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2015 Ford Focus Electric hides in plain sight

The styling changes to the 2015 Ford Focus were shown off at the recent Geneva Motor Show, so what the EV version looks like is not that much of a surprise. Still, the 2015 Focus Electric is making its world debut here at the New York Auto Show, so we wanted to know what changes we are looking at compared to both the internal combustion engine version and the earlier EV models.
The exterior visual distinctions between the ICE and EV are minimal, and basically nonexistent from the A-pillar to the rear. Up front, you can see the charge port, of course, but the front fascia has also undergone a bit of an adjustment. The front doesn't have the ICE version's flattened grille and the EV's Ford logo creates a bump in the hood line where none exists on the ICE. The 2015's grille is also different than the one on the 2014 Focus Electric, being slightly smaller (you can see this better if you compare pictures in our new gallery above to these of the 2011 Focus Electric and these of the gas-powered 2015 Focus).
The updated 2015 interior - which we couldn't access ourselves - has things like a new center stack, improved cupholders and is basically identical between the gas and electric models. With the car off, you can't even tell if you're in an EV or ICE, Seema Bardwaj, the US brand manager for the Focus, told AutoblogGreen. The only things that are different, she said, are extra menu screens to show EV powertrain information to the driver.

KBB 2013 Brand Image Awards has some obvious and oddball winners

The sixth edition of the Kelley Blue Book Brand Image Awards have crowned a wide range of winners - in a couple of cases the recipient of the laurels might say more about KBB users than they do about the actual winner. Compiled from the responses of more than 12,000 shoppers on KBB.com over the past year, there are 13 categories broken into non-luxury, luxury and truck segments "representing the combined wisdom of the American car-buying public."
The award categories have been revamped this year, with some dropping off, some new ones appearing and at least one other given a new term. What isn't surprising is that Honda won Most Trusted Brand for the second year running, Best Value Brand for the third year in a row and took Best Overall Brand, which wasn't on last year's list of awards.
On our own shores, in the non-luxury categories Chrysler got Most Refined Brand and Buick took Best Value Luxury Brand. Neither one of those marques won anything in last year's Brand Image Awards, while Cadillac, which won Best Interior Design Brand and Best Comfort Brand last year - those awards disappeared this year - went home without a single accolade.

Recharge Wrap-up: Tesla considers Model III SUV and wagon, Ford tears Tesla apart

Worries over Brazil's electric grid mean EVs are excluded from green car incentives. As part of a new efficiency program, non-plug-in hybrids will be eligible for a reduction in import duties, while EVs and plug-in hybrids will not. Brazil's government is concerned that the country's grid lacks the capacity to handle the increased load from an influx of EVs. Brazil plans to create a new incentive program - perhaps a more inclusive one - when the current one expires at the end of 2015. Read more at Green Car Reports. Tesla could make SUV and wagon derivatives of the upcoming Model III sedan. Tesla's VP of engineering, Chris Porritt, told Auto Express that to reach as many customers as possible, Tesla would consider all its options. "SUVs, estates - who knows?" says Porritt. He also says that while the company is currently focused on products with a broader appeal, another Roadster or other sports car aren't out of the question in the future. Read more at Auto Express. Ford admits to a Tesla Model S teardown. Ford CEO Mark Fields says that after disassembling, reassembling and driving the model S, his company is "very familiar with that product." He also says the Ford has the capability to build a similarly high-tech, long-range electric car. The questions still remains if Ford has plans for such a vehicle, but Fields says that it fits within Ford's "product philosophy." Read more at Business Insider and at USA Today.