Super, I think it's the liberals that feel that government is the solution to all problems. Conservatives(as I am) would like to see less government intervention into business as well as private lives. I do agree,however, that when a large company starts to flex their muscles and drive competitors out of business, we do need government intervention.
My $.02 also. (We now have $.04 between us)lets start a business.

This guy is the best around. 10k won't include exhaust or install. He can make anything you want and will give you a 3 page parts list down to the wingnut too hold the air filter on.

My buddy had a 396 sbc built with 525hp, very reliable complete soup to nuts and installed for 9500. He is really good check him out.

http://www.hekimianracing.com/index.html

hotlavey, i was thinking "liberal" in terms of economics, where the argument is that economic systems will regulate themselves as long as free market and competitive conditions are maintained. thus, the government's job consists only of maintaining those conditions. Other strains of economic thought maintain the contrary, that economic systems tend towards situations of disequilibrium, most notably phases of acceleration, increases in output, demand, inflation and phases of recession. Thus, they argue that government should iron those bumps out by "taking the punch bowl away just as the party gets going" as one famous economist put it and presumably, put that punch bowl back on the table just as everybody's getting ready to leave... But you're right, private lives and the way you run business are different issues and I too think that as long as you're not doing anything logically illegal, you should be left alone. But as far as Brunswick is concerned, the issue is economic and their practices hurt the economy and the consumer. It even hurts themselves in the long-run as they are more vulnerable to foreign competition in what are increasingly global markets. And this calls for government action.

As for business, we can start a stern drive business. If this industry had the same level of competition and innovation as the IT industry, $0.04 would have been plenty to buy us a nice start-up inventory of Bravos.

Hey I have heard of a new drive system put out by Konrad Marine, it fills the gap between the brave xr and the bravo 6. And it is in the price range of the bravo xr.

I think the drive sells for about 12,500.

The Konrad 540 HP really fills a void in the drive market. Much stronger than a Bravo, Warranteed to 740 ft lbs of torque and the Konrad rep said that is a very conservative figure.

They offer a complete drive system for a Bravo swap. The motor stays in the same location and the transmission is located in the stand-off box.

Here is a pic of the 540 HP with the Bravo box

In this photo you can see the location of the tranny

There are options between the Bravo and #VI drives. The IIIA and the #V are still around. I would also love to see some competition for Mercury, but it is very difficult for a company to come out with a new product and compete head to head with a powerhouse like Mercury.

Mercury simply bought the #6 design frm Kiekhafer about, oh eighteen years ago. The only substantial changes to the drive since then were forced on Mercury by other suppliers (Weismann: dry-sump) or other forces (Hering/APBA: updated CNC skeg).

The Konrad 540 fills the gap between the Bravo XR and the #6. Probably most similar to the IIIA and V, however, new and parts are manufactured entirely under one roof.
These drives have done lots of diesel work over the last 7 years replacing others that cannot take the torque. I guess I don't see how the gas application would be any different. When you can take more torque, you break less often.

You will see an upgrade from Mercury. New unit, way tougher than the XR, shimable uppers with tapered roller bearings etc. Bolts on a Bravo Transom assy. They are done with r&d, production should be started in Stillwater soon, if it hasn't already.