Redesigned and re-engineered for 2007. The 2007 Lincoln Navigator has been substantially redesigned in an effort to re-establish itself at the top of a category it more or less invented. It remains a big, heavy, luxurious sport-utility vehicle, with most of the advantages and disadvantages that go with big sport-utility vehicles.

The Navigator is now offered in two versions: the standard size, and an even larger, longer, Navigator L. With the exception of its 300-hp, 5.4-liter V8 engine and six-speed automatic transmission, everything inside and out has been thoroughly revised. It's still available with rear-wheel drive or four-wheel drive.

We'd call the 2007 Navigator an across-the-board improvement, except perhaps in the very subjective area of styling. Yet it's an incremental improvement, and it doesn't restore the clear edge Lincoln once had among full-size luxury SUVs. While Navigator hits the basic targets set for such vehicles, it's not loaded with emotional appeal.

Feather your nest. In the past, a sunny day would almost always find me driving a flying bridge yacht from the upper helm. But after trying out the captain's seat at the lower helm of Azimut's 68 Plus, staying indoors is becoming a tempting option. So often, the lower helm on a flying bridge boat is an afterthought, with a seat barely acceptable for a bowling alley and a few gauges slapped into a panel. The 68 Plus' high-backed leather captain's seat, on the other hand, feels as if it belongs in a Mercedes. It offers firm back support, thick cushioning, and comfortably padded armrests. Push a couple buttons and it adjusts to more positions than a Craftmatic adjustable bed. Ahhh. A long cruise never looked so good.