Auto News 5

If you're keeping score at home, the price difference between the C-Max Energi and the regular Ford C-Max is exactly $4550. What does the extra money get you? A big surprise when you pop the C-Max Energi's optional power liftgate: 5.3 cubic feet of the cargo area is filled with a 7.8 kWh battery pack, charged exclusively by the plug located just beneath the A-pillar window insert. It's enough to power the C-Max, gas-free, for up to 21 miles.

A couple of months after the launch of the V-8-engined Quattroporte GTS, Maserati will introduce the entry-level Quattroporte S powered by a new turbocharged V-6 engine. Maserati's entry level is still a pretty lofty level, with a price tag of just over $100,000, a 410-hp powerplant, and the same XXL footprint that measures 207 inches in length and 77 inches in width. Even with only six cylinders and 3.0 liters of displacement, the lesser Modenese luxury liner can keep up with such V8-engined rivals as the Audi A8 4.0 TFSI quattro, the BMW 750i xDrive, and the Mercedes-Benz S500 4Matic. "That's my point, exactly," emphasizes a beaming Harald Wester, who runs the Maserati brand and is the senior engineer of the Fiat Car Group. "The new Quattroporte combines V-8 performance with V-6 fuel economy. The four-wheel-drive model accelerates in 4.9 seconds from 0-62 mph, reaches a maximum speed of 177 mph and averages 27 mpg . Thanks to the better traction, the all-wheel-drive version is 0.2 seconds quicker off the mark than its rear-wheel-drive counterpart." So why can't we have all-wheel drive with the V-8 GTS? "It's a packaging issue," explains Wester. "But we are looking at it."