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St.Thomas Assembly Plant and contacts at L.L.V.C. (large luxury vehicle center in Dearborn) are both confirming that Mercury is going to make a lot of dreams come true for performance fans - and like Apple Computer's I-Mac, Mercury plans to offer several performance cars that will make picking just one to own tough.

After months of speculation concerning the fate of Mercury, Ford is going to continue pumping up the division with new products to invigorate the brand.

Mercury was once the envy of hot rodders everywhere by offering distinctly different styling and more powerful engines than their Ford counterparts. That combination made Mercury the coolest nameplate through the 40's and 50's.

If there's one nameplate that's been customized more than any other - it's a Mercury hands down. Mercury knows where its roots are and plans to go back to them with new products - in a sigh of relief, Mercury is here to stay!

It's without question that Mercury will offer a performance version of the Cougar - the only problem is producing it. Having sold 11,000 Cougars in the past two months alone and 55,000 last year, Ford might start to find it difficult to keep up with the demand for the Cougar. This could delay the launch of a performance version by a few years. We're told that like the Cobra, the Cougar will be designed by the regular Cougar team and by outsourcing to groups like InForm Design (who built the Concept Eliminator). SVT's involvement will be minimal, having input on some engineering issues. It's doubtful that the performance Cougar will wear an SVT badge, but probable that it will be graced with the ELIMINATOR nameplate.

But that really isn't the big news - Mercury has bigger plans. Much bigger - and in the form of a full size, Impala SS stomping image maker. You guessed it. The Mercury Marauder has been given the green light for production.

The Marauder won't be made tomorrow, this year or even next year. In fact, it's a few years off - but for good reason.

St.Thomas (the only place that makes Crown Vic's and the Marquis) will begin making an all new Crown Victoria and Marquis for the 2001 model year. . .when the Marauder springs into action, it will be wearing an all new body style.

There's even GREATER news for the St.Thomas Plant - Ford is committed to keeping both the Crown Victoria and Marquis rear wheel drive platforms around through at least the 2008 model year. Most recently, Ford has only planned on keeping the platform around until 2003.

That's great news for Mercury because they plan to build their Mighty Marauder there in August of 2000 for the 2001 model year. St.Thomas is expected to build upwards of 10,000 Marauders during the first model year.

The Marauder is proof that Mercury is here to stay and that Ford is really serious about finding ways to offer the public just the type of vehicles they want. . .even if the production figures will be kept to a minimum. Will Mercury sell 10,000 Marauders? If the program is done right - without a doubt.

As Mercury continues to reinvent itself with its new found independence from Dearborn, they might just be the one division to offer enthusiasts the type of specialty vehicles that will once again make them the envy of hot rodders.

A note to the St.Thomas Assembly plant - Thanks. . .we can't wait to see the new Marauder a reality!

SOURCE OF INFORMATION: CAW Local 1520 News Headline Volume 32, No.4 - June 30, 1999 issue. The text is part of a column titled "Plant Chairman's Report", written by Whitey MacDonald.