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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

Mercedes says it's tops in luxury sales for 2012, not BMW

It turns out that Mercedes-Benz North America has legitimate claim to being the top selling luxury nameplate in the US in 2012.
While sources such as Autodata had put BMW in the top spot, registration data from R.L. Polk shows that Mercedes customers registering new vehicles topped the Bavarian automaker in the most recent calendar year. Polk says Benz posted 274,123 registrations, compared with BMW's 268,498.
In terms of sales posted, BMW had bested Benz 281,460 to 274,134. But sales are recorded somewhat inconsistently from automaker to automaker. Some book the sales as soon as they are shipped from factory to dealer. There is perennial gamesmanship between the two German rivals, and the sales numbers suggest that BMW pushed out some extra sheetmetal to dealers in the last four weeks of the year.

2015 Mercedes-Benz S65 AMG Coupe

For Mercedes-Benz to truly demonstrate the capabilities and sensations of the S65 AMG Coupe, it needs to commission the building of a highway halfway to the moon. That's right, a ribbon of Autobahn roughly 120,000 miles long, with 50,000 miles of twisties and sweepers. Let's even add some loop-de-loops though the ionosphere, since, you know, we're going all the way with this. We've been following the headlines about progress on a new lunar lander and the SpaceX Mars Colonial Transporter, but we recently discovered that we've already got both of them in the S65 AMG Coupe. This isn't a car, it's a rocket ship. And it's not perfect, but it is spectacular. Starting with the way it looks. When Mercedes unveiled the concept at the 2013 Frankfurt Motor Show, I wasn't impressed. In fact, I told the Mercedes PR person, "It's fine, but the rear end doesn't do anything for me." And today? I'll have the crow, please, with lots of ketchup. When the test car you see here arrived, my loins tumbled and my knees developed a slight tremble. By the following week I was posing thought experiments like, "What's hotter: me in this car, or nothing else ever?" It's big – just eight inches shorter than the S-Class sedan and only an inch narrower. It's an inch longer than the Porsche Panamera and four inches wider, but just 0.3-inches taller than that slinking sport sedan. Its size and segment seem to have freed the designers' pens, and we think it's the best and most unapologetic expression of the brand's current language. We'd normally vote "nay" to a face full of chrome, but the coupe has the width to spread the polished elements around, and the top-to-bottom three-dimensionality indeed earns the adjective "jewel-like." A button on the center console lifts the entire car to protect those jewels when needed. The profile doesn't give up on the rising, sculpted wedge we've known for years – the one we used to love on the SL-Class. And again, the 16.6-foot expanse of sheet metal gives those opposing swage lines an unhurried opportunity to carve the body. The sidelong swell is enhanced by the carbon-fiber rocker panel laid into the concavity along the bottom, as well as those hips over the rear wheels. Speaking of which, the polished, 20-inch forged rollers are spot on. The bluff backside is sculpted just enough to keep it interesting, from the decklid spoiler to the horizontals across the bumper and carbon diffuser. Mostly, though, it seems to say to anyone behind, "Please.