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Has the Mercury Marauder gotten better with age?

In the early 2000s Mercury desperately wanted to develop some edge for its brand – seemingly stuck between a quasi-premium, quasi-performance space in the Ford Universe. The Marauder is perhaps the most famous of the vehicles that resulted from those efforts, and is rapidly approaching Modern Classic status, today. Effectively a murdered out Grand Marquis with some updated trim pieces – what are company parts bins for, if not raiding? – the Marauder looked convincingly like a bad guy car. The 4.6-liter V8 under its hood that had been breathed on by engineers for a little more power, kicking out 302 horsepower and 318 pound-feet of torque from the factory. Not exactly Ferrari-baiting numbers, but it'd give your local cop's car a run for its money. Being a wild child of the last decade, of course our friends at MotorWeek had it on the program. What better way to test your mean-mugging muscle sedan than with John Davis' tanned and steady hands?

The AM37 is literally the Aston Martin of boats

While sports car companies such as Porsche and Lamborghini are looking to SUVs to expand their offerings, Aston Martin has taken a page from Mercedes and designed a boat. Specifically, it's a 37-foot powerboat appropriately named the AM37. The boat was developed with help from Mulder Design and Quintessence Yachts, and is available in two different versions, both of which should the aquatic equivalent of Aston Martin performance. The standard AM37 is available with two different pairs of engines from Mercury, either 370-horsepower diesel engines or 450-horsepower gas engines. If that's not enough, Aston also offers the AM37S, which comes with a pair of 520-horsepower gasoline Mercury engines. Like road-going Astons, this boat is absolutely gorgeous. The lines are simple, crisp and clean. It features a beautiful wood deck, and an impressive double-curved, single-piece glass windshield. And if you get tired of the sun, the AM37 features a powered, carbon fiber bimini top. The interior completes the package with a carbon fiber dashboard, lots of leather and polished steering wheel, throttle and joystick. It's also incredibly well-equipped with seating for eight, air conditioning, mood lighting, refrigerator, microwave, coffee maker, a bed that folds out from the table, and even a bathroom. Aston Martin didn't release pricing or availability for the AM37. However, we suspect that if you really want this boat and have the means, pricing doesn't matter, and you're probably willing to wait. Related Video: Image Credit: Aston Martin Auto News Aston Martin Mercury Luxury boat

Report: Lincoln getting all of Mercury's ad dollars

Now that the curtain has closed on Mercury, Ford Motor Company will redirect all of its marketing dollars for the oft-overlooked brand to the Blue Oval's luxury outpost, Lincoln. In speaking to Automotive News, the chairman of the Lincoln National Dealer Council, Bob Tasca, Jr., said, "You'll see a lot stronger presence in the advertising of Lincoln in 2011."
Lincoln spokesperson Christian Bokich reminded AN that the automaker is "preparing the way for seven new or significantly refreshed vehicles" that will be launched over the next four years, and the largest ad blitz in 2011 will focus on the refreshed MKX crossover, as well as the MKZ sedan and its hybrid counterpart. Following that, Lincoln has plans to launch a completely overhauled version of its Navigator SUV, an all-new C-segment vehicle and the overhauled 2013 MKZ, which Tasca says will be "strikingly different from its Ford Fusion sibling."
[Source: Automotive News - sub. req. | Image: John Neff/Autoblog/AOL]Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments