Mercury Marauder

Mercury Marauder
2003–2004 Mercury Marauder
Overview
Manufacturer	Mercury (Ford)
Production	1963–1965 1969–1970 2002–2004
Model years	1963–1965 1969–1970 2003–2004
Body and chassis
Class	Full-size
Layout	FR layout

The Mercury Marauder is an automobile nameplate that was used for three distinct full-size cars produced by the Mercury division of Ford Motor Company. Deriving its name from the most powerful engines available to the Mercury line, the Marauder was marketed as the highest-performance version of the full-size product range.

Introduced as a 19631⁄2 model line for its first production run, the Mercury Marauder was distinguished by its sloped roofline (shared with the Ford Galaxie). The nameplate was a sub-model of the three Mercury model lines (Monterey, Monterey Custom, and S-55).

For the 1966 model year, the Marauder was replaced by the S-55 as a stand-alone model line, making it the Mercury counterpart of the Ford Galaxie 500 XL version.

The Marauder model name returned as a fastback-like version of the Mercury Marquis for the 1969 model year.^[1] It was positioned as a personal luxury car between the Mercury Cougar and Continental Mark III. Following the 1970 model year, the Marauder model was discontinued.

The Mercury Marauder nameplate was revived for the 2003 model year as a high-performance variant of the full-size Grand Marquis using the Ford Panther platform. After lower-than-expected sales, the Marauder was discontinued at the end of the 2004 model year. The Mercury Marauder became the last rear-wheel drive sedan introduced by Ford Motor Company in North America.