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Curtain officially comes down on Mercury as dealers remove signage

The process of shutting down the Mercury is complete. Ford officially made the decision to close its mid-level brand in June of 2010. In the months that followed, Ford offered its dealers money to stop selling the cars, with production shutting down in September. The last Mercury, a Mariner, rolled off the assembly line in the beginning of October and former spokesperson Jill Wagner said her good-byes to both the car and her job. Now the last piece of the brand has come down as dealers are removing any and all Mercury signage from their lots.
[Source: Detroit News]Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Lincoln 'not true luxury' yet, says Ford design chief

Lincoln is "not true luxury," according to Ford's design boss, J Mays. His statements come from a story in The Detroit News that saw candid language on the issues facing Ford's troubled premium brand. Notably, there's a need for a strong character, with Mays saying, "Every brand needs to have a DNA and a unique selling point and things in the vehicle that make you think, 'That's that particular brand.'"
With a range of rebadged Fords, it's not hard to see why that DNA is missing. Mays hinted that a full recovery for Lincoln will be a ten-year process, that's been kicked off with the MKZ sedan. While that car is still largely a Ford Fusion under its extremely pretty wrapper, it's the first Lincoln in some time to inject its own unique take both through the exterior styling and through interior features, such as the vertical, pushbutton gear selection.
Some analysts weren't so certain about Mays' 10-year estimate. Jim Hall of 2953 Analytics thinks it'll be more like 30 years before Lincoln can show a true return to form. The issue, as Hall explains it, is that, "luxury has a degree of exclusivity," that Lincoln just doesn't have. Michelle Krebs from Edmunds adds, "it's definitely a wanna-be luxury brand," comparing the troubled American brand with Infiniti and Acura, two other brands that have struggled to find their place in the luxury market.

Jeremy Clarkson chooses his top 10 cars for 2015 and 2016

Jeremy Clarkson is well-known for his role as co-host on the old Top Gear. But the frontman of the upcoming Amazon Prime Show, The Grand Tour, also has a standing column for The Sunday Times in the UK where he reviews the latest cars. With fall nearing, Clarkson put out a list of his top-10 cars from this year and 2015. Some on the list will surprise you, while others represent everything we've come to love about Clarkson. In order to make his list of star cars, the vehicles must offer what co-host James May calls "the fizz." The vehicles, Clarkson claims, have something that is out of the ordinary. Whether it's the car's looks, the way it gets up to speed, or its high-tech gadgets, Clarkson's top-10 list is made up of items that are more than just tools for getting from point A to B. So which ones made the list? Head over to the column in The Sunday Times. Mazda MX-5 Miata 2.0 Sport Recaro Alfa Romeo 4C Coupe Mercedes-AMG GT S Ford Focus RS Ford Mustang Fastback 5.0 V8 GT Volvo XC90 D5 AWD Vauxhall Zafira Tourer 1.6 CDTi Tech Line BMW M2 Ferrari 488 GTB Lamborghini Aventador Related Video: Featured Gallery Jeremy Clarkson's Star Cars For 2015 and 2016 View 11 Photos News Source: The Sunday TimesImage Credit: STEFAN HEUNIS / AFP / Getty Images Celebrities BMW Ferrari Ford Lamborghini Mazda Performance bmw m2 ferrari 488 gtb