Pat McPherson

Why does Mercruiser have so much more of the market share?
Is Mercruiser's product that much better than Volvo Penta's?
Aren't the engines basically the same?

Whiteknuckle

Firt question, ----- Marketing

Second question------NO

Third--------Yes

t500hps

I agree with Whiteknuckle.....As a pure stock setup, Volvo might actually be better, just don't plan on doing any upgrades!!!!

hillbilly24

mercruiser dominates the market mostly becuase of problames in Volvo Pentas past. they have made alot of poor product, Merc has had thier share too though. Currently as far a stock family boat that you dont want to do more then 60 in Volvo does build a superior product. However, I used to work at a shop that was a dealer for both and Mercruiser is a dream to deal with on warranty and when a dealer goes to bat for a customer they will ussually bend over backwards and cover things under what they call "customer relations" even when it is clearly not a warranty issue. They once payed for an engine that had a cracked head to a burned impeller that hadn't been changed for 230 hours but the guy had an extended warranty and he put a stink and they took care of it. Perhaps this is why thier engines cost so damded much though. Volvo is a pain in the ass to deal with on warranty issues, once you have bought thier product, you are on your own and becusae of this they don't get much repeat buissnes

Stormrider

I think merc dominates with bully power.
Merc wouldn't allow Lipship to show any cigs at the miami show with ZUL power.

Pat McPherson

If the engines are basically the same, is it totally strange to bolt a Volvo Penta to a Merc Bravo drive?
I did it two years ago...
Bought my boat without power and found a great deal on Volvo Penta's version of the 7.4MPI (7.4Gi).
I bought from a fellow advertising Volvo Penta test engines here on OSO.
The engine cost me less than a reman long-block and it was complete with all accessories...
I was ordering some parts from him the other day and he told me that he may gain access to a bunch more.
He doesn't know if he will advertise here again though.
I guess most of us OSO guys are willing to pay nearly double for an engine painted black vs. red...

onesickpantera

A friend of mine had a Volvo Duoprop and that outdrive was tough! He beat on it hard and hit bottom a few times hard enough to bend a blade right over. I guarantee a Bravo would not have held up to the abuse he put that Volvo through!

I really wanted Volvo to break into the performance market with their 500 and 600 packages. But, merc has a stranglehold on the market.

Pat, so you basically bought complete engines with only testing hours on them?

hillbilly24

Volvo decided to discontinue all of thier performance products and concentrate on the family boat line wich they are beggining to take away some of mercs market share in. They are developing a name for themselves as the cheap reliable power package for everyday family use. Playing in the performance buissness is also costly and Merc does make some money but not all that much in the racing department. They spend alot of money on R&D and testing. They also have to dump alot of what they make into sponsorship deals that help them mantain profitabilty by forceing racers in certian classes and sanctioning bodies to buy and race thier product.All and All the racing deprtment is a bunch of guys who love to race and make the company just enough money to keep them around. I WISH I HAD ONE OF THEIR JOBS.

Pat McPherson

I would agree that there are not any bolt on goodies for the Ford/Volvo Penta engines but the Chevy stuff is the same.
I added Stainless marine exhaust to my 7.4Gi...

The 385HP/7.4GSi and 420HP/8.2GSi engine came with AZ Speed intakes; the same as Merc's HP500EFI and HP525EFI. That intake must be better or Merc. would not have made the switch...

Pat McPherson

Yes, that is what I was told. I got a print out from the computer...