Did Mercury have a patent on the 60 degree V-6? I thought I saw that somewhere. If OMC had taken the 3 cyl. and 'morphed' it into a V-6 in 1970 that would have a been a better advancement. Yes, the Intruder was good. Could have been even better without plastic carbs, intake and fuel pump. An old OMC employee told me that the very first VRO pump was all aluminum. The company bean counters said it was too expensive....make it out of plastic.