By Huw Evans

According to Sascha Simon, head of Advanced Product Planning at Mercedes-Benz USA, the company is on track to launch an updated B-Class F-Cell for 2015 in California, with a “regular” sedan slated to follow in 2017.

However, Mercedes-Benz is adamant that its fuel cell vehicles look and feel like regular passenger cars as much as possible, thus the sedan is likely to be a derivative of the E-Class. The reasoning is that customers are more likely to consider fuel cell vehicles if they’re familiar with the shape and form of the car, despite its method of propulsion.

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The best compact utility vehicle?

Particularly in terms of Ford’s overall hybrid effort

The upcoming Ford C-Max hybrid is easily Ford’s best hybrid offering, and I believe, one of the best overall new vehicles coming on the market. Akin to the Toyota Prius V, the C-Max utility hybrid promises a better and more powerful driving experience, better fuel economy and a lower price compared to V. Perfect, right? Yes.

But the V isn’t driving Toyota’s stellar hybrid sales, the conventional Prius still is, and the conventional Prius — or at least the Prius family — is the metric, the benchmark, the standard. Thus, this ‘we’re better than Toyota’ angle, unfortunately, feels a little contrived and begs a few questions.

For instance, if Ford’s new lithium-powered hybrid powertrain, set to power the C-Max is so much more cost-effective than Toyota’s, why isn’t Ford taking on the entire Prius family, or at least the Prius that offers the most sales? Consequently, is Ford subsidizing the costs of the C-Max a bit to ensure some advertising buzz? Because, ultimately, Ford’s hybrid goals — at least for now — appear to be more about buzz than sales.

Regardless, the C-Max is an impressive offering, and at $500 less than the Prius V, the C-Max is a great buy. Aside from superior fuel economy and horsepower compared to the V, the C-Max also offers more interior volume, and lots of hot Ford technologies, such as SYNC® with MyFord Touch®, SmartGauge® with EcoGuide, and a cool new hands-free liftgate. By every measure the C-Max isn’t just a great offering compared to the Prius V, but compared to all vehicles in the compact utility segment.

Ultimately, Ford’s hybrid goals might be too conservative and perhaps even a contrived effort to create a halo product, at the expense of profits, but that’s not an issue for C-Max buyers. Instead, C-Max buyers should focus on the fact that this is a great product at a great price. If you are in the market for a crossover or small SUV, the C-Max could be a ride above the competition.

By Philippe Crowe

While many governments around the world have actively encouraged motorists to switch to greener forms of transportation, a prominent Think Tank in the United Kingdom says they could cost in other ways.

More specifically, a study by the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) and commissioned by the UK’s Royal Automobile Club (RAC) Foundation has said efficient vehicles could blow a huge hole in official revenue collection.

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By Philippe Crowe

Chevrolet declared that Volt owners have now collectively saved a supertanker of gasoline.

According to Chevrolet, since the electric car with extended range went on sale, Volt owners have compiled 40 million miles on electricity and avoided the use of more than 2.1 million gallons of gasoline. Based on $3.80 per gallon of gas, this means total savings at the pump of almost $8 million.

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