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Recharge Wrap-up: Hyundai H350 Fuel Cell van, Formula E in Brooklyn

Formula E's New York City e-Prix will take place in Brooklyn. With lower Manhattan and the Statue of Liberty as its backdrop, the race will play out on a 1.21-mile, 13-turn course on the streets of Red Hook. Formula E revealed the location at a press conference at the site of the circuit, at the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal on the New York Harbor. "New York City is where technology, sustainability and commerce collide," says NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio. "We are thrilled to be the new home of the ePrix." The race is scheduled for July 29, 2017. Watch the video above, and read more from Formula E. Hyundai is debuting its H350 Fuel Cell Concept at the 2016 IAA Commercial Vehicle Show in Hannover, Germany. The hydrogen-powered commercial van offers emissions-free (except for water vapor) driving without the lengthy recharge times of a plug-in vehicle. It has a driving range of 262 miles on a single tank, and refuels in just minutes. It can be configured with a cargo area of up to 456 cubic feet, or with seating for 14 passengers. Hyundai's fuel cell van concept draws from the automaker's experience with the Tucson Fuel Cell production vehicle. Read more from Hyundai. Mercedes-Benz says it will offer an electric delivery van again in 2018. The German automaker left the niche market in 2012 after slow sales of its Vito E-Cell, which it launched in 2010. "The future of urban deliveries will be electric," says Volker Mornhinweg, head of the company's vans division. "We at Mercedes-Benz Vans are convinced of this." While Mercedes has not said whether the EV will be a new model or an electric version of a current offering, it did say it would develop the powertrain in-house, and offer various battery capacities. Read more at Automotive News Europe. Related Gallery Mercedes-Benz Vito E-Cell View 16 Photos News Source: YouTube: FIA Formula E Championship, Formula E, Hyundai, Automotive News Europe Green Motorsports Hyundai Mercedes-Benz Minivan/Van Commercial Vehicles Electric Videos recharge wrapup

6 luxury car brands to watch in 2024

2023 was a healthy year for the auto industry, and even with incentives returning and dealer lots filling up, there's plenty to like about the market if you build luxury automobiles, and we expect 2024 to be more of the same, which makes luxury-segment rivalries all the more interesting. Top luxury car brand rivalries? Well, that sounds downright uncivilized. But we know better, don't we? And when every quarterly sales update is an opportunity to remind somebody else that they bought the wrong status symbol, well, who can resist? Certainly not the diehard customers who fly their favorite brands' banners high.  Read more: Auto sales: Industry records best year since 2019 Read more: 2023 auto sales and 2024 preview: Ford Bronco vs. Jeep Wrangler This is a tricky segment to define, but essentially, we're looking at luxury car brands with depth to their portfolios and dealerships that exist to attract real-world customers. The Bentleys, Rolls-Royces and McLarens of the world are luxury cars, certainly, but we're more concerned with brands that have a bit more mass appeal — manufacturers who treat supply constraints as fiascos rather than features. If you disagree with our selections, feel free to let us know in the comments.  And since we're mostly concerned with finishing order, the luxury brands and totals featured here may change as new data come in throughout 2024. Due to the wild swings of the past several years, we're treating 2023 as the baseline by which we'll measure sales performance. And rather than rank brands vs. their finishing order in 2022, when supply-chain and inflationary issues still played havoc with sales figures, we're starting 2024 off with a clean slate.  The mainstream luxury segment is always a dogfight, but with their varied approaches to electrification all of the major luxury brands are in the midst of reshaping the premium landscape. Who is doing it right? Well, according to U.S. shoppers, the usual suspects are up to their old tricks.

Mercedes plans Audi TT fighter

With the growth in popularity of modular platforms in the auto industry, it's rapidly becoming commonplace to see a company with multiple models that look different but share a significant number of parts underneath. One such an example is Mercedes-Benz's line of compacts, including the A-Class hatchback, CLA-Class sedan, GLA-Class crossover. Two derivatives lacking from German brand's current, small-car range are a coupe and convertible, but that might be changing soon. Mercedes is hard at work on a coupe with 2+2 seating, a liftback roof and styling inspired by the AMG GT, according to Autocar. Daimler Chairman Dieter Zetsche reportedly supports the idea, too. The new two-door could be on the road as soon as 2019 to target models like the Audi TT and BMW 2 Series, and a convertible version might follow later. This little, luxury two-door would ride on Mercedes' next-gen, front-wheel-drive compact platform, according to Autocar. It reportedly allows the German company to vary a model's size more than the current version and can better adapt to hybrid powertrains. A previous report also suggested the coupe and convertible might use this improved chassis, if they got the green light. Of course, a Mercedes model is hardly complete without an AMG version, so that would also be a possibility. According to Autocar, the performance brand's 2.0-liter four-cylinder could see output pushed to 400 horsepower compared to the current 355-hp unit. Earlier rumors also indicated a more powerful version of the boosted mill might be on the way. With Autocar backing all this up only with unnamed sources, the rumors should probably be taken with a grain of salt at the moment. However, a small coupe from the brand doesn't seem entirely impossible. After all, after two-door versions of the C-,E-, and S-Class, why not a smaller one, too?