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Mercury dies off, Lincoln to benefit

Ford's brand portfolio is set to get smaller by the end of the year. Following the sale of Aston Martin, Land Rover, Jaguar and most recently Volvo (to Chinese automaker Geely), the Blue Oval has now announced the demise of its 'middle of the range' Mercury brand, with production of the last vehicles set to cease at the end of 2010. In a statement released to media, Ford announced that the shuttering of the 71-year old Mercury brand was in the interest of focusing on Lincoln, the automaker's only remaining premium brand.

News watch March 2011: today's auto industry news

Welcome to CAR Magazine's news aggregator as we round up the daily stories in the auto industry. Top tip: news summaries are added from the top hour-by-hour Thursday 31 March 2011• US President Barack Obama has strated all US government cars and trucks purchased from 2015 must be alternative-fuel vehicles (Automotive News)• Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn has denied a report in Japan's Nikkei newspaper that he is leaning towards a formal merger of Nissan and Renault (Reuters)• Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne says that Chrysler's share IPO may now take place in 2012, depending on financial progress this year (Bloomberg)Wednesday 30 March 2011• Tesla CEO Elon Musk has called a report that the EV carmaker is a takeover target 'bad analysis' and remains confident the firm will stay independent (Bloomberg)• The BBC denies that it rigged a December 2008 Top Gear TV test of the Tesla Roadster, in response to being sued by the EV carmaker (BBC News)• First Group, the UK's largest public transport operator, has announced a £160m investment in new buses, ordering 955 new buses from UK manufacturers Wrightbus and Dennis over the next two years (BBC News)• Japanese production woes look set to continue into April. Toyota expects the majority of Toyota and Lexus production on 14 April (Automotive News)• Saab production has re-started again, following a half yesterday afternoon.

How to buy a secondhand Ferrari 456

By Chris Chilton Motoring Issues 10 April 2009 10:00 The value of Ferrari’s big 2+2s have always gone down the tubes like used toilet roll, but not all have looked as beautiful as the 456, whose Pininfarina lines so cleverly disguise the car’s practicality. It can’t quite match a 612 for rear space but the back seats aren’t the joke you might expect and the ride quality is great – perfect for that imaginary trip to the south of France. Mike Wheeler of Surrey-based Rardley Motors (www.rardleymotors.co.uk) reckons he shifts more 456s than anyone else in the country and says the big coupés make real sense, but only if you service them at independents.