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Recharge Wrap-up: Mercedes B-Class Electric Drive is a rock star, FedEx tests electric trucks

The Mercedes-Benz B-Class Electric Drive is in a new music video for I Lived by OneRepublic. The band's singer, Ryan Tedder, has also been brought on as a brand ambassador for the German automaker. OneRepublic will also be performing the song at the Mercedes-Benz Media Night on the eve of the Paris Motor Show. No word if Mercedes plans to offer hordes of screaming teenage fans as an option package with the B-Class Electric Drive. See the video (the car shows up around the four-minute mark) or read more in the press release below. FedEx is testing converted electric delivery trucks with diesel range extenders. Looking to shrink its carbon footprint, the company has converted a handful of trucks as part of a pilot program. In addition to battery packs, each truck is equipped with diesel turbine generators (supplied by Ian Wright's company, Wrightspeed) to provide electricity when the battery is depleted. Because the diesel motors aren't powering the vehicle directly, they can continuously run at their most efficient speed, making the trucks about twice as efficient as those powered by traditional means. Read more at Wired. Ford's new aluminum-bodied F-150 will be 5 to 20 percent more efficient, the company says. The fuel economy gains depend on the particular version of the truck, but the biggest improvement will likely come from the 3.5-liter V6 and the 2.7-liter EcoBoost V-6. Automotive News predicts the F-150 SFE to be rated at 21 mpg city/28 highway/23 combined, which are identical figures to the Ram 1500 EcoDiesel. The result could be a noteworthy fuel economy battle between Ford and Ram trucks. Learn more at Automotive News. The US Department of Energy is providing $25 million in funding toward reducing the price of algal biofuels. The goal is to get the price of these renewable fuels below $5 per gasoline gallon equivalent (gge) by 2019, and less than $3 per gge by 2030. The money will fund projects to develop better algal cultures that produce biofuel and other useful bioproducts, and projects to boost biomass productivity. The DOE says it wants to help develop a "bioeconomy" that provides jobs, helps the environment and ensures energy security. Read more at Energy.gov. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

How Ford plans to handle insurance and repair questions surrounding new aluminum-bodied F-150

Building a car out of aluminum has a number of benefits - the lighter weight allows the vehicle to be more agile, more fuel efficient, make better use of its power and be more resistant to dings and dents. The downside to the advanced construction, though, is that repairs are both challenging and expensive. That's troubling for the new, aluminum-bodied Ford F-150, because it's kind of made a name for itself as a rugged, durable work vehicle.
How will the legions of Ford buyers cope when it comes time to insure and repair their new trucks? Well, according to Ford, it's expecting a ten-percent jump in insurance costs for the aluminum-bodied F-150, although Ford's truck marketing manager, Doug Scott, was quick to point out that the F-150 is generally cheaper to insure than its competition from Ram and General Motors. "At the end of the day, that's sort of a wash," Scott told Automotive News at last week's Detroit Auto Show. "We've spent a lot of time and feel very comfortable that that's not going to be an inhibitor."
The other issue facing Ford is the distinct lack of body shops that have the training or equipment to repair aluminum-bodied vehicles. AN cites an estimate from the Automotive Service Association claiming that of the 30,000 independent body shops in the US, less than 10 percent are able to work on aluminum.

Ford recalls 277,000 Super Duty trucks over foggy rear-view camera

Ford has issued a recall that applies to around 277,000 units of the Super Duty pickup built between the 2017 and 2020 model years. The campaign also includes about 13,000 units of the Lincoln Continental, and it aims to fix an issue that makes the rear-view camera foggy. Assigned recall number 22V-644 by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the recall includes 139,131 units of the F-250, 109,960 units of the F-350, 14,830 units of the F-450, and 13,119 units of the Continental. The affected trucks are all fitted with the Ultimate Trailer Tow Camera system and were built between November 12, 2015, and March 10, 2020, while the affected Lincoln models are equipped with the 360-degree camera and were made from November 30, 2015 to March 10, 2020.  Ford explains "degradation of the coating on an internal rear-view camera lens can lead to a progressively foggy or cloudy image." It adds ultraviolet radiation causes the problem and that this issue increases the risk of an accident, though it's not aware of accidents or injuries. Owners of affected cars and trucks who have already paid to get the issue fixed have until September 30, 2022, to ask Ford for a refund. The company will begin notifying customers about the recall by mail on September 12, 2022, and it will ask them to take their vehicle to the nearest authorized dealer to get the rear-view camera replaced free of charge. Related video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. Restoring Headlights | Autoblog Details | Complete Detail Bonus