Big and Bad , Top five Muscle cars

[Spider0101]

Check out Netscape Home Page http://home.netscape.com/ all of you will like it .;)

[BlackHole]

Like that 3 of the 5 are Ford and 2 of them are 4.6 DOHC Mod. powered.

[Spider0101]

Yes I noticed that too ! Also was pleased that they drew the line between real muscle and the pocket rockets they push in all the Auto publications.

[WolfeBros]

That is some pretty nice company we are keeping all right. ;)

[TAF]

Where's the CTS??!! :lol: :lol:

[BlackHole]

Originally posted by TAF
Where's the CTS??!! :lol: :lol:

Check your mirrors:lol: :lol:

[gonzo50]

WOW !!! That's a 180 degree turn from what Car & Driver / Motor Trend Magazines been placing our MARAUDER, Mach 1 and ZO6, makes me feel invincible. :bounce:

[jgc61sr2002]

spider - Very nice review. Thanks:up:

[vaderv]

Darned well written. I like their take on the mentioned autos.

[JohnnyB]

I didn't think the Corvette was considered a muscle car

[Thomas C Potter]

hunkered-down suspension!!!!!!!!!!!!! please, Mercury put it on stilts!!!

TP

[Bigdogjim]

Its the only game in town. RWD, V-8 power, room for the Big Dog.

[RCSignals]

Very surprising, considering al the negative hype in the media, that the Marauder is there.
It does deserve to be though

[Fourth Horseman]

I think all the negative hype and even the disappointment we owners felt after first getting our cars is related to the launch. People expect a muscle car to launch quicker and when it doesn't there's a perception that the car is slow.

This car is NOT slow. It has all kinds of top end, which is where this car really lives. You'll notice that the '94 - '96 Impalla SS launched more aggressively and as a result you heard a lot less whining in the press.

It's all perception, in my opinion. People went into the Marauder expecting one thing and got something else. Is that reason to slam the car as 'slow?' Certainly not. I've learned a lot about the automotive press from the whole thing and I hold them in much lower esteem than I once did.

[TripleTransAm]

Originally posted by Fourth Horseman
This car is NOT slow. It has all kinds of top end, which is where this car really lives.


And when you suddenly find yourself in that mid/top end... WHOA!!!!

That's one of the problems, which is apparently addressed with the reprogrammed shifts in the aftermarket chip. The tranny holds on to high gears way too long.

Sometimes, when passing a car, I'll dip into the throttle some. The car accelerates, but keeps 4th gear as solid as ever. Not even a TCC unlock. Okay, I need more power.... a little more throttle opening... car accelerates a *little* faster... more throttle opening.... DOWNSHIFT!!!! To third, maybe even second!!!! WHHHAAAMMMMMM!!!! All of sudden, I'm pulling a Fast and the Furtive...

... followed by a meek "sorry, I didn't mean to do that" to my wife, who has looked over at me with this "what the heck was THAT all about?" look.

My dealer's mechanics are aware of the awkward shift schedules. I've bluntly indicated that I may seek a resolution to this through an aftermarket chip. I think they understand I do not race or abuse this car, and hopefully this will help maintain a good warranty relationship should I ever decide to explore this mod.

Now, 'chipped' is the way the car should be prepped for magazine test drives. It may be considered cheating (tell that to Jim Wangers about the GTO tests from the 60s) but it's frustrating to see Ford shoot itself in the foot with such a great product.

(speaking of which: I read the Lincoln LS was reprogrammed in 2003 for easier downshifts, which helped the car feel faster. Why couldn't they do the same for the MM??)

[notacop]

can someone post a link to where this story is now, it's not on netscape's home page now and i can't find it.

[RCSignals]

Putting on a jumpsuit doesn't make you The King--and just because it's fast doesn't necessarily mean it's a muscle car.
There are plenty of extremely quick, high-performance rides being built today: The Mistubish Evo and Subaru WRX STi are two notables. But these cars are not muscle cars. By definition, a muscle car is hulky and hairy; it is also rear-wheel-drive--always and without exception. And it must have a rumbly V-8 engine, as well as the ability to lay tar-like strips of smoldering rubber while bullying forward like a run-amok brontosaurus.
That's a muscle car.


Mercury Marauder:
The '03 Mercury Marauder is probably the last true American-style muscle sled that will ever see production. The attraction of a full-frame titan of the road as big and heavy (4,100 pounds) as many midsize SUVs is often lost on drivers reared on 2,500-pound, front-wheel-drive compacts. They're intimidated by the hulking presence of the $33,790 Marauder--a 300-horsepower version of the senior-center/cop-car-special Mercury Marquis/Ford Crown Victoria sedan. But if you can get them to go for a ride, the virtues of a burbling V-8 and rear-wheel drive quickly win them over enough to at least admit the thing is kinda cool.
For $5,000 more than you'd pay for a loaded, ordinary, "Grumpy Grandpa" Grand Marquis LSE, you'll get the Lord Vader all-black paint job, a hunkered-down suspension with gas-charged Tokico performance shocks, and pretty much all the heavy-duty stuff the cop cars get--only Johnny Law doesn't get those gleaming 18-inch rims and the Winston Cup stock-car-style, 50-series, ultra-performance BF Goodrich g-Force tires--or the hotted-up, 300-horsepower version of Ford's 4.6-liter V-8 engine

by Eric Peters
http://channels.netscape.com/ns/autos/package.jsp?name=autos/muscle_maurader

[rct]

Thanks fer the link!