Chevrolet’s 1994–96 Chevrolet Impala SS created a performance following. This high-performance car built on a full-size 4-door platform generated an immediate cult following among those who wanted a potent LT-1 but needed the practicality of a sedan over a Camaro SS or Corvette. Today, the car’s status as a true collectible of the 1990s is cemented.
At Ford, there were occasional rumblings of a Police Interceptor for the masses to hit that muscle sedan market, but the best Ford offered was a sport package on the Crown Vic.
The Impala SS was retired as the uncontested American muscle sedan with the rest of the B-body rear drivers at the end of 1996. Blue Oval fans had to haunt their local government surplus auctions for a cop Crown Vic and tweak it to build their own Impala SS competitors.
Return of the big M
When a legit competitor did arrive, it wasn’t from Ford, but Mercury. Seeking something to make the division stand out, Mercury took on the concept of a full-size performance sedan, spinning it off the Marauder nameplate of 1963–66 and 1969–70.
Starting with Mercury’s version of the Crown Vic on the Panther platform (the Grand Marquis), the Marauder featured the 302-hp 4-valve DOHC 4.6-L V8 engine straight from the 2003–04 Mustang Mach 1 and (of all things) the 2003–05 Lincoln Aviator SUV. Suspension components were largely taxi and Police Interceptor package units. Inside were front bucket seats with a center console and floor shift from the Crown Vic Sport package, but unique to the Marauder were leather seating and the use of AutoMeter gauges in the console, a less restrictive dual cat-back exhaust and unique 18-inch alloy wheels.
Introduced in mid-2002 as an early 2003 model as part of Mercury’s celebration of Ford Motor Company’s centennial, FoMoCo took another move out of the Impala SS’s playbook — and harkening back to old Henry himself — and made the Marauder available only in black. By mid-year, buyers had optional colors: Dark Blue Pearl and Silver Birch.
Minimal changes came in 2004. There was an upgraded transmission, as well as a new power moon roof and two-tone interior. No longer available was Dark Blue Pearl, replaced by Dark Toreador Red.
The Marauder had sufficient — but not overkill — power and good handling for its size, thanks to the robust Panther platform that was fine-tuned by over two decades of cop-car and taxi use. It served a small but eager market.
Death by window sticker
Not only did Mercury price the Marauder a couple thousand dollars more than it should’ve been, but dealers also played the “additional market demand adjustment” game that has plagued all specialty FoMoCo products since the 1990s. As such, most potential buyers stayed away, and with weak sales, the car died after 2004.
Had Mercury been more aggressive with pricing, the Marauder would have stood a good chance of at least staying in production for a few more years. It’s a pipe dream or armchair quarterbacking to speculate whether the Marauder could’ve saved the division from its 2011 death — there were too many other factors working against Mercury as a whole — but it had a good possibility of making the brand more than a poor man’s Lincoln.
Today, Marauders are just a blip on the radar. While having something of an “instant collectible” uptick in values after they ceased production, they have generally depreciated at a rate akin to a typical used car. As such, values haven’t hit bottom yet.
However, that doesn’t mean you should be waiting for that to happen. Well-cared-for examples that have been used sparingly are now surfacing at attractive prices, along with a few occasional no-mile “instant collectibles.”
At this point there’s little price difference between the ’03s and ’04s. However, the 25% that weren’t painted black seem to bring a slight premium. In order of least to most rare are silver, red, and blue, yet the desirability seems to be inverse. Also, buyers of a 2003 also got a black leather jacket. Anyone trying to sell one for over-the-top money should include the jacket with the car.
Not a truck, but built Ford tough
While the DOHC 4.6 is not the usual forte of a taxi mechanic, the rest of the powertrain is dead common, damn near bulletproof, and parts are only as far away as any parts store or your computer.
The 4-valve heads don’t spit out spark plugs like the 2-valve 4.6s do. Trim pieces are starting to get scarce, so if your Ford dealer has some in stock, you’d be wise to snag them even if you don’t need them now.
More aggressive driving may also exacerbate another malady that besets high-mileage Panthers — rear axle bearing and seal failure. Once again, with so many of these used as taxis and cop cars, the parts are readily available and the fixes well known, but that issue is a pain for the shade-tree mechanic to fix.
In retrospect, Mercury’s last stand of a unique performance car promises to move up in value as production of normally aspirated V8s is becoming increasingly scarce. You heard it here first — wait too long and you’ll be saying, “Dang, I wish I bought one when they were reasonably priced.”