :beer:

I like what Dodge/Chrysler is doing...Power. Now if they come out with that Challenger that is like the prototype that I saw, I'm gonna have to make my M/M my daily driver, unless Ford or GM gets my interest by following suit.

 

[woaface]

Putting a stick in a car that big is kind of risky, and 3.73s are way too small for a car that big. Most MM.net members get between 4.10-4.56. I know of one (so maybe a handful) that have 3.73s.

 

[DJP]

Putting a stick in a car that big is kind of risky, and 3.73s are way too small for a car that big. Most MM.net members get between 4.10-4.56. I know of one (so maybe a handful) that have 3.73s.

Woaface, I was talking 3.73's only because I picture my Marauder as a highway cruiser and not a 1/4 miler, just my preference, that's all. Now who the hell is going to open it to 150 plus on an open freeway, not me, thats for sure ;-)

 

[rich_long]

Yes. If I needed one.
But since I'm keeping mine, No.
I really, really like this car... really.

 

[SergntMac]

One of the reasons there is no manual tranny in Marauders is that we have forgotten how to drive them. Back in design days, no one at Ford expected the target market to want anything to do with a manual. "Spend 35K and have to shift? No way!"

Way...

 

[jstevens]

Yes, if I had a s/c'er, I would definately go with 3.73's.
The 4.10's are perfect for making this car move. I commute 32 miles freeway one way daily for work.

You know its funny, but my wife keeps asking me if I'm ready for a new car. But I tell her I'm still having too much fun with this one.

 

[SNOOKEY]

ford is closeing plants and I think the thomas plant in canada is one of the plants. this is where the build the crown vic and the grand marguie. if this is true there won't be another marauder.

 

[DEFYANT]

ford is closeing plants and I think the thomas plant in canada is one of the plants. this is where the build the crown vic and the grand marguie. if this is true there won't be another marauder.

:idea:

op:

 

[MENACE]

:uh oh: ...........That's not nice!

 

[SNOOKEY]

did anyone hear that ford is closing the st thomas assembly plant? right now they are down to one shift. this is where ford builds the crown victoria and the grand marquie,and the police cars. If this is true then no more marauders

 

[epyon]

Well, I hope they make some of them here. And yes I would buy one. A 5.4L DOHC N-A or a V-10 would be cheap and nice to drive.

 

[BillyGman]

As a 2003 Marauder owner who has installed an Eaton/Trilogy Supercharger on his car, I'd have to say I fully agree with what "BracketBomber" and "Defyant" have both written in this thread, and that my choice would be a Marauder from the factory with a 5.4 Ford Lightning engine (with the same Supercharger, but a shorter intake manifold height in order to get it under the Marauder hood). To me that would be ideal, as long as they kept the body style exactly the same.

I think that Marauders are cool looking cars. They're a little more sporty looking than the Crown Vics are, while at the same time, modest enough looking to not me mistaken for a kid's car, and therefore are very stealth when they're supercharged. Furthermore, with this slightly sporty but stealth look of the 2003/2004 Marauder, many married guys can sway their wives to agree with them in a decision to buy one.

 

[epyon]

Dose this mean that the V-8 Volvo has on a brother to the chassis could make it to the Ford Five Houndred ? Like the Jaguar and Lincoln LS, or the Taurus SHO V-8 ?

 

[BillyGman]

Dose this mean that the V-8 Volvo has on a brother to the chassis could make it to the Ford Five Houndred ? Like the Jaguar and Lincoln LS, or the Taurus SHO V-8 ?

LOL...I dunno, but as far as I'm concerned, with the way the Ford 500 looks, it might as well be a Volvo. :rollseyes

 

[T'Cal]

I would buy another Marauder in a heartbeat. It's the perfect blend of high performance car, luxury car, and family car out there. It's like a Mustang that's grown up...a bit. My wife loves to drive it, too. There are few cars out there that sound as good, although I'm really tempted to replace my stock mufflers with a pair of Flowmaster 40s.

Since Ford has come out with the 3 valve SOHC V8s for the Mustang and most of their trucks, why hasn't Ford offered this engine for the Crown Vic/Police Interceptor/Grand Marquis/Town Car? I thought for sure the Marauder would be revived in 2005 with the less-expensive-to-build but as powerful 4.6L 3V V8 from the Mustang GT.

Here's what I would recommend for the next Marauder (or at least 2007 Crown Vic Sport):
Engine: First choice - the non-supercharged 3V-5.4L V8 (350 hp) from the upcoming Ford Mustang Boss; second choice - the modified 3V-4.6L V8 from the new Mustang GT-H (325hp). Add cylinder deactivation to improve highway fuel economy.
Transmission: First choice - the six speed automatic from the Ford Explorer; second choice - the five speed auto from the Mustang.

I would modify little else from the 03/04 version. Perhaps, I would recommend making leather seating optional rather than standard. I would also like to see the older Grand Marquis instrument panel used with a slight modification. Start with two secondary gauges (fuel, temp, volts, oil) flanking both sides of a larger centered gauge. That larger gauge would be an analog tachometer (rather than a speedo) with its redline straight up at 12 o'clock. Inset at 3 o'clock would be a 2" digital display for speed. This would bring all of the gauges right in front of the driver rather than have the too low (albeit pretty cool) Autometer gauges on the console.

Taking into account inflation since the 03 & 04 models were for sale, a new Marauder with the SOHC 3 valve V8 would be cheaper than the older ones with their expensive DOHC 4 valve plants. Still, the 5- and 6-speed automatics might bite into some of that savings.