The Mercury Marauder Was the Muscle Car Sedan of the Early 2000s
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Mercury Marauder review! The Mercury Marauder was an exciting performance sedan, and it was essentially a muscle car version of the Ford Crown Victoria. Today I'm going to review the Mercury Marauder, and show you everything about it -- including all the quirks and features. I'm also driving the Mercury Marauder, and I'll review the driving experience and show you what it's like behind the wheel.
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I know quirky cars don't do as well for you as new cars in the metrics, but please never stop reviewing them. We love quirky cars.
yeah 100%. this is way more interesting than another truck or SUV. i like this, it's definitely cool
True. Quirky cars made this channel.
Stopping these videos to film more new cars would be like Porsche discontinuing the 911 because they sell more Cayennes
i absolutely agree!
I’m sure he will get a great price on cars and bids to help compensate! Best of both worlds for Doug, review stuff that you care about and diminish the financial losses on YT.
For real, I'd rather watch a review of an old Saab than the newest most-limited-edition $3M Lamboclarenarri.
The Marauder and Impala SS were two boats that I've always wanted to own. Some tint and a reasonable exhaust were all I wanted for them.
I second that emotion!! If ever there were two cars that looked perfect from the getgo it's those two
Hahaha, dude, I just dropped the same comment. Two bad ass V-8 cruisers.
Had an Impala SS; was underpowered with the engine I had though.
@@malachiwhite356 yeah, I would definitely want an LS upgrade
Same here.
I have to say I absolutely love my Marauder. Ive owned it since 2008. Yeah its not the fastest car on the road, never was. But it has a personality like no other. Love that its a car you dont see 100 times a day like other cars.
Excellent, so glad you realize what you have there. I have photos that I took at a local Merc. dealer when your car was introduced! Also, I bought my 1997 SHO 22 years ago, It has been in storage since 1999 To this day, still looks like a 2 year old used car ((O:
Does anyone ever notice or ask you about it?
@@AlexGray It used to just be older guys that noticed but as the years went by alot of younger people started owning them in my area.
Surprisingly, people love to see it when I take it to shows. Lots of thumbs up driving around on the streets of SF too.
If somebody gave me a choice of either a Ferrari or any car on the ford panther platform, I would take the latter any day
I get asked if it’s for sale every time I go to the gas station
I was in high school as a muscle car gear head when this car came out. Absolutely fell in love with it, and still love it today.
Fun fact about the jackets. These were optional with the purchase of the car, or can be purchased separately. The ones that came with the car read “Made exclusively for Mercury Marauder owners” The jackets purchased separately just read “Made exclusively for Mercury Marauder”.
The Marauder seats also did have extra side bolstering compared to a regular Crown Vic or LX Sport.
Were both versions of the jacket made in China like the one in the video?
I love this car I drove it when I was in my early 2O’s a burn out loose control cool
6:42
The Crown Vic had side bolstering? Never noticed that!
@@MMM18092 I was just going to make a comment to this effect, lol. Some is in fact more than none at all, but implying that the Vic had any is wishful at best and lying at worst, lmfao.
I always love when Doug comes with a video of some older car, I find especially American cars very interesting. Don't care about some 3 million dollar hypercars, this is the right stuff for me.
People only buy really expensive car’s to show off to others. A car is car, just gets you were you need to go.
@@bman_dc, Not everyone is into the same type of cars and not everyone wants cars to get from point a to b.
A fun quirk that is missed with the aftermarket stereo: since these cars (and CV/GM/TC) had a separate clock, the corporate Ford stereo which normally had a built in clock, had a jumper that prevented the clock from being shown. There was a “clock” button that would normally display the clock, so if you pressed it on this car, it would display “No Cl” for “No Clock” 😆
I'm surprised they bothered, but I also think it's kind of nice. I've had a couple of cars with multiple clocks that never agreed; it was maddening.
2004's though did have that option and ability restored since it is only the 2003's that have the stand alone central clock.
One of my favorite quirks with this car that you forgot to mention, is that it has corner lights! In behind the turn signal, and they come on whenever you turn on the blinker on that side
I loved that feature so much when I had mine.
@@4sd4d It seriously came in handy for me, considering my windows were insanely tinted. Lol
....and that FULLY boxed frame !!
I love cornering lights!
I agree. It's a very thoughtful and practical feature. I don't normally use my signals in my neighborhood if there's no one in front of me or behind me, but I'll use them at night in case there's a small obstacle I want to avoid.
A quirk of the corning lights is that you can illuminate them without actually initiating the turn signal. If you push the signal lever up or down ever so slightly, you can make only the light come on without the signal. I don't think it's intended to be used that way because it's kinda difficult to do.
I'm surprised Doug didn't mention the cornering lights in this video, because he did mention them in his Lincoln Town Car video from 2019, and was very complimentary about them.
This was my high school dream car; I was 16 with these were being released. Ended up getting my first one; one of the red ones in 2013; followed by 2 blues! Ex-wife made sure they went away; hence one of the reasons why she’s an ex-wife… But now I have an all original, black 2003 sitting in my garage that comes out on special occasions.
Shame the blues are gone!
Interesting fact: they only made Blue Marauders in 2003, and Reds only in 2004.
Same here, I so clearly remember sitting in one in the dealer showroom, then getting my heart ripped out at the last second when I was told “I was nuts to think this was ok for me” right as we had sat down to go over paperwork for the sale. 🥺🥺🥺🥺 I definitely still want one!
you owned FOUR???? im so jealous
i will never understand why people sell cars because their girls want it gone.
My grandma has a 2004 Maruader that has 7500 miles on it, its literally perfect. It still smells like a new car.
Location?...is she interested in selling?
hang on to it....they don't make "real" cars anymore
Going to be worth a bag soon
Dave would she be interested in selling?
Don't sell it!! Keep it as long as possible!! She has to be getting all kinds offers for it!! I own a 2005 Grand Marquis LS Premium, with every option. It's in excellent condition and I get offers for it.
I owned a grand marquis park lane edition and it was to this day in my top three favorite cars I've ever owned. It was comfortable, reliable and a straight up runner. Mile after mile this platform just kept going and the only issue I ever had was a fuel pump failure.
At how many mile did your fuel pump fail? I’m still on my original at 193,000 miles
Yeah, hard not to like the old full size american cars. My first newer car was a 78 Buick Riviera. It was the last year of the large rwd Rivieras and was only 3 years old when I bought it. One of my favorite cars to have owned.
When these were new, my dad had a Crown Vic in a dark color. He worked in the downtown of a city where there were many unmarked Crown Vics driven by special police/private security details. In the winter, he wore a black jacket and for fun would drive up behind people and make it look like he was talking into a microphone in his sleeve. Their reactions were priceless, and their driving improved accordingly.
Heh, I had a black Crown Vic at around the same time, but it was an '89, so it wasn't fooling anybody. :)
I have an 07 MGM with blacked out chrome, grey paint, that looks similar to some of the unmarked CVPI's that are still on use. It gets kinda annoying when people slow down to a crawl in front of me, but is hilariously entertaining driving down any street in LA on the way to work and watching the groups of tweakers pop their heads up like meerkats with a predator approaching on the Discovery Channel, LOL!
Did his windscreen insurance cover bullet holes?
Unlike most “supercars,” the Marauder has tens of millions of miles of fleet punishment in its development. In which thousands of criminals were chased and rammed haha
Facts
You mean panther platform cars
That’s true. Most exotic car owners just
keeps them in the garage because it appreciates in value. In the future some greedy loser is gonna auction off a 458 spider for a million dollars because it’s the last NA Ferrari. And also it’s a lot more common to see this on hypercar owners. They barely take it out in the track
Just cut the coils. 🚗💨💨💨
To add a little historical background, the Marauder nameplate comes from the '60s, where it was originally the name of a trim level before being promoted in 1969 to a model name in its own right. Like its '03 descendant, the 1969-70 Marauder was a dressed-up Marquis with a moderately more powerful range of engine options and unique alloy wheels sporting the vintage Mercury-head logo. It was never intended to be a muscle car as such, but rather was aimed at what used to be called the "personal luxury" market, where "personal" translated to "a bit faster than usual, but let's not go crazy here." :)
Also, the 1970 version in black is one of the most sinister-looking cars of its era. In a hypothetical cop movie where all the cars were provided by Ford, the bad guy would have driven a black Marauder with heavily tinted windows.
(As an aside, the spare tire doesn't slop over the shelf in the trunk so much in similar-vintage Crown Vics I've seen. Possibly because they don't have 18-inch wheels? idk)
Oh yeah, I love the shape of the 1970 Marauder’s front! And those vacuum (?) powered rotating headlight covers! Mmm, tasty. And sinister.
I'm not certain that the 18-inch wheel issue has anything to do with the depth of the spare tire in the trunk, since the aspect of the tires is lower on those wheels and hence the outside diameter probably pretty close to the same. It would have to be to avoid having to recalibrate the speedometer gearing as well, and possibly the rear end ratio. In practice, though, a lot of those cars had radios up on that shelf, so there wasn't any place to put the tire up there, and they probably put it down in the well, though I've never actually looked in the trunk of a cvpi.
Thank you, though, for confirming that the vintage of that logo is that of the original Marauder.
@@baylinkdashyt Oh, it goes back farther than that--it's the original Mercury logo from the 1930s. It was a "retro" touch even on the 1960s versions.
@@baylinkdashyt I have an 08 Crown Victoria police interceptor, the trunks is exactly the same. That is the correct placement of the spare tire. The older Crown Victoria's had 16in wheels and the newer ones like mine have 17in wheels.
Picked up my 04’ a little over a month ago. Absolutely in love with it. I’m 24 and I’m now friends with the older guys in my office because of it haha one of them is 70 and had one when it was new!
How's the maintenance cost, if you don't mind me asking?
@@volcan8778 it’s pretty cheap because they share a lot of parts with the other panther cars
Finally, a new video on a quirky car I'd never heard of.
These are so much more interesting than the newest crossover SUV.
OMG, you're kidding. Detroit isn't that bad. Come visit sometime. You'd be enlightened on these things you've never heard of. This car is a very bad reincarnation of the REAL Mercury Marauder of the 70s.
Finally! For better or worse, an American icon she was. Proud to own one. Great job as always, sir.
Buley auto is the type of guy to use gender pronouns for cars
@@drippgxd in the grand American tradition of doing so, yes.
@@buleyauto so if you have have Twitter do you put he/him in your bio?
Always liked these sir. Either it was the cops or a marauder behind me. You are lucky to own one.
@@drippgxd hell no. And the tradition of calling old cars “she” predates gender pronoun madness by 100 years. I think you’re misunderstanding.
My grandfather used to have a Marquis.
It may not sound that special, but I live in Europe, so that car was basically the biggest sedan in town by far.
He pretty much always drove US imports. He always changed the suspension because those were shite on US cars back in his day (50-90s)
The Marquis he got with the optional air suspension.
my Marquis has the air suspension, when I went to buy one I wanted to avoid it for repair costs, but ended up finding one with it anways; I learned that it's worth it because it's pretty reliable and cheapish to fix anyways, but it COMPLETELY changes these cars.
I'm not sure what you mean changed the suspension and shit. The Grand Marquis had soft suspension. Which of course was shit, unless you want to feel like you're always sailing the high seas. Did you mean longer lasting parts? Air suspension is soft. That said. I own one, and it's an absolute joy whipping it around like it's a smaller car. One more thing, for however large they are, the backseat foot room is tiny. Unless you have the stretched wheelbase one like I believe the cabs and Town cars were. Very long, very wide car, but front to back interior is really not that big.
@@pgtmr2713 Nah I mean that the ride and handling is pretty different compared to the regular shocks. It's more taught in the rear, less rebound. Feels better damped too. Still boatyard much much more composed
@@a.kblur04 Yeah you can find new airbags for less then $100.
They all had a rear air suspension. All of the panther cars. The navigators also have rear air.
Thank you, Doug, Marauder video was excellent. Bought a 2003 Marauder in 2003 and still have it today. 105,000 miles. Read a review of it on a Saturday morning, drove it home on Tuesday. Had a Marauder reunion years ago and drove it around the Indy Speedway.
Has been the favorite car I ever driven.
Also got the free leather jacket, lol.
Also have an 86 Mustang GT, my mom’s car, lol
Having owned a Marauder, I can tell you that they're not particularly fast or good handling, but they attract all sorts of attention. What they lack in pure performance they more than make up for in sheer presence.
I get stopped everywhere I go in mine it’s crazy. People who know what they are always want to ask me about it or try to buy it lol
@@williamgray9070 I've had mine since 2010 and have been approached exactly twice. I wonder if it's because mine's all the way stock and not black?
@@dookmaddock1221 Mine is totally stock Other than my exhaust and it’s a DTR what color is yours
@@williamgray9070 blue.
@@dookmaddock1221 I’m jealous lol
Also, at 08:40 the rest of the Panther Platform cars did receive a tachometer in 2006 with the redesign of the gauge cluster IIRC.
Correct. For the last couple years of production, there was a package for the Vic that had the floor shift and tach.
Yea I was hoping someone else noticed that lol
Doug makes shit up on every car. Someone should tell him about google
also gmq lse’s had em
@@harrybhalbag9924 floor or column shift vic had a tach
There are 2 stories for why the spare tire was mounted on the shelf in the truck:
1) because a Ford executive got a flat tire on a trip and was pissed that he had to unload all his luggage to get the spare tire, lug wrench and jack out of the bottom of the trunk so they moved it to the back.
2) same basic story but it was numerous crown vic police cruisers.
as a bonus, better weight distribution. more weight toward the center 😜😛
Yes this location makes more sense than in any other car. Maybe some cars that had a spare under the hood on the engine (not good for temperature for rubber tire) or in front (back engine ones) or on rear tailgate (4x4 usually).... But easy to get, don't have to unload everything from the trunk-- and tire usually pops under heavy load like towing a trailer or with a trunk full of stuff and rear passangers.
Modern cars ?? They rarely even have a spare.
There is room for 2 full size spares without impeeding trunk space. Another tire also fits on the right side
I know it still seems out of place, but the tire being mounted on that shelf leaves you uninterrupted trunk space below the shelf while keeping you from having to dig out the spare from the very deep portion of that trunk. It will always look odd, but having that thing in line with opening of the trunk is a bit easier for removal. And if you're too short (like me) to simply pull it straight out, you can slide it off the shelf and let the spare stand upright in the trunk before removing it.
Ohhh man I ALWAYS loved the panther platform! I had an obsession with police cars as a kid, and loved these things growing up. I always loved the… smooth floatiness of it too. Ya it’s usually a negative quality but I loved it. The Marauder is the ultimate one and finally you’ve reviewed one! AWESOME!
Always loved the smooth delivery of these land yachts with the V-8 purring along.
Finally! Doug, you have no clue how long I've been waiting for this. I had a Marauder as my first car, owned it for two years. The thing checked every box of mine better than any other car could've, and frankly I will always miss it. It will be my first choice as a collector when I have the means to own a second car.
You had a pretty great first car!
You accomplished what I dreamed of doing! I had one offered to me but didn't have my license or enough money at the time. Glad you had the opportunity to do that, love the story.
I still went the boat route though with getting a 10th gen Impala as my second car - glad I did, but still think about what could have been if I found a Marauder.
I recently supercharged mine. Did a large video on how I did it. I love these cars
I hope you can find one bro. The panther platform is awesome. I have an 03 grand Marquis and I've upgraded the suspension front and back and also installed the Marauder dual exhaust.
@@mr.e8543 That's funny, the guy who bought mine had plans to do the same! He was going to fully rebuild the engine and supercharge it, I really hope he went through with it. I'd like to see my old marauder doing what they always should've been able to do.
I miss Doug discussing the DougScore categories in-depth at the end.
Please bring it back, Sir!
At least point out the stand out categories.
I miss them too, but since he did way too many cars that had them, he couldn't find any to do the categories for and then sadly, the DougScore categories unfortunately got cut short.
True. I think he did them for just the weekday reviews and skipped it for the 'more doug' uploads. But I appreciated the score breakdowns on every car, would be nice to have them back
Or at least have a behind the scene of it.
You are one of the few. Most of the viewers skipped that part hence he stopped doing it.
This car and the ‘96 impala ss, are two of my favorite cars from this general era. Definitely want them both some day.
Really appreciating Doug for the deep dive into the era against a modern perspective.
I went to a car show in PA where someone had a modified Marauder that was an 9 second sleeper. It was twin turbocharged and it looked stock except for a stealthy roll cage in the interior and under the hood of course. So cool!
That is awesome! Love sleeper 4doors and wagons
If Doug puts that leather jacket on, he morphs into the spitting image of Jay Leno.
Always felt that these were very unappreciated. Sweet cars
When I was a kid my grandpa had a grand marquis of this era with the SOHC and that was such a cool car, good power and really comfortable ride. The extra 70~ hp must really wake it up
I think the Marauder is the perfect platform for a sleeper-land yacht, as proven by Cleetus with the turboed one he gave away.
Wrong, that thing was bone stock.
@@Everythingisgoingtobealright 😏😏
@@Everythingisgoingtobealright AC worked awesome though
Supercharged mine. Posted a vid on this CZcams on what and how I did it. She's a real sleeper. Down to stock exhaust
Good episode Doug! Glad to see you finally got to review one. I know you got with me years ago on doing mine back in Ohio and it sucks it never worked out when you moved to Cali but Im glad to still see it done. Missed out on a lot of good quirks and features that a lot of cars don't have, such as the auto release parking brake when shifted into drive or reverse and the factory staggered tires to give the car that raked look, but thats no big deal. Over all you nailed it explaining the driving experience. Power comes on at about 3K rpm and not 4 (thats when the cams start to do their thing) but other than that you are right about the 4 speed holding the car back. I find my self driving with over drive off most of the time and shifting it my self. The computer always wants to shift it before its power band even when you are trying to drive a little more spiritedly. The one thing that the car will do even stock is chirp the tires on the 1 - 2 shift when wide open. Idk what ford did but they did tighten up the shift speed when you are pushing it to its limit.
Overall, good episode on a fantastic car. I think these would be great investment cars as they are slowly becoming even more rare as time goes on.
Can you mess with the transmission regulator in order for the car to hold up the shifts longer? The MPG will be trashed though, I think.
Also, is a manual conversion a reality with these cars at all? I swapped the 4 speed on my 325i and it definitely makes the car a lot more fun to drive.
@@JuanCarlosLTO you might be able too but honestly most people just get a tune that will just change when the computer says to shift. Thats one of the things that I want to look into eventually. And manual swaps are relatively easy in these cars with the only challenge just being to run a clutch pedal and cable since the panther platform was never offered as such. Seen it done on crown vics a handful of times. The marauder would be difficult to make the shifter look clean with the center console but man would I love to make this car a 5 speed.
Will changing the final drive ratio help? Shorter gearing might make it more spirited while still keeping it a slushmatic.
It does have the classic 1-2 before D on gear stick so that helps.
4th gear cruising revs might get higher though, slightly worse for fuel economy but it is one way to make it a more exciting drive.
@@aaryeshg.6526 Oh yeah definitely. I believe these are factory 3.55 but a 3.73 or 4.10 would be fantastic
you can get aftermarket paddle shifter now
I once looked at one of these for sale. It had 300,000 miles! It looked pretty good for its mileage as well.
One of my favorite cars ever, so glad this got a review.
Doug, please never stop reviewing the weird, quirky cars! We love them!
Yessss you finally reviewed it. This was 1 of my dream cars. I bought one in 2017 and still have it!!!!
I love reading the comments on these types of reviews of older quirky cars. Great video Doug!
0:01 intro
1:44 engine
3:16 exterior
7:35 interior
13:02 back seat
13:53 boot
15:18 history and facts
16:51 driving
21:35 conclusion
God bless you :)
You really go through the whole video for the sole purpose of posting this before even watching it? It’s been up for 7 minutes 😂
Thanks bro 😎 🤙🏾
19:57 Lucifer's Pizza
@@rush-zh5dc clowns
9:10 - “They look like sporty, performance, cool gauges”…… that’s because they are Doug. They’re not just relocated from the factory IP, those are actual aftermarket racing gauges one would buy from Summit Racing for their own high performance/racing/track driven car. Those aren’t Ford factory gauges. They’re probably more accurate than the factory gauges, since the factory gauges tend to run off of the ECM data while aftermarket gauges run directly off the sending unit on the engine.
Unfortunately they are still dummy gauges. They are obviously great autometer gauges but they still use the factory oil pressure and voltage sensors and so are essentially dummy gauges. Oil will always read 70psi and voltage at 13 volts. The sensors can be easily switched out if you want a live read out and I plan to do that with my marauder here at some point.
The gauges were definitely customized for Ford. The oil gauge is designed to point at a fixed number, and cannot be modified to indicate a varying value. At best, the gauge face can be swapped into a real gauge, with some effort.
The voltmeter has a Ford connector on it, and is somewhat accurate, though nothing special.
@@Mach_Style nah the voltmeter works and the earlier Marauder oil pressure gauges did work but were replaced with dummies later
@@xsi1verxbulletxno.288 I have an early 03 marauder and they both act as dummies, and according to the forums, even the 04s act as dummies
8:38 I'm gonna have to correct you here, Doug. Crown Victorias do have tachometers, at least the Police Interceptors do.
Only 06+
@@Red84GT Thanks, I wasn’t sure which years started using them.
Doug, out of all the videos you've made, this one really hit home. I own a 2003 Ford Crown Victoria which I bought brand new back in the day; it's my baby! You reviewing the Mercury Marauder is almost akin to reviewing my car; I remember like yesterday when the Mercury Marauder was out and available. Thank you so much for this review and for all you do!
That’s awesome! Do you still own it?
@@ojsimpson9516 I sure do, has over 280,000 miles on it.
Always loved these. As a car enthusiast, def always caught my eye in traffic opposed to a regular Crown Vic or Grand Marquee. Wish they woulda had a manual option tho.
Relatively easy to do.
There was 13 or so made for bondurant driving school.
Yeah the transmission was always the downside on the Panther platform. I’ve owned two different retired CVPI’s and it’s just a three speed with an overdrive. Canyon roads were the worst because, coming out of a corner, you were always too low in the RPM or too high. So you either deal with not having much pull out of the corner or deal with going wide open for half a second because you’ve only got 300 revs before it hits the rev limiter anyway.
Regardless, I’ll always have a soft spot for this platform, particularly the CVPI. I had a 2011 from Nevada Highway Patrol that was immaculate inside; even had carpet and cruise control. I slightly regret letting it go as it was one of the few that still looked new inside.
I have 2 CVPIs right now! 2003 & 2010 & I love them like a child!!! 🖤🖤🖤
I love these last gen Panthers, owned several, but yes, the shift points on these transmissions are horrible for sure, even with the OD and traction control off. But, there are 4 different remedies that make a night and day difference! I drive winding canyon roads in my 07 MGM as part of my daily commute. The first year I owned the car, shifting through corners was always sluggish, and the car could never find the right gear, and would hunt between gears until I really stood on the pedal. Even then then, there was a long delay for the downshift. The cheapest and most fun remedy are are plug and play can bus paddle shifters! Plug the wireless dongle into the OBD2 port under the dash, and mount the paddles on the steering wheel. These things are a BLAST, and you can manually shift and delay gears as needed, or turn them off to go back to automatic. 300-ish bucks from Can-Shift. Second remedy is a rear end gear swap to a taller gear, fairly easy and inexpensive to do. Adds a lot of pep and helps a bit with the shift points, but MPG will suffer depending on the gear ratio choice. Might as well install a limited slip differential while in there! Next is the infamous famous J-mod. Requires opening the fluid ports in the pressure plate, or purchasing a kit with the holes already resized. Its expensive, and a pain to do, but it puts the shift points in a MUCH better place in the power curve, and the shifts are firm and solid. Lastly, the ultimate MUST DO for a Panther is the famous Marty Tune. Its the easiest and most effective performance upgrade to any Panther. Marty Ochs at MO's Speed Shop is the ultimate authority on these cars, and loads custom tunes onto an SCT tuner that you plug into your OBD2 port. The re-tune will give you much improved throttle response, better shift points, slight increase in HP and and a very noticeable improvement that feels like a different car. My current MGM LS has the 92 octane performance tune and 355 rear gears with limited slip diff, and takes the canyon uphill corners perfectly without hesitation in shifting, and has a LOT more get-up and go, and is really fun to drive now. Both mods cost about $900, and worth every penny. The Marty Tune was around $500, most of that price is the SCT Tuner unit he ships with the installed tune, which you keep. Not affiliated with MO's in any way, but a Marty tune is a must for any Panther platform car, hands down!
3 speed?
@@ezioassassain It’s a three speed with an OD. So four total gears but only the bottom three are for acceleration, with third being 1:1. The Overdrive gear is like 0.70 or something. It’s nuts. You ain’t accelerating shit with that. It’s just for highway cruising.
I have a CVPI and at the moment I have 3 neutrals, only second and third gear work at the moment, about to manual swap it hoping it makes it more fun
These are always my favorite types of videos. It’s so satisfying to see certain older cars as if they were brand new from the dealership.
Great video Doug. After watching your amazing videos for a while, I am surprised that I have not seen a 2004-06 Pontiac GTO and a Pontiac G8 Review videos. I would love to see videos of you reviewing these two cars. Both of these cars are just some of my dream cars.
"Modern automakers are a lot more thoughtful about where the spare (tire) goes". Like in "Mhm, let's not give our buyers a spare, just a crappy tire repair kit and let them figure it out for themselves". Progress people!
Let’s put more electronic junk rather than relatability . That’s why modern cars are junk
I was thinking the same thing when he said that. There's not really anything wrong with the placement in this car. Actually looks like a holdover from the '70s fullsize Ford platform (think Marquis and LTD). Those had the tire up on a shelf like this as well, but since they were bigger cars, the shelf was deeper and the tire didn't stick out nearly as far.
The trunk was shaped like this in Fords to allow the gas tank to sit under that tire shelf. This meant a deeper trunk closer to the rear (for easier access) and better crash protection for the gas tank.
Or force you to pay for a spare and jack as on "option"
This is the Holy Grail among Panther Enthusiasts. Add some parts from ADTR and a Marty Tune, and it totally changes the car's personality from mild to wild...
Don’t forget a J-mod to liven up the transmission
I have been waiting for this review, thanks Doug!
I have a 2004 Red Marauder (about 940 made)that I am the original owner of and just love it and enjoyed your review. A cool little thing you missed as it was daylight is that "MARAUDER" lights up in Red on the dash when the lights are on which sets it apart from the other Panthers. The rear wheels are wider and a larger size tire and the rear is a little raised which is nice. I didn't realize until you said it that the tach took the place of those gages and why they had to be relocated to the console; which I really like :) On the jacket it could not be bought but a card came in the original owners manual packet to send in with your size and one was sent to you; I have mine hanging in the original garment bag it came with for chilly nights out with the car. I think the original jacket is rarer then the car these days LOL Mint original Marauders are few and far between these days and the ones I see around have all been either wreaked or modified; all I know is I am so glad I have mine :)
That's awesome and enjoy mam
I had it's "equal" in a 2004 Mach 1 Mustang with the same 32v motor. Ironically I crushed my pinion gear drag racing against a Marauder. Great sleeper.
My mom had a Lincoln Aviator with the same 32 valve 4.6L V8 and it was a fast Ford Explorer basically
The Lincoln had AWD and IRS…
@@benjaminlibertarianscorpio the bottom end of the motors weren't forged like the Cobra ran so you could only safely build them to about 475 HP. However, my Mach 1 with a 4.10 gear and still Naturally Aspirated was a monster out of the hole by 2004 standards.
@@drdeath5724 then against the old LS1s were around by then and so was the Terminator.
@@drdeath5724 The manual Mach 1's had forged cranks, the automatics did not, which is one of the reasons for the discrepancies in the redline between the manual and automatic Mach 1's. The Marauder got the cast crank version.
9:39 Actually 2005-2010 Toyota Avalons have climate control settings on the steering wheel too. Definitely a weird quirk
The 2003 Mercury Mountaineer's also had this, they're definitely quirky but quite convenient
My Daily is a 2012 Avalon limited and it has the climate controls too. No fan but temp and “auto”. It’s super convenient.
Also 3rd gen Prius
My town car had climate controls on the wheel
I so wish more modern cars have this. I try to make this point to automotive interior designers/engineers whenever I meet them.
I love the cars that have come out over the years with the whole "this is Darth Vaders car" theme. All black versions of the Monte Carlo SS, the Buick Grand National and GNX, the Chevy Impala SS, the Marauder, and even trucks like the GMC Syclone to name a few. They just scream badass sleeper coming to you right from the factory to me.
Not a darth vader theme ....
@@fritzdaddy-135mmgetstagger4 You're not supposed to take it literally but that's the vibe it gives off. For example when the 1987 Buick Grand National GNX debuted Car & Driver magazine announced, "Darth Vader, your car is ready." It just means that they're all black, badass, and they mean business.
Yup, even you can be a Billy Bad Azz now in your crossover SUV with with the black wheels and $699 "Midnight Package" that includes a subwoofer. Wifey believes she is entitled to the closest parking spot at Walmart with this car too!
I think in that case it would be more like Douche Vaders car 😂
@@highlycaffeinated6864 that’s was for the SS
Doug, I'm a bit older and I've owned five Ford Panther cars. My first one was a 1985 Grand Marquis LS solid blue. Now I have a 2005 Grand Marquis LS Premium, silver, with every option including front bucket seats with center console and floor shifter. And a full power moonroof. My late father bought it in January 2011. Paid it off in May 2015. By the December 2015 rolled around, he was gone. I inherited it and I love it. Still runs like new. I'm retired now and I guess I'm the stereotypical older person with one of these Panther cars. It has almost 126,000 miles on it now, and it's not driven much. However, every once in a while I'll take it out on the nearby Interstate highway and let it cruise at 75mph for 60 miles. That's where these Panthers shine the best. And still get nearly 30mpg!!
the 96 impala and the marauder were always my "dream cars" when i was younger, managed to own the impala and still hope to find a marauder eventually
Why don’t you bid on it since it’s on cars and bids
I saw a great black cherry 🍒 style 1996 Impala SS. Great shape. Longwood Florida. ☀️. I own a black Ford Crown Victoria LX sport sedan. 177000mi.
Always liked the Marauder, but I think it needed a bigger engine with more power. Like the 5.4, or even a street car version of the Triton V-10. That would have been really cool.
Nah just needed the supercharger from the factory and a manual trans
why would you need a v10 on a taxi car?
Actually, this car was supposed to be the Ford Crown Victoria Sport Sedan. That's why the Ford rear styling. The intended Marauder was to have the bigger engine and Mercury rear styling.
Always thought the Crown vic should've got the 5.4 instead of 4.6 its a big heavy car the 4.6 is a great engine and its tried and true but it's underpowered for the full size sedans. Ok for the mustangs but not the panthers
@@alfonsomartinez7919 The Marauder was not a "taxi car", it was supposed to be a performance sedan like the Impala SS, and would have been if it had the 5.4 332 engine as was originally intended. You can thank CAFE for that.
This reminds me of my 97 Buick Regal GS. I feel like a supercharged 90s grandma car would be right up Doug’s alley
12:40 one huge benefit of the the spare being there is if you had cargo in the trunk you don't have to take everything out to get to the spare like you would in smaller cars that hid it under the floor of the trunk. It also allowed for a much deeper trunk space as well.
One of the sexiest American sedans ever made! I daily drive a 2004 Lincoln Town Car but I've always wanted a Marauder. Those rims alone are gorgeous.
Agreed
I drove one of these way back when it was new-ish. Absolutely hilarious boat. I cackled every time I put my foot down.
I have a 2007 Grand Marquis and I'm keeping it for the rest of my life. Might not have the best ride and handling in the world but when I open the hood I can fix it without taking the engine out.
Oh man, those nostalgia feels are hitting hard right now. I remember these from back in the day when I worked at my local Ford dealer, and they were def pretty sweet machines at the time. On top of that, I used to daily drive a 92 Grand Marquis, and I tell ya what, I freakin loved that car! It often defied logic with an actual MPG of 25+ on the highway, and the way they always felt the same kind of floaty from 10 to beyond 120 mph (thanks to EEC-IV not having a governor) would blow your mind -I feel like most cops can probably confirm the speed part with their CVPIs. Yep, it was not infrequent that I found myself exceeding the posted limits by a lot on my wheeled sofa, but I also never had a problem explaining to the troopers that it just "floated along effortlessly" and that I honestly didn't realize how fast I was going.
If only that car were a Marauder..
It does have one of the coolest performance name of any model.
My friend has one of these with a tighter steering box and full fox suspension. The thing is ridiculous to ride in. It handles better than most everything else I’ve ever driven, aside from stuff like the 997 GT3. He’s also planning on putting a supercharger on it once he builds his spare engine. I want one so damn bad
My dad has a 03. Thing is a beast and fully stock and in damn perfect condition. He rarely takes it but I always appreciate when he does!
I LOVE THE MARAUDER!!! If good ones weren’t so hard to find I’d have one in my driveway right now.
Love these things. I always liked the Crown Vic as a kid(still do) but I never actually found out about this car until my adulthood. Hard not to love a performance-oriented version of one of my favorite childhood cars
We had a Mercury Monterey minivan for years. It's such a rare quirky little van now, and it's kinda overlooked in Mercury's lineup. I'd love to see you review one Doug!
Glad to see some marauder love! My 2004 Silver Birch marauder is 6spd 6R80 swapped, Whipple supercharge, Cammed greatness of a boat!
Loved this video, and I loved you Town Car video! You're the reason I bought my 04 Town Car after driving my Dad's 2011 Nissan Versa for 3 years! Best decision I ever made, before the video I had my mind set that I would buy a Crown Vic P71 whenever the opportunity arose, but after seeing the perks of the Town Car I waited until my girlfriend spotted a low mileage one owner and had to pull the trigger.
I have a soft spot for these because I used to drive a '92 Grand Marquis. I hated it, it was a land yach, but the Marauder is just cool. If I were a billionaire, I would restore and modernize one of these to be a highway cruiser.
I love the Ford cars with bench seats up front.
Grand Marquis, crown Vic, even the smaller Taurus and Sable.
Love these cars. Managed to snag one in 06 or so. Loved driving it aside from at the time people thinking I was a cop as I came upon them and they'd slow. Power made it easy to get by tho.
That was a great description about an era in time. I remember being excited for a new muscle car!
I’ve seen one of the dark blue ones and the color is fantastic in person. IIRC its called “Dark Blue Pearl” and is one of the more rare paint options on the boat car lineup only coming in a couple of years. I have a CV with the “Harvest Gold” which also only came on a couple of years and it sticks out significantly compared to the more bronze colored golds that the rest of them come in. They’re both super nice colors that were hardly used in their lineup and I always wondered what Mustangs and Tauruses would look like in those colors
Doug: “This car looked awesome and cool!”
Also Doug: 6/10 in styling…
Well yeah, considering the scoring also includes Ferraris, Lamborghinis, Paganis, etc...6 is really good. I'm pretty sure 7 is the highest Styling score he's given to any 4-door car.
Thanks for reviewing Doug. This is one of my dream cars. I still kick myself in the butt when I had a chance to get one years ago.
I own two of them, an 03 Black Marauder & an 04 Silver Marauder. These cars with just a tune & a high stall converter + gears totally makes it worth it & waaay more fun to drive!!!
My 03 marauder is overheating at Firestone the 4th time in 4 weeks..they say the upper hose is no longer made but can’t a mustang or ltd hose work?? Please help
I loved my Gran Marquis, I was never able to find a Maurader in my area.
Hey Doug, really random request. If possible, could you eventually review a first gen dodge intrepid es? It’d be really cool to show how different dodge used to be, especially for younger people. Great video!
Plymouth breeze
Finding one in good condition with minimal modification is going to be the determining factor.
Or a stratus
Almost all of the first-gen Intrepids are gone. Pieces of junk. (My dad owned one) I’d be shocked if Doug found one in even remotely reviewable shape.
Cars from 20-30y ago have an interior cosyness that I don't find in new ones.
Yeah a lot of new cars do seem pretty "cold" and just not very "homey"
I remember when they first came out. The state cops I knew talked about the car now and then. Saw a few on the highway, but never a lot. Also, it got the attention of older motor heads too.
8:50 My family used to have a Ford Crown Victoria police interceptor. It was a retired border patrol car from Arizona. It had a factory tachometer. The gauges lit up green, and the needles were red.
came here to say the same thing. it bugged me a little when he said that.
Man this car is nostalgic it’s what I absolutely wanted when I got my drivers license
Nostalgic? You must be super young
Someone built a manual transmission CV and it sounded dope.
When Doug is more excited about the car than us you know it’s gonna be a good one
So Dope you Did this Video. One of my favorite cars of all time.
I once heard that the oil pressure gauge doesn’t actually tell you the PSI, it just always goes to the same number, so it just tells you that you have oil pressure, if it was low or high it displays the same.
Someone once told me that thats because back in the 80s or 90s a bunch of Mustang owners all compared their oil pressure numbers and all the guys who had slightly lower pressure all tried to sue Ford to get new engines under warranty.
@@hungrymoose7627 yep. Marauders had real ones in the beginning but people kept taking them to dealers
This is true in the 05-09 mustangs as well
Yup it's a dummy on off gauge that's easily replaceable with the real deal.
Great review, always great to see appreciation for the Panther Platform! Interesting choice of photos of the Crown Vics too... especially the two you chose that are both here, ironically not in the USA but in the UK (LAPD and New York taxi).
I currently have a marauder and I get asked so often if I'm interested in selling. I love the car and I hope to keep it for my future generations as it holds sentimental value. It's a very reliable car with a solid engine and comfortable ride. Air assisted independent suspension is a nice touch. I wish it had a bit more power on the low end because it takes a second to get going but once on road it runs like a gazelle
I've been waiting for you to finally review it
the king of the panther platform
FINALLYY, I’ve been waiting so damn LONG for a Marauder to finally be reviewed!
Thanks for this! I have TWO copies of the promotional DVD package that was made available before the grand introduction. I was also privy to an ONLINE intro by important persons at Mercury that a small number of us attended and signed up for. My question was put into the cue, and I asked if the performance was on par or similar to my GEN 3 SHO (which I still proudly own for 22 years now!) and the answer from the rep was, "It will be quicker".... In the end, it really is about the same performance, but I believe the SHO has longer legs on the top end for it's tiny V8 and 235 HP.
You forgot to mention one BIG difference from the normal CV and Marquis. The frame is FULLY BOXED !!
My DREAM Car Right Here!!! I have wanted one of these for decades!
muh rodder
bruhhhhh
mouh rADder
franzj stink
2 more must-do Fords that are under appreciated these days for their impact:
1. 2007 GT500 - the car that really started the modern domestic HP wars(390HP to 500HP, the biggest jump that a late model Mustang Cobra/GT500 had gotten from one gen to the next) and set a bar for the higher performance versions of the revived Camaro & Challenger. Was also a monster modified, just like the Cobra before it(and in spite of mass hysteria about the stock rods lol).
2. 2013 662HP GT500 - While the later 707HP Hellcat would steal its thunder, this was actually the car that made SRT delay the Hellcat a few years and turn up the HP(said by Ralph Gilles himself on an autoshow web stream, I believe it was Motortrend, but I've never been able to find it again of course), and that also humiliated GM & the ZL1. This(separate from the Ralph Gilles thing, that was a couple years later) was the morning of the announcement of I believe the ZL1's MSRP and Ford took a couple hour earlier time slot for a press conference for a 'surprise announcement', which was that the 2013 GT500 would have 662HP, when the ZL1 had been announced at "only" 580HP. Silk glove pimp slap. It was definitely some of the better corporate trolling I've seen in my lifetime, especially when the two cars ended up similarly priced.
This was the Hellcat before the Hellcat(except with handling, at a 'svelte' 3850lbs).
...those two cars, along with the other GM, Ford, & Chrysler 'modern muscle' that's already been covered, would lay out the evolution of the modern high performance muscle super GT car thing category(seriously, calling them "muscle cars" by the 2010s was a misnomer - the base V8 Mustang & Camaro compared heads up with the M3 in performance metrics, including lap times) quite nicely.
I have the 03 Crown VIc PI -- the full spare in the trunk doesn't stick out like on the Marauder- found that surprising. Good video !! Subbed.
I bought one in August. I love it. If anything, I wish that it stayed alive to compete with the Chargers as horsepower started to explode a few years later. The Mach 1 4.6 and aluminum driveshaft are kinda limited in comparison to the speedy competitors that would come after it.
That said, I love everything about my Marauder. Even it's quirks.
I have a question... Didn't the Marauders had a supercharger?
No, they didn't. Much like the Mach-1 Mustang, they didn't have a supercharger because the crankshaft is cast. You can easily swap in the same superchargers that came on the Terminator Mustangs, but you don't want to push it too hard without changing to a forged bottom end. Most kits designed for the Mach-1/Marauder add a meager 5-10 lbs of boost because anything more risks blowing up the crankshaft.
It's usually quicker and cheaper to just swap in a Terminator Mustang engine, that already has forged internals and a supercharger. Plus, your speed was really limited by the aluminum driveshaft. Anything over 120mph and they tend to shear apart. Lots of videos of mustangs blowing up driveshafts because they unlocked their ECM's speed limiter without swapping the driveshaft to something more sturdy.
@@hacatan24 no, just NA. Source: I owned one. Loved it though.
@@4sd4d i swear seeing them with a supercharger... I must be having the Mandela effect
@@johnsanko4136 that's Krazy man... Didn't even know that
I remember seeing the Marauder on all the magazines when it came out. It was advertised as the the type of car a rule breaking no non-sense undercover cop would drive. (Think Hawaii Five-0 with this a McGarett's car)