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Recharge Wrap-up: Mercedes B-Class Electric Drive is a rock star, FedEx tests electric trucks

The Mercedes-Benz B-Class Electric Drive is in a new music video for I Lived by OneRepublic. The band's singer, Ryan Tedder, has also been brought on as a brand ambassador for the German automaker. OneRepublic will also be performing the song at the Mercedes-Benz Media Night on the eve of the Paris Motor Show. No word if Mercedes plans to offer hordes of screaming teenage fans as an option package with the B-Class Electric Drive. See the video (the car shows up around the four-minute mark) or read more in the press release below. FedEx is testing converted electric delivery trucks with diesel range extenders. Looking to shrink its carbon footprint, the company has converted a handful of trucks as part of a pilot program. In addition to battery packs, each truck is equipped with diesel turbine generators (supplied by Ian Wright's company, Wrightspeed) to provide electricity when the battery is depleted. Because the diesel motors aren't powering the vehicle directly, they can continuously run at their most efficient speed, making the trucks about twice as efficient as those powered by traditional means. Read more at Wired. Ford's new aluminum-bodied F-150 will be 5 to 20 percent more efficient, the company says. The fuel economy gains depend on the particular version of the truck, but the biggest improvement will likely come from the 3.5-liter V6 and the 2.7-liter EcoBoost V-6. Automotive News predicts the F-150 SFE to be rated at 21 mpg city/28 highway/23 combined, which are identical figures to the Ram 1500 EcoDiesel. The result could be a noteworthy fuel economy battle between Ford and Ram trucks. Learn more at Automotive News. The US Department of Energy is providing $25 million in funding toward reducing the price of algal biofuels. The goal is to get the price of these renewable fuels below $5 per gasoline gallon equivalent (gge) by 2019, and less than $3 per gge by 2030. The money will fund projects to develop better algal cultures that produce biofuel and other useful bioproducts, and projects to boost biomass productivity. The DOE says it wants to help develop a "bioeconomy" that provides jobs, helps the environment and ensures energy security. Read more at Energy.gov. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

Ford Recalls '13 Escape For 11th Time

Only in dealer showrooms for two years now, the 2013 Ford Escape has already been recalled for safety hazards 11 times. The most recent recall for the beleaguered vehicle came Friday, when the company announced it was recalling almost 160,000 Escapes and Focus ST hatchbacks from the '13 and '14 model years because of a wiring problem that could cause the engine to stall. Caused by a faulty wiring harness, Ford said the defect could result in reduced power, hesitation or outright stalling. The company said it knew of no crashes or injuries caused by the flaw. Customers affected will be notified by mail. It was the latest problem for a vehicle beset by recalls from the moment it started rolling off the assembly lines. Starting on July 6, 2012, the '13 Escapes have been recalled for an assortment of problems, including multiple hazards with fuel lines that could result in engine fires, fluid leaks in the engine that could also result in fires, problems with engines overheating, delays in airbags deploying and more. Ford

Foreign automakers pay from $38 to $65 per hour to non-union workers

As leaders for the United Auto Workers gather in Detroit for their Special Convention on Collective Bargaining to work out the negotiating stance for this year's new labor agreements with the Detroit 3 automakers, what they most want to do is figure out how to eliminate the two-tier wage scale. However, the lower Tier 2 wage has allowed the domestic automakers to reduce their labor costs, hire more workers, and compete better with their import competition. As it stands, per-hour labor rates including benefits are $58 at General Motors, $57 at Ford, and $48 at Fiat-Chrysler – a reflection of FCA's much greater number of Tier 2 workers. The Center for Automotive Research released a study of labor rates (including benefits) that put numbers to what the imports pay: Mercedes-Benz pays the most, at an average of $65 per hour, Volkswagen pays the least, at $38 per hour, and BMW is just a hair above that at $39 per hour. Among the Detroit competitors, Honda workers earn an average of $49 per hour, at Toyota it's $48 per hour, Nissan is $42 per hour, and Hyundai-Kia pays $41 per hour. The lower import wages are aided by their greater use of temporary workers compared to the domestics. Automotive News says the ten-dollar gap between those foreign camakers and the domestics turns out to about an extra $250 per car in labor, which adds up quickly when you're pumping out many millions of cars. That $250-per-car number is one that, come negotiating time, the Detroit 3 will want to reduce, as the UAW is trying to raise both Tier 1 and Tier 2 wages. Another wrinkle is that the domestic carmakers are considering the wide adoption of a third wage level lower than Tier 2. Some workers who do minor tasks like assembling parts trays kits and battery packs already make less than Tier 2, but the UAW will be quite wary about cementing yet another wage scale at the bottom of the system while it's trying to fight a bigger battle at the top. News Source: Automotive News - sub. req., BloombergImage Credit: AP Photo/Erik Schelzig Earnings/Financials UAW/Unions BMW Chevrolet Fiat Ford GM Honda Hyundai Kia Mercedes-Benz Nissan Toyota Volkswagen labor wages collective bargaining labor costs