2004 Grand Marquis Were Is Paint Color
Before I alpha talking to you about why the Mercury Marauder deserves approaching archetypal status, I appetite to alpha by talking about biology. Specifically, evolutionary biology, and the abstraction of the "apex predator." It's science-learnin' time!
An acme predator is, essentially, an beastly that has no predators of its own. It is at the top of its aliment chain. Wolves, crocodiles, analgesic whales, tigers, and possibly the Tyrannosaurus Rex additionally (although I like to anticipate it is.) It has no accustomed enemies that can booty it down.
When we anticipate of T. Rex, we brainstorm the best alarming predator that anytime absolved the Earth,…
By the backward 1990s, Ford's Panther belvedere had become an acme predator. Offering body-on-frame construction, rear-wheel drive a huge trunk, massive amounts of room, and gas-guzzling V8s, it had in abounding means become the ultimate change of the archetypal American car setup. While added cars competed adjoin the Ford Crown Victoria, Mercury Grand Marquis, and Lincoln Town Car, there were no added cars that aggregate its time-tested construction.
But the Panther cars were the best at what they did. Aloof attending at the acutely absolute cardinal of Crown Vic badge cars and Town Car atramentous cars still in use today, admitting they're eventually — and in abounding cases, begrudgingly — accepting phased out. Jalops and added car enthusiasts don't charge to be assertive of how alarming they are.
Out of all the Panther cars, I would altercate that the 2003 and 2004 Mercury Marauder was the greatest, the final anatomy of this abundant acme predator.
Essentially, the Marauder was a hot rod adaptation of the Grand Marquis cobbled calm with added genitalia from the Panther band and added Ford cars. Taking its name from Mercurys of the 60s, it was a Panther congenital for performance, for begrimed burnouts and ass-kicking, not carriage grandma to abbey or acrimonious addition up at the airport. The Marauder was the artery fighter of the Panther family. Character? Try attitude, not character.
The Marauder had affectionate of an odd development process. It aboriginal showed up at the 1998 SEMA appearance as a abstraction area it arranged a supercharged 4.6-liter V8 acceptable for of 335 application and 355 pound-feet of torque, the adaptation that assuredly debuted in 2003 was beneath potent.
But it was still an advance over the calm Grand Marquis in about every department. They ditched that car's 235-horsepower, 4.6-liter SOHC V8 for a dual-cam adaptation from the Mustang Cobra that was acceptable for 302 application and 318 pound-feet of torque. Those were appropriate numbers for an American V8 aback in the day.
The taillights came from the Crown Vic, the advanced springs came from a Badge Interceptor, the rear air springs came from a Town Car, and it ditched the Grand Marquis' costly advanced bank bench for buckets and a attic shifter for the four-speed autobox. You got added aliment too, like a growly exhaust, revised gauges that included temperature, oil burden gauges, and a voltmeter, a revised suspension, and a 3.55:1 rear arbor with a bound blooper diff.
Oh yeah — and in old-school Ford fashion, it alone came in one blush at first: black. As in, "You can accept any blush you appetite as continued as it's black." Accompanying with the absolute badass name and you accept what is calmly one of the best adverse cars anytime made. (Of course, added colors like red and argent were added after on.)
Here's what Car and Driver had to say aback in 2003:
Compared with antecedent Panther platforms, this one is the Rock of Gibraltar—more adamant by half, beneath decumbent to anatomy all-overs and subassembly squirm. That's mainly due to a new anatomy with beeline ancillary balustrade and beefier crossmembers. But some of the acclaim goes to the Tokico nitrogen, monotube shocks—mounted outboard of the anatomy balustrade at the rear—as able-bodied as firmer anti-roll-bar bushings in front, beneath adaptable body-to-frame bushings, rear load-leveling air springs, and advanced springs aerial from the Vic badge cruiser.
[...] On back-country roads, you feel it instantly: The Marauder is firm, flat, stable, composed. Roll ascendancy is agitating for a auto so large, abnormally advantageous in 50-to-70-mph sweepers, area the adenoids takes a set and is clear-sighted about archetype a single, apple-pie arc. On-ramps are a ball.
From this you ability anticipate the Marauder some array of big, bad American M5-hunting beast, a action auto so beggarly and so barbaric that it became a affectionate of boogeyman adventure that BMW engineers told their children? Not really. The Marauder had one analytical deficiency: it wasn't absolutely all that fast, unfortunately.
Zero to 60 mph times were in the mid-7 additional range, and Automobile begin a division mile time of 15.6 abnormal at 94 mph. "Respectable, but not intimidating." The car was defective in low-end torque and it aloof had too abundant weight to carry, reviewers said. It wasn't slow, it aloof wasn't a world-destroyer.
The Marauder soldiered on for aloof two archetypal years, 2003 and 2004, and alone about 11,000 were anytime sold. (When you get bottomward to it, this was apparently the aftermost air-conditioned Mercury of any sort.)
Despite the slight arrears in performance, the Marauder deserves Approaching Archetypal cachet for a few reasons. For one, there's the aberration of the car, and its about obscurity alfresco of Panther circles. Edmunds sums it up able-bodied here:
Still, the Mercury Marauder's abridgement of success as a new archetypal appealing abundant guarantees aberration as a acclimated model. We can acclaim it after catch for a acclimated car client in chase of a acceptable full-size auto with lots of allowance and V8 power, topped off with a advantageous dosage of attitude and abnormally American style.
And again I'll bend aback to what I said beforehand about acme predators. The Panther is a anachronistic now, a relic, already out of assembly and headed for closing afterlife as the cars on the alley go through their accustomed lifespans. Nothing has absolutely anytime replaced them — Ford, Chevrolet and Dodge can accomplish all the big sedans they want, but no car will anytime bout the body-on-frame Panther's utility, courage and size.
We Jalops adulation Panthers. So do abounding enthusiasts who acknowledge their different abilities and robustness accompanying with comfort. It could be argued that back the Marauder accumulated the best of all the cars, it could be advised the actual best Panther, alike if it wasn't acknowledged in the accumulation market.
I could see the car acceptable absolutely coveted amid American beef enthusiasts some day, and to abounding it already is. And by arduous advantage of that engine, it's additionally got a ton of abeyant as a tuner car — aloof Motor Trend, who already sampled the supercharged VT Competition Marauder acceptable for 430 horsepower. This cut that aught to 60 mph time way bottomward to 5.1 seconds. Yeah, buddy. Build one of these up and you'd accept absolutely the sleeper on your hands.
The Marauder was a badass car. Hopefully, it will one day get the adulation and account it adapted all along. Panther Love!
This is Approaching Classics, a new, semi-regular affection area we analyze amazing and unappreciated cars from the backward 90s, 2000s, and today that could be awful coveted by approaching generations. You may appetite to aces one of these up while you still can!
