2003 Mercury Marauder - winter 2004

Initially, there had been consideration of buying another fullsize car to haul the family during the winter months, in order to preserve the Marauder from the ravages of winter. However, the new house construction coupled with the fact that there was some reconsideration on keeping this car long term (more on that later) led me to decide to install the specially-sized winter tires and rims just before the snow fell.

And boy did it fall. About a day or two after storing the F-bodies, we got the decisive snow dump that locked it up for the next 4-5 months.

I must admit, the Michelin Arctic Alpin tires I bought for the car worked wonders. I was initially a little apprehensive about braving the snowy and icy winter with a big RWD car (especially one with over 300 hp), after having gone over a dozen years without any experience with a RWD car in snow. However, these excellent tires coupled with a very well-designed traction control system have made winter driving a breeze, almost enjoyable!