Credit where Credit is due.

Dennis Reinhart

Dennis Reinhart

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I want to take the time to tell this club what I spoke about Saturday at the Sunshine Marauder Picnic, the Mercury Marauder was out in early 2002, I road in the prototype driven by Jerry W, he was the drive line engineer for this car, at that time he was working for Jack Roush, and at that time I had a 1996 Lincoln Mark 8 I hald installed a Vortech Supercharger on the car with a 96 Cobra Mustang intake, I had tried to get the car tuned here in Florida and lost two engines, till I heard about Jerry, I sent him a email and asked him if he could tune my car, he said he would be in Cleavland Ohio the following weekend, I trailered my car from Jacksonville Florida to Cleavland through the worst storm I have ever driven in, I got there and waited all day Jerry was driving a Black Marauder filled with computers and hundreds of sensors under the hood, I fell in love with this car, Jerry told me they were making Blue in 8 months. I patiently waited, Jerry asked me if I would be interested in selling his tunning this is how I got started, I sold the first chip to Logan, I gave the base files to Diablo, so in my opinion Jerry was the key person to start the awaking of this car, the other person was Lt Col Peter Warrick, he bought 28 Marauders and donated them to the Florida Highway Patrol, for the enforcement of a new program Florida started in 2003 that program was RADAR Rid Aggresive Driving And Road Rage, more people are killed by this than DUI. The FHP was the first State to start what is the standard by every State in the USA. Stealth Police cars, Peter hired me to modify these cars, I was allowed to drive one home to my Grand opening and deliver it to the FHP acadamy and was asked to speak there to the 28 selected drivers assigned to these cars, I was proud to call Peter a friend, he gave me a memory I will carry with me the rest of my life, Peter sold all these cars several months ago, he was enjoying life still staying active in the FHP Auxiliary, and he has opened several chains of Hobby shops one is here in Jacksonville, Friday he was in Georgia at his latest opening and suffered a massive heart attack and passed away, he has touched so many people there is no way to put a number to it, I will be in Fort Lauderdale Wednesday I fly in at noon and the funeral is at 5. I will take a Taxi there and Fly back that night, please add him to your thoughts and Prayers.

Dennis A Reinhart
 
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Sorry to hear this Dennis. Peter Warrick sounds like an interesting fellow. My condolences go out to his family and friends.
 
Dennis Reinhart said:
I want to take the time to tell this club what I spoke about Saturday at the Sunshine Marauder Picnic, the Mercury Marauder was out in early 2002, I road in the prototype driven by Jerry W, he was the drive line engineer for this car, at that time he was working for Jack Roush, and at that time I had a 1996 Lincoln Mark 8 I hald installed a Vortech Supercharger on the car with a 96 Cobra Mustang intake, I had tried to get the car tuned here in Florida and lost two engines, till I heard about Jerry, I sent him a email and asked him if he could tune my car, he said he would be in Cleavland Ohio the following weekend, I trailered my car from Jacksonville Florida to Cleavland through the worst storm I have ever driven in, I got there and waited all day Jerry was driving a Black Marauder filled with computers and hundreds of sensors under the hood, I fell in love with this car, Jerry told me they were making Blue in 8 months. I patiently waited, Jerry asked me if I would be interested in selling his tunning this is how I got started, I sold the first chip to Logan, I gave the base files to Diablo, so in my opinion Jerry was the key person to start the awaking of this car, the other person was Lt Col Peter Warrick, he bought 28 Marauders and donated them to the Florida Highway Patrol, for the enforcement of a new program Florida started in 2003 that program was RADAR Rid Aggresive Driving And Road Rage, more people are killed by this than DUI. The FHP was the first State to start what is the standard by every State in the USA. Stealth Police cars, Peter hired me to modify these cars, I was allowed to drive one home to my Grand opening and deliver it to the FHP acadamy and was asked to speak there to the 28 selected drivers assigned to these cars, I was proud to call Peter a friend, he gave me a memory I will carry with me the rest of my life, Peter sold all these cars several months ago, he was enjoying life still staying active in the FHP Auxiliary, and he has opened several chains of Hobby shops one is here in Jacksonville, Friday he was in Georgia at his latest opening and suffered a massive heart attack and passed away, he has touched so many people there is no way to put a number to it, I will be in Fort Lauderdale Wednesday I fly in at noon and the funeral is at 5. I will take a Taxi there and Fly back that night, please add him to your thoughts and Prayers.

Dennis A Reinhart
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Hey Dennis, if you're flying into Ft. Lauderdale wednesday, you don't need a taxi, just send me a PM or call and I will gladly pick you up and take you where you need to go.

P.S. Unless someone with a nicer Marauder would like to do it.
 
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Thank you, that means a lot to me we can do lunch, the funeral home is about 15 min from the airport.

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We are thinking of you and LtCol Warrick's family in these difficult times.

Our collective thoughts and prayers are with the family, with the deepest sympathy and heartfelt condolences.
 
Dennis,

Thanks for sharing this great story. You honor Peter's memory by your recounting of it.

Thoughts and prayers go out to his family and friends
 
Dennis, your post reminded me of an article I saw in Quicksilver magazine a couple years ago. My aunt used to work at Ford in Michigan and she knows I love Mercurys. My first car (and still a work in process!) is a 1968 Cougar.

She sends me the quarterly issues of Quicksilver, the Official Publication of the International Mercury Owners' Association. The Spring Issue 2005 (Volume 14, Issue 2) had an article by Joe Blair and the adaptation of the Mercury Marauder into the Florida Highway Patrol fleet.

I just went back and took that issue out now and there's a picture of Peter standing in front of a FHP Marauder with Corporal Gary Slayton.

I just did a search for this article, but I'm afraid it was not put on the internet. I couldn't find anything on Google or IMOA. I will take some time and write the whole article out. I hope I'm not infringing on any copyright laws, but I think the article is excellent. It was written in 2005 before I even got my own Marauder and I remember re-reading the article many times and looking at the pictures.

I wish I could take the pictures from the magazine and upload it so everyone can see.

I'll post the article in its entirety in another post.
 
Marauders to go after aggressive drivers in Florida

I could not find the article about the FHP Marauder anywhere on the web so I have retyped the entire article here. Please excuse any misspellings or errors.

Originally published in Quicksilver magazine, Spring Issue 2005, Volume 14, Issue 2
Marauders to go after aggressive drivers in Florida

By Joe Blair

If you are traveling the highways in Florida, you better keep a close watch on your driving habits, as well as your rearview mirror.

The Florida Highway Patrol has just acquired 23 new Mercury Marauders that are equipped with the latest technology and performance enhancing devices. These stealthy unmarked patrol cars are being utilized in an all-out effort to combat "aggressive driving" on Florida's highways.

Thanks to the combined efforts of Colonel Christopher Knight, the Florida Highway Patrol director, and Kevin Guidry, Florida Highway Patrol Statewide Auxiliary/Reserve Coordinator, a local businessman by the name of Peter Warrick has been able to turn his idea into a reality.

An "anonymous" private-sector corporate "benefactor" with an overwhelming interest in public safety donated the funds to buy and equip all 23 Marauders and made this program possible. Warrick resides in Broward County, Fla., and has been involved with automobiles all his life.

He is an avid collector and restorer of General Motors A-body cars such as Pontiac GTOs and Oldsmobile Cutlasses. He is a Lt. Colonel in the FHP reserve and serves as the Auxiliary Marauder Coordinator. His genuine concern with highway safety and "aggressive drivers" prompted him to take charge. He acquired the Marauders from dealers all over the country, including dealerships in Florida, Louisiana, New Jersey and Illinois.

When asked why Marauder over cars such as the Ford Crown Victoria, which is standard FHP equipment, his answer was simply, "they are better in every respect - comfort, performance and handling."

With the knowledge that high speed pursuits over a long distance are unsafe for the public, as well as the troopers, it became evident that the faster the pursuit could be terminated, the less endangerment for everyone involved. Therefore, troopers need to overtake the violators as quickly as possible and that's where the Marauders excel.

All cars have had performance enhancements by Dennis Reinhart, of Reinhart Automotive, in Orange Park, Fla. Modifications include reprogramming the cars' computers for higher horsepower, torque and top speed. Installation of Metal Matrix drive shafts, which are rated for higher speeds, transmission program modifications, additional rear sway bars and oversize brakes to help them stop as fast as they start, are just a few of the enhancements that have been made.

The latest stealth technology has been installed inside each car to aid officers in their jobs. Companies such as Strobes R Us in Pompano Beach and D&R Electronics in New York have turned these cruisers into modern-day electronic marvels. There are 18 concealed color strobe lights, dual sirens with sophisticated controls, forward and rear facing radar systems, as well as the latest communications technology. Each car is equipped with a three-video camera system called "Cruise Cam" than can be manually activated when the siren starts. It has two forward-facing cameras, as well as a rear-facing infrared camera, and a wireless microphone that the trooper wears on his lapel. Everything is videotaped to a unit under the passenger seat.

This program represents a sizeabe expenditure of about $48,000 per vehicle. The Florida Highway Patrol take this aggressive-driving program very seriously, and their efforts have resulted in a decrease of aggressive driving, as well as a reduction in highway deaths since the program was initiated last year.

So, as a reminder, if your driving on the highways of Florida, keep your eyes peeled for these Marauders, and have patience when it involves other motorists.
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RIP Mr. Warrick :( I wish I could show you guys the pictures from this article .
 
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