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Junkyard Gem: 1993 Mercury Topaz GS Sedan

As long as the Mercury brand existed — a period spanning the 1939 through 2011 model years — nearly every Mercury sold in the United States was more or less a redecorated Ford model. The Torino had its Montego sibling, the Crown Victoria had the Grand Marquis, the Cougar was based on everything from the Mustang to the Mondeo, and so on. Naturally, when the folks in Dearborn developed the Ford Tempo compact, a Mercury version had to be created. This was the Topaz, with the official launch of both cars taking place on the deck of the aircraft carrier often referred to as the USS Decrepit. You can't make this stuff up! The Tempo/Topaz, also known as the Tempaz, has largely faded from our collective automotive memory by now, since it broke no significant new engineering or styling ground (this story would be much different if Ford had only put the amazing straight-eight "T-Drive" Tempaz powertrain into production) and didn't have any endearing features other than being a cheap domestic competitor to the Toyota Corolla and Nissan Sentra. Still, close to 3 million Tempazes left North American Ford and Lincoln-Mercury showrooms during the 1984-1994 period. As you'd expect, most of these disposable cars disappeared from both the street and the car graveyard long ago. It takes a very special Tempaz for me to break out my camera while I'm patrolling my local wrecking yards; generally, this means an ultra-rare all-wheel-drive version or at least a very early model in super-clean condition. Today's Junkyard Gem is neither, but I took one look at this spectacular Bordello Red crypto-velour-and-slippery-plastic interior and recognized that this was no ordinary junkyard Mercury. It appears that Mercury had dropped the idea of clever names for base-grade seat fabrics by the time of the Topaz, referring to this stuff as just "cloth" in all the brochures I could find. That's too bad, because Mercurys had cool names for upholstery (e.g., Chromatex) in the old days. The interior is in very good condition but the steering wheel shows substantial wear, so I think this is a high-mile Topaz that got meticulous care from its owner or owners. Ford used five-digit odometers on these cars until the end of production, however, so we'll never know if this reading indicates 65,404 miles or 365,404 miles. The body is very straight, but there's some nasty corrosion behind the right front wheelwell.

BMW M4 versus Audi RS5 | Autoblog Podcast #546

On this week's Autoblog Podcast, Editor-in-Chief Greg Migliore is joined by Associate Editor Reese Counts. We debate the merits of the BMW M4 and the new Audi RS5 and our hopes for the refreshed Mercedes-AMG C63. We also discuss the state of Cadillac, the future of the Ford Fusion and the rumored Mercedes-AMG competitor to the Porsche 718 Boxster and Cayman. Autoblog Podcast #546 Get The Podcast iTunes – Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes RSS – Add the Autoblog Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator MP3 – Download the MP3 directly Rundown 2018 BMW M4 versus 2018 Audi RS5 Cadillac and Mercedes-AMG sport coupes The state of the luxury car industry The future of the Ford Fusion Replacement for the Mercedes-Benz SLC Feedback Email – Podcast@Autoblog.com Review the show on iTunes Related Video: Design/Style Podcasts Audi BMW Cadillac Ford Lexus Lincoln Mercedes-Benz Convertible Coupe Crossover SUV Luxury Performance bmw m4 mercedes-amg c63

Amazon can now deliver packages to some Ford and Lincoln vehicles

Nothing succeeds without complications popping up along the way. Sure, Amazon's Prime delivery services have made shopping more convenient than brushing your teeth, but leaving millions of packages on doorsteps comes with an inherent danger: Thieves might swipe them without anybody knowing. Amazon's solution is called Amazon Key, which allows delivery men and women to enter a customer's house or car to drop off a package. This week, Ford and Lincoln announced they would be partnering with Amazon to integrate the service into some of their vehicles. Ford is following in the footsteps of Volvo and General Motors, as both companies announced their participation about a year ago. That includes Cadillac, Chevrolet, Buick, and GMC. Key will be made available for 2017-and-newer Fords equipped with FordPass Connect, and 2018-and-later Lincolns with Lincoln Connect. Key is not available everywhere, but it can be used in dozens of city throughout the U.S., and the network is expanding. To look for compatibility for your car and city, check on Amazon's dedicated Key website. Like every other tech invention these days, Key requires a smart device application, which requires a one-time setup. The service is available on the Key app or the FordPass and Lincoln Way apps. While ordering on Amazon, customers will then select in-car delivery during checkout. Input a public delivery address, and park the car within two blocks of that address. While the order is in transit, Amazon will provide status updates, another feature that takes away some of the anxiety of waiting for a package to be delivered. The package will be put into the car within a four-hour window, and users will get notifications that the exchange is complete, and the car is again securely locked. Should customers change their minds, they can always cancel the delivery method, and the car will remain locked. In that case, the delivery could go to the building where the car is parked, or be rescheduled. Ford imagines this as the beginning of numerous car-based services in the near future that can be scheduled while the owner is not there, such as car washes.