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Ford reportedly to shut down Mercury

The Mercury brand, rumored to be on the verge of death several times over the past decade, would be shut down under a plan being prepared for Ford Motor Co.'s board of directors, Bloomberg News reported on Thursday. Citing two executives who have knowledge of the plan but asked not to be identified, the news service said the plan would be submitted to Ford's board in July. How quickly Mercury would be shut down depends how quickly the automaker can convince Lincoln Mercury dealers to close or merge with a Ford-brand dealership, the report said.

Maybach Zeppelin comes over the horizon

The Maybach Zeppelin - an even bigger waste of money than the standard Maybach Maybach has not exactly been an unmitigated success for Mercedes. Conceived as a competitor for Rolls Royce, it does seem to have carved itself a niche, but probably not the one that Mercedes wanted. Perceived by most as a tarted-up S Class, and bought by the wealthy of the Playstation generation, rather than the Captains of Industry that Mercedes envisioned, the Maybach must be a loss-maker for Mercedes.

CES: New cars and communists

The first day of the 2012 Consumer Electronics Show featured one new Ford, two new Kias and a plug for communism from the head of Mercedes-Benz. So, yeah, it was an eventful first day. After its new 2013 Fusion plug-in hybrid was named Car of the Show--following previous such distinctions for the Focus electric and the Taurus--Ford CEO Alan Mulally pulled the cover off the Fusion Energi plug-in hybrid in Las Vegas on Tuesday.