Compare '96 Impala SS to '03 MM

MERCMAN

MERCMAN

Site co-owner and moderator
The original Mercury Marauder was one of the first American muscle sedans, but it wasn't the last. From 1994-96, Chevy carried the torch with the Impala SS. If you're an Impala SS owner, you fell in love with the aggressive look, impressive power and roomy interior. But to the disappointment of you, and fans of the muscle sedan everywhere, Chevy ceased production after just three years. The end of an era?

Not exactly. Mercury picked up the torch and ran with it, to the tune of over three-hundred horsepower. Everything the Impala SS was, the Marauder is and more. More horsepower, more features, more attitude. Compare for yourself.

2003 Marauder 1996 Impala SS
Engine 4.6 liter DOHC 32-valve V8 5.7 liter OHV 16-valve V8
Horsepower 302-hp 260-hp
Torque 318 lb.-ft 330 lb.-ft
Drive Rear-wheel Rear-wheel
Seating 5 5
Length 212.0" 214.1"
Wheelbase 114.7" 115.9"
Width 78.2" 77.5"
Height 58.9" 54.7"
Curb Weight 4195 lbs. 4036 lbs.


These facts and figures are from Mercuryvehicles.com website for owners
:beer:
 
Impala SS and MM

I had to sell a 96 Impala to get my MM, so your comparison caught my eye.

They are what I'd call kindred spirits- not siblings, but from the same type of imagination. Different, but both worthy of respect and admiration!
 
I wanted an Impalla SS When it came to to buy the car was out of production and used price was too high to suit me. And the Marauder wasn't out yet. I sure hope Ford picks the Marauder back up when they drop it only after 2 years of production.

Maybe they'll throw in a heavy car moving 10 cylinder 3-valve option. Without a power adder these cars are not impressive in todays maket. Compare current performance to a Maxima or Accord, don't even make a Mustang GT work hard.
 
John E, "Not impressive in today's market w/out a power adder"??? Am I reading your statement right??? And you're talking about the Marauder?? If you are then you must not have one then. if you look at the stats I've listed at the bottom of my posts in my signature, you'll see that I don't even have anything that is considered a "power adder" at the track, and my car turns consistent 13.5 sec ET's w/a 101 MPH trap speed, and accelerates from 0-60 MPH in a swift 4.9 seconds, and I don't even have drag radials on the car. And again, that's withOUT a supercharger my friend. So comparing those numbers to the 14.3 second ET of your supercharged Marquis, what does that tell you?

Furthermore, I've merely put $3,500 into my car for all the go fast parts, and that even includes the extra tools I had to purchase to get the work done. So please correct me if I've misunderstood you. However if I have read your post right, would you care to retract your statement????????
 
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It all depends on what he considers a "power adder" and what you consider a "power adder". I think your modifications just gets all the Marauder's potential out with out opening up the motor. Not to put words in JohnE's mouth, but I think he is talking stock.
 
Are you suggesting that the Nissan Maxima is as fast as a Marauder? They are not even in the same ballpark. I have an Infiniti I35 (same as the Maxima) and a Marauder. The Infiniti is a great car but it doesn't come even close to as quick as the Marauder.
 
And I still kick myself to this day for not grabbing a '96 Impalla SS new off the lot when I had the chance. That's why I jumped so fast to get a Marauder. Probably not real smart to put money down to hold your spot to get one of the first cars that comes in, like I did. I got raped on price. But I wasn't going to miss out on a big, fast rear-drive sedan a second time.
 
DONP1217 said:
Are you suggesting that the Nissan Maxima is as fast as a Marauder? They are not even in the same ballpark. I have an Infiniti I35 (same as the Maxima) and a Marauder. The Infiniti is a great car but it doesn't come even close to as quick as the Marauder.
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Maximas take me off the line (but then again, most things do) but I always kill them before the next light. I'm not knocking the Maxima, it seems like a pretty peppy car. But I've not been beaten by one yet, and that's after quite a few challengers. Seems like the Maxima guys sport quite a bit of attitude and want to challenge me at every opportunity.
:lol:
 
First off, IMO there are a number of foreign cars w/small engines, and not much torque at all, that merely move good off the line simply because the manufacture has placed a transmission in them w/a very low first gear just so that they can advertise a good 0-60 MPH times in order to sell cars. But many of those same cars will NOT keep up w/the likes of a Marauder once you approach the 50 or 60 MPH mark. So that isn't very impressive in my book.

Second, let it be known that the term "Power adder" is track talk, and if you've ever raced on the track w/your car, then you'll likely know that a power adder is a supercharger, blower, turbo charger, Nitrous Oxide injection, or some major componenet which would require opening up the engine to install.

So if we are going to talk abour power adders, then we should use the standards for that term that the racetrack rules use, since that's where this term comes from. The dragstrip.

But either way you want to slice it or dice it, the bottom line is there are plenty of members on this board who have NON-superchaged Marauders who trun better ET's w/them than most guys who have Crown Vics, and Marquis who DO have superchargers on their cars.

So you cannot then state w/any accuracy that the Marauder isn't impressive w/out a power adder. Especially if you have a supercharged SOHC engined car that still isn't as fast as the Marauder is w/OUT a S/Cer.
 
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I'm talking about a factory equipped road car. Never did I talk about the track. How many people really bought there car for the track? I'm talking about getting spanked on the road at those little stoplight hops we all play in sometimes. Perhaps I should have said "modifications" instead of "power adder".

I test drove an 03 Marauder. The Marauder really comes to life when already rolling, but in its stock form it can't move out of its own way until 3k. You can not say this about the LT-1 Impala SS. In many ways the Marauder is a much better car than the Impala was. But the car does not impress the average car guy, until you've dumped money into it. The Marauder is much bigger and heavier than a Mustang, it should have more displacement to begin with.


I'm a Marauder fan. Hope Ford brings the car back in time for me to replace my current car in a few years. If not, I'll probably buy a used MM and install several 'upgrades'.


John
 
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Okay John. Now I agree wholeheartedly w/what you've stated. And especially about how you think that the Marauder should've been equipped w/an engine of more displacement. I've always stated in various posts on this board that it would've been perfect if they offered the Marauder w/a 350 cube engine. Or even a 5.4 L would've been really nice as long as it had hi-perf cylinder heads.

Infact the very reason that Impalas tend to be quicker off the line is because of the fact that they have more low end torque, and that's directly related to the engine under the hood that has more cubes(as you know, they're 350 motors).

But we would be remiss not to mention the fact that the Marauder looks soooooo much better than any Impala does, and I doubt that very many people would argue w/that. The styling of the Marauder has the Impala beat hands down. And the body style of a car is always important for me.
 
BillyGman said:
But we would be remiss not to mention the fact that the Marauder looks soooooo much better than any Impala does, and I doubt that very many people would argue w/that. The styling of the Marauder has the Impala beat hands down. And the body style of a car is always important for me.
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:shake: I'm not even going to try to change your or anybody elses mind who thinks this. It's the same damn recipe people, just different cooks.
 
BillyGman said:
But we would be remiss not to mention the fact that the Marauder looks soooooo much better than any Impala does, and I doubt that very many people would argue w/that. The styling of the Marauder has the Impala beat hands down. And the body style of a car is always important for me.
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:shake: I'm not even going to try to change yours or anyone elses mind who thinks this. It's the same damn recipe, just different cooks.
 
The Impala SS is the only 'Classic' produced by GM in the 90's.

It's looking like the Marauder will be the same for Ford in the 00's.

Just like the Mark VIII and the last Camaro SS's.

:banana2:
 
[QUOTE

But we would be remiss not to mention the fact that the Marauder looks soooooo much better than any Impala does, and I doubt that very many people would argue w/that. The styling of the Marauder has the Impala beat hands down. And the body style of a car is always important for me.[/QUOTE]


Now I would not go that far. I have them both parked next to each other in the drive. The front end of the Maruader looks better but the rear looks weak. It really needs the factory to spoiler to set it off (I put one on last year). I love the look of both of them. As for performance I think I have said this in other post's, Neither of them impressed me on the test drives, But with a couple of thousand bucks in bolt on parts they come alive. I love driving both of them, and will continue to until the wife finally realizes that I have not had the Ipmala listed on autotrader for the last eyar as I told her.
 
I think comparing the Marauder with Maxima's and Honda's is like comparing cats to dogs. The Marauders take off from a dead start disappointed me and I did something about it: the results are in the sig....yes, it cost me about what a VCR went for about 5 years ago.
This is a Marauder forum so comparing it to an SS, the SS will come in last, just like the Marauder does in SS forums.

I frequent a couple of Impala forums and I have noticed this; the Marauder is actually starting to be called by it's correct name instead of a variety of deragatory names that were used for about a year after the Marauders release. I think it is a compliment to our cars (and owners) that hardcore Chevy guys can actually discuss our cars today and respect the car and compliment the car...I believe that as we started to have joint meets at the track, the respect was earned at the track.:)
 
Ray Snyder said:
Now I would not go that far. I have them both parked next to each other in the drive. The front end of the Maruader looks better but the rear looks weak. It really needs the factory to spoiler to set it off (I put one on last year). I love the look of both of them. As for performance I think I have said this in other post's, Neither of them impressed me on the test drives, But with a couple of thousand bucks in bolt on parts they come alive. I love driving both of them, and will continue to until the wife finally realizes that I have not had the Ipmala listed on autotrader for the last eyar as I told her.
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Well, to each their own. I think the rear of the Marauder is great looking and I'm not at all taken with the spoilers (no offense guys, I know a lot of you have them). *shrug*

I think I like the way the Impalla's rear window is raked more gracefully into the trunk deck, but I like the shape of the trunk deck and the big tail lights of the Marauder better.
 
Fourth Horseman said:
And I still kick myself to this day for not grabbing a '96 Impalla SS new off the lot when I had the chance. That's why I jumped so fast to get a Marauder. Probably not real smart to put money down to hold your spot to get one of the first cars that comes in, like I did. I got raped on price. But I wasn't going to miss out on a big, fast rear-drive sedan a second time.
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My thoughts exactly. We left a Chevy dealer mad in 1996 because they wouldn't give me the trade I wanted for a 96 SS. We ended up with a Blazer. When the MM came out and the Blazer was ready to be put to sleep......I had to have a Marauder. I've had it almost a year, and my heart beats a little faster when I step on the gas and 'open it up. I'm going through my second childhood or a mid life crisis. :banana: Whatever it is.....it sure is fun.
 
Ray Snyder said:
[QUOTE
I love driving both of them, and will continue to until the wife finally realizes that I have not had the Ipmala listed on autotrader for the last eyar as I told her.
Click to expand...

I won't tell if you won't... and I don't blame you. :cool4:

I like each one, and most of the SS owners I know admire my MM as much as I admire their cars. :up:
 
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