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Mercury rolls into history with build of final Grand Marquis

The last Mercury--a Grand Marquis--rolled off the production line Tuesday at Ford Motor Co.'s assembly plant in St. Thomas, Ontario, marking the official end of another Detroit brand. The sedan will be shipped as part of a fleet order, Ford spokeswoman Marcey Evans said.

Max Wolff to become Design Director at Lincoln

Ford's luxury nameplate, Lincoln, is set to welcome a new design director, the first dedicated design director for the brand. The role will be filled by former GM designer Max Wolff, who will head the design team in the new year.  Until Wolff's appointment, Peter Horbury and Moray Callum, Ford's Executive Director of Design, The Americas, oversaw Lincoln-Mercury designs – the two brands were paired before Ford decided to kill off Mercury earlier this year. While Gerry McGovern headed Lincoln-Mercury design for a brief period before becoming director of Advanced Design at Land Rover in 2004, Lincoln itself has never had a design director dedicated solely to the brand.  Wolff brings with him extensive global perspective and luxury design experience; his most recent role was with Cadillac, where he was head of exteriors.

2011 Michelin Challenge Bibendum

This year marked the 11th running of the Michelin Challenge Bibendum. For those not familiar with the concept, the Bibendum aims to tackle the prolific issues facing the modern motorist, namely CO2 emissions and fuel consumption. Billed as a forum, the five-day event aims to bring together a variety of sources, manufacturers and suppliers to debate on future mobility.