Looks like every American brand had some news at either the LA or Detroit shows….except Mercury. There’s even been talk of a Lincoln version of the Mustang, which doesn’t seem to bode well for a return of the Cougar. Ford announces it’s newest turnaround plan in just a few days, anyone think they’ll announce the demise of Mercury?

 

They can't get rid of Mercury. I remember reading once that most Lincoln/Mercury dealerships couldn't survive on just Lincoln alone...

 

I sat in both Fusion and Milan at the LA show. Both look EXTREMELY cheap and not all that well put together. There's absolutely no reason to have two identical cars with the same exact shoddy looking build quality and priced the same.

The Zephyr at least looks like it has a better interior than the other two and actually looks/feels more solid.

I was surprised by how crappy these cars were because they looked so amazing in pictures. So much for Ford's "year of the car." Maybe next year.

 

Wow, you must have sat in ones built by a different company.......... than the ones I sat in.

Short of the corporate Ford stereo, the Fusions I have seen, and been in, have been very well assembled. While the interior materials were not up to the Lincolns standards, they were certainly as nice as most of the competition.

BTW, did you happen to drive any of these "crappy" cars???

BTW2, Mercury's concepts, and production models, are usually shown at the Chicago show, not LA or Detroit. It helps to separate the attention.

 

These were the production cars, and obviously I didn't drive them at the show.

As far as appearance and materials, the Fords look like they're supposed to be well designed and using quality materials. That's why I was impressed with the pictures. But once you sit down and check out the gage cluster, feel the steering wheel and touch/knock on the panels it becomes painfully obvious just how cheap the materials really are.

-The gages have that red, thick, plastic "needle" typical of Ford (why???) that looked crappy 10 years ago; the fake "aluminum" gage rim adds nothing positive; the whole thing looks clobbered together and imprecise.

-The steering wheel is of nice thickness but feels brick hard when you grab hold of it. It should feel secure in your hands and nice to the touch (at least in that 10-2 9-3 area), the Ford wheel feels rough on your hands and not all that secure to boot!

-The buttons and various switch gear feel clunky and inprecise. They have a poor tactile feedback. In other words they don't reward your senses.


The Malibu interior and GMs recent interiors in general for that matter feel/look like they're using materials at least 5x higher in cost than Ford's. The switch gear usually gives you that right "click" or "tick" and at least doen't feel cheap. GM still has to learn to dress up their gages and piece together designs pleasing to the eye but at least they don't look/feel cheap anymore. Definite progress.

Ford on the other hand took a shortcut.

 

I wish Mercury would take another shot at the Marauder.

 

EN/FN gets virtually NO "upkeep" money. I worked on '06 refresh. That's right, there was a refresh in '06. Could anyone here even tell? Didn't think so...

Keeping that in mind, there were mules. Considering the sales of the 1st Marauders, there was no way it was going to happen.

 

I've yet to see the '06 GM with the new grille on the street. Looks like there is some separation now between the headlights and the grille, new tail light treatment, probably would have made a good looking Marauder. I also noticed that they dropped the on-again, off-again, bucket seat LSE option for '06.

There was nothing wrong with the Marauder that another 100HP or so couldn't have fixed IMHO. Still seems like an unbeatable way to get a "halo" car for Mercury. When was the last time a Mercury product inspired such devoted owners that websites were started, clubs organized and annual conventions attended.

Just seeing a Marauder drive down the road, like the Caprice based Impala SS before it, made me feel proud to be an American!

 

Only if they port the 5.4 Shelby motor...otherwise it will be another PIG

 

Proud Pony and I had this conversation recently....I see more Marauders now than I did when they were new. Strange.

Anyway, that package was >>>>this<<<<< close IMO. It just lacked the low end torque to get it off the line with authority. Maybe it was abit pricey, too.

A N/A 5.4 Marauder, for low $30s would have a made a compelling alternative to a Charger R/T....if you ask me.

 

Indeed buddy... I parked my '93 stang right beside a bone-stock Marauder just last Wednesday (at a local McyDees no less). I saw 2 last week. I don't know why people are driving them so much now?!?!

My proposal was for Ford to drop in the old blown Cobra motor now that the GT500 has upped-the-ante for Mustang. Take the 18's, Brembos, and you have a helluva car. All parts in production, tested, sourced, and ready to go, not to mention the aftermarket for the blown 4.6 these days... 600hp kits are sick!
I'd SERIOUSLY have to think about ordering one over my next Mustang.
Guess I'm getting older...
I'd leave the dealer's lot and drive straight to a window tint shop, then go home and shop for lowering springs...

As Gloria said, look for Merc to show up in a few weeks at the next show.
It makes no sense for Ford to play all cards in one hand.
M.I.B. would have nothing on that car for sinister badass looks IMO... even the 300C in black would have to cheat to win my preference in curb appeal.

 

There are still plans for SVT involvement on D3...don't give up yet.

 

So SVT will do a D3? I thought they weren't. An AWD, 4.4 V8 would be pretty cool.

EDIT: But my minds eye sees Proud Pony's Marauder as more badass.....

 

I agree on the Proud comment.

And my info is a couple of months old, and "the plan" may have put a damper on SVT.

 

The thing about that kind of car is it's mass appeal. Impy SS had it in the '90's.

The old guy in his 60's thinks it's cool and he can make it fit into the parking lot at the Country Club.
The young guy in his 30's thinks it's cool and makes it fit into the parking lot at the local gym.
It looks right at home in the parking lot at a NASCAR event, at the local Hooter's, at a funeral home, outside Valentino's Italian, or cruising on Woodward. The car simply "fits" into such a broad market, it's amazing.

Let me shoot bullets at the source of it's failure for a moment...
1) I blame Ford for poor advertising on the 1st Marauder. It was simply NOT put out to the market via TV, radio, magazine, or media ads - period. Only gear-heads and people who stumbled onto them on a lot knew about them when they were available.
2) I blame Ford for not putting enough TORQUE in the car. Not HP mind you, but tire-shredding TORQUE. If magazine editors could have done a serious burnout with their mules, they would have howled about it for "attitude". Instead, they griped that they couldn't smoke 'em and called the car "all looks, no go".
3) I blame Ford for not pricing the car about $2-4k lower. They went for $32k when offered, and the loaded Crown Vic/Grand Marquis was available for $19-24k with the same underpinnings and basic options. Black paint, Special exhaust system, and 18" wheels do not justify $10k in my book. The Marauder's options were great, and the looks were there, but the price-point was just a bit too high for what the car really was underneath. You have got to hook your market and create demand before you can rape the public for it.

If they will simply fix those points above, and sling out another Crown Vic disguised as a Mafia hit car, IT WILL SELL. I can't help but look at 300C sales and think that there is not a market for sinister black low-slung 4-doors with 3" stainless steel exhausts and 18" chrome wheels from the factory.

Side note - the original Marauder only offered 2 options as I recall, trim and sound system.
If Ford would actually offer the P71 Police Package on the Marauder as an option - my next Mustang would be on 4-year hiatus!
Oil cooler, steering cooler, silicone hoses, extra cooling package, heavy duty a/c, and all the other goodies that the cop-car gets would be AWESOME on the street version Marauder, and they are all sitting in the parts bin ready to be installed on Panther-bodies as we speak.

For the LIFE of me I don't know why they don't bring it back.