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Ford and Mercedes join Renault in French emissions investigation

The French government is investigating certain models from Ford, Mercedes-Benz, and Renault because they allegedly produce more nitrogen oxide than the country's pollution rules allow, according to Automotive News, citing a French newspaper. After VW's emissions scandal, French regulators began checking more vehicles for evidence of defeat devices and excessive real-world pollution. According to Automotive News, the Mercedes S350 allegedly showed inconsistent results across these tests, and a Ford C-Max had NOx levels five times over the limit. The Renault Captur crossover, Espace, and an unnamed utility vehicle also had results that were too high. The French testing for this investigation includes an on-road emissions check that's not part of the EU's normal evaluations, which some automakers claim is unfair. "Unofficial on-road testing has varying conditions and can produce significantly different results," a Ford of Europe spokesman told Automotive News. Renault representatives met with French officials on January 18 to explain the situation. The company later submitted a plan to recall 15,800 examples of the diesel Captur, and said it would offer a voluntary software upgrade for about 700,000 other vehicles, according to Automotive News. Representatives from Ford and Mercedes will meet with the government soon, too. Renault's stock price plunged last week after investors heard that French regulators searched three of the automaker's sites as part of the emissions investigation. The stockholders feared an environmental scandal like the one currently embroiling Volkswagen. There's one major difference – as of now, there's no evidence Renault equipped any of the polluting models with defeat devices. Related Video:

Lewis Hamilton retakes F1 lead with 'miracle' victory in Germany

HOCKENHEIM, Germany – Lewis Hamilton raced from 14th to first to seize a "miracle" German Grand Prix victory in a Mercedes one-two on Sunday and retake the Formula One championship lead from Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel, who crashed. Vettel, now 17 points behind the Briton after starting eight ahead, led his home race from pole position until rain caused chaos in the closing laps, with the German sliding off and into the barriers. Hamilton, the reigning world champion, took the chequered flag for a record-equalling fourth German Grand Prix win, ahead of his Finnish team mate Valtteri Bottas and Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen. "I've never had a race like this," said the four-times champion, who was summoned to stewards after the race for a pitlane infringement but escaped with a reprimand and the victory intact. "Today I feel like I drove the best that I can remember driving. I didn't make any mistakes." It was the 66th win of his F1 career, and Mercedes' 80th, and minutes after the finish, the skies opened with an array of thunder and lightning and a torrential downpour that would have stopped any race. "Miracles do happen, mate," Hamilton's race engineer Pete Bonnington told him over the radio after a slow-burner that turned into one of the great comebacks of the Briton's already stellar career. Hamilton, who threw himself across the pitlane wall into the arms of his mechanics and also got a bear-hug from delighted Mercedes-Benz boss Dieter Zetsche, seemed about as stunned as anyone. "I really feel that the rain has come down and just washed away any negativity and its a glorious day," Hamilton said, his voice wobbling. "It couldn't have been a better day for me and one that I will always remember." FERRARI NIGHTMARE Beaten by Vettel in his home British Grand Prix at Silverstone two weeks ago, where he went from pole to the back of the field and up to second, he had turned the tables completely. "Love conquers all," declared Hamilton, who had reacted defiantly on Instagram to the booing and hostility from a partisan crowd after his car broke down in Saturday's qualifying. "It's obviously very, very difficult from that position and highly unlikely but you've always got to believe," added the four-times champion, who said a long prayer before the race started. "I really manifested my dream today." For Vettel, it was simply a nightmare – the chance to make big gains slipping through his hands in an instant. He now has 171 points to Hamilton's 188.

Recharge Wrap-up: Porsche 911 hybrid possible, Ecocruise EVs coming soon

The next-generation Porsche 911 could use hybrid power, according to Porsche CEO Matthias Muller. "There is no reason against it and we will see if we have some reasons to do it," Muller says of the model due around 2018. He also suggests that hybrid technology could eventually make its way into all Porsche model lines, but that the Boxster and Cayman would first get four-cylinder versions. Muller cites carbon emissions and "sportiness" as reasons to use hybrid power, pointing to the 918 Spyder as a good example of both. Read more at Car Advice. A B-Class F-Cell from the Mercedes-Benz fleet has hit a benchmark of 300,000 kilometers (about 186,411 miles) in everyday use. The achievement won Daimler an "f-cell award" for hydrogen fuel cell technology and innovation. The 300+ fuel cell cars in the Daimler fleet have driven a collective 9 million-plus kilometers (more than 5.5 million miles). The information gathered from this testing is being used to improve development as the company looks toward expanding commercialization of fuel cell cars. "We have clearly demonstrated that the fuel cell electric drive is ready for the road," says Professor Herbert Kohler of Daimler. "The last hurdles we will overcome in intensive cross-industry and cross-border teamwork." Read more in the press release below. A company called Ecocruise has new EVs coming out soon. Along with electric scooters and service vehicles, Ecocruise develops street-legal neighborhood electric vehicles like the three-wheeled EZip-3, the four-wheeled EZip-4, and the fun looking Cruser Sport (see a prototype in the video below). The EVs are scheduled to go on sale in January of 2015, which is right around the corner. Ecocruise was started after the founder of Kasea Motorsports decided to switch to electric vehicles with the goal of offering providing affordable emissions-free driving. Learn more about Ecocruise and its vehicles at the company's website. The new EU Fuel Quality Directive (FQD) does little to discourage dirty fuels like tar sands and coal-to-liquid, says Transport & Environment (T&E). The FQD requires suppliers to reduce greenhouse gas intensity for transport fuel in the EU by six percent by 2020. The much-delayed FQD doesn't do as much as it could, though, say critics, and it doesn't label dirtier fuel sources as such despite the urging of scientists. T&E, an organization focused on cleaning up EU transport, blames Canada, the US and Big Oil.