2004 Marauder

[Geo]

So you're saying that it's Ford's a$$ that they have up their long sleeves; wouldn't suprise me.

[Marauder57]

Well it is good to hear that the 2004 MM is moving forward...but does anyone expect better sales numbers? Are we going to be looking at a total sold under 10,000? I just want to see how the Red comes out......

[JohnnyB]

They'll probably sell less 2004 models than the 2003's.

[TripleTransAm]

Originally posted by JohnnyB They'll probably sell less 2004 models than the 2003's.

It all depends on the magazine coverage. The great unwashed masses (the other 98%, if you get my drift) follow what rags like Motor Twit, Car and Drivel, and Road and Truck have to say about a car, so far as to not even notice when they contradict themselves in subsequent articles.

So, the ball is in LM's court. C&D recently claimed LM lobbed one over the plate and Kenny Brown knocked it out of the park. Well, for 2004, it's LM's turn at bat, and they've gotta make sure the magazine writers get plenty of 2004 MMs that have been combed over with the finest tooth comb (whether metric sized or imperial!) possible, to ensure good build quality throughout the test. At the same time, they should pay close attention to the chosen automobiles... make them drive units that have been properly broken-in. No sense having them drive a tight low-mileage unit and promising them that all that improved low-end is really coming soon, we promise! Then we'll have to put up with all the 'beat by an Accord' crap that was heaped on a car that was capable of improving its 1/4 mile time by a full second or more just by proper break-in.

If the mag writers get to experience what we're experiencing at 5000-10000 miles of break-in but with the improved 2004 items to begin with, then maybe the orders will start coming in.

As a bonus, C&D could even run a 'side bar' on tuners like Reinhart and what they have to offer... maybe provide them with a head-to-head comparison. If people out there realize how cheaply this car can be modified to very satisfactory results, then perhaps even more interest can be generated.

LM... ARE YOU LISTENING???

[RCSignals]

TTA, I agree, but you are asking a lot of some of those magazines.
C+D has a thing against the Marauder it seems, they keep comparing it to their "Lounge Lizard" car, it's as if they feel they should be given more credit for the Marauders existence.
Their track times for the Marauder were unrealistic. 7.5 second quarter mile is correct for a plain CVPI. If they published the real time for a Marauder, it might make their beloved, and very expensive "Lounge Lizard" look bad, which had a 0-60 of 6.8 seconds.
Probably the most realistic article was published in MM&FF, but the arm chair critics refuse to believe them.

LM will have to put more into advertising, and less faith in magazine writers this time around

[TripleTransAm]

Originally posted by Geo
I noticed Ford used the words "Equalizer" and "subwoofer" to describe the sound system. Is the word "Equalizer" Ford's rendition of what otherwise is an "amp"?

Shouldn't be. An amp is what amplifies power from a low-level signal in order to drive a speaker (ie. from 'RCA' or line level to speaker terminal level).

An equalizer is supposed to be essentially an enhanced set of tone controls. The BASS/TREBLE combo on most sound systems is a rudimentary equalizer... 2 'center' frequencies which you can boost or cut accordingly, with the 'width' of the boost/cut (in terms of frequencies) fairly wide. A 'graphic' equalizer will usually break the frequency spectrum into 3 or more separate ranges, with the widths a little tighter.

The existing radio is quite tight as far as real estate on the front face. If they include a multi-band equalizer for 2004, I wonder how they're gonna fit it all on there. Unless they decide to make it a 'menu' type of system (like the DSP-seat choices)... blechhh...

[TripleTransAm]

Originally posted by RCSignals
C+D has a thing against the Marauder it seems, they keep comparing it to their "Lounge Lizard" car, it's as if they feel they should be given more credit for the Marauders existence.

To be honest, I missed the issue where the MM was tested. From what y'all have said, it doesn't look like I missed much. However, would you concede that perhaps they were testing a low mileage unit? (unless they clearly indicated it was well broken in... meaning over 5000 miles).

In all fairness, I was *just* satisfied with the performance when I purchased my car, but it didn't bother me since all indications from this forum led me to believe things would improve over time. In fact, they did.

Advertising would go a long way, to be sure. And someone on here mentioned the TV/film exposure. If LM wanted to spend some cash they could subsidize the car's appearance in many movies (I understand it was seen in Alias and other brief sitings?). I was just hoping that when people would spot these new ads, they wouldn't necessarily only have that 'Accord is faster' article to think back to.

[RCSignals]

Yes TTA I know what you are saying.
If I remember, C+D stated the Marauder they tested had 1,000 or 1500 miles on it. However, someone posted here that the car wasn't measure using track timing equipment, they used a stop watch.
I don't disbelieve the stop watch part, I've seen them use just a stop watch on cars on their TV program.

[JohnnyB]

Any LM dealership that had a hard time selling their in stock inventory of 2003 MM's will be hesitant to take on much of 2004. Even though performance has been upgraded, no advertising = no sales. I never put any credence in what C&D, R&T or Motor Trend say anyway. Those rags seem to be biased towards expensive imported Euro-trash.

However, I'm curious to see whet the red MM will look like.

[jgc61sr2002]

We will have to wait and see if FMC will offer any incentives. (rebates). IMHO they will probably wait and see how/ if they sell.

[TripleTransAm]

Originally posted by RCSignals
However, someone posted here that the car wasn't measure using track timing equipment, they used a stop watch.
I don't disbelieve the stop watch part, I've seen them use just a stop watch on cars on their TV program.

Oh my God. How can that automotive magazine be taken seriously after this revelation??? I mean, what's next: testing a new Viper on a hilly back road by counting " one potato, two potato, three ......." while watching the speedometer?????? Good Lord, there's already so much slop in factory speedometers as it is, you can't POSSIBLY expect to get accurate numbers.

These euro-trash-wannabes are already so used to driving cars that have to transmit tons of road noise and harshness to feel like they handle well, they probably thought the MM was a pig in comparison. I feel into that trap myself... after a long winter of driving the Civic, I found myself 'cruising' down urban boulevards at close to 60 mph, the speed limit being 30-35!!!!! On TWO different road tests! By the third (and final) one, I finally forced myself to hold back... the performance is that misleading in its smoothness.

Sorry for the rant... if anyone can disprove this revelation, please help me out. I'm in shock...

[RCSignals]

JohnnyB
The biggest mistake some dealerships made with the '03 was ordering so many at once. They really don't need to keep many "on hand" especially when they can still be factory ordered.
Then of course many of those that still have a few, are still applying a dealer premium to MSRP.
Hopefully there won't be any dealer greedy pricing on '04s, and no stock piling. A customer seeing a huge number of the same model tends to become less urgent in his buying.

[RoyLPita]

It is a shame that you can't get a MM with the laminated side safety glass option. You can get it on a civilian CP for $295 MSRP.

[jgc61sr2002]

RC - You are correct. Many dealers ordered numerous MM's hoping to get over sticker and make big bucks. It didn't happen. The smart ones only ordered two at a time and when they sold they ordered two more.

[Bigdogjim]

I think one thing we all loose sight of is the dealer never thought (like we did) that the factory (L&M-FoMoCo) would "pull" the plug on adversiting like they did. Me I feel for the dealers they got burned big time.