2014 Mercedes-Benz GLK 250 BlueTEC

The detail of the taillight of the redesigned for 2013 GLK shows more depth and detail of design. A nice touch.

Nowhere except inside the fuel filler door and in the driver’s handbook will you see the word “diesel” on the new GLK 250.  Despite the fact that the Three-Pointed Star has been making diesel engines for over a century and despite diesel’s strong popularity around the world, Mercedes’ US marketing arm would like to reintroduce Americans to the charms of diesel power without mentioning the “d-word” – so powerful is the American public’s alleged dislike of the noisy, dirty, smelly, doggedly-slow diesels of yore.

The rear badging of the 2014 Mercedes GLK 250 BlueTEC doesn’t have a “diesel” badge. In the “old days” this car would have been badged GLK 250D and the word “diesel” or “turbo-diesel” may have appeared on the opposite side.

Twist the key of the $39,495 GLK 250 BlueTEC (you have to pay $650 if you want the pushbutton convenience of Keyless Go) and the engine fires right up. Common-rail direct diesel injection banishes any lingering memories of glow plugs and waiting for a light to go out before you could start the engine. From inside, there is little evidence of a noisy diesel engine. Even outside the cabin, you have to listen carefully to hear the diesel’s low-revving churns.

The 2.1L Biturbo diesel engine in the 2014 GLK 250 BlueTEC.

Also relegated to the dustbin of history is any whiff of diesel fumes or black clouds of particulates. Mercedes’ BlueTEC system scrubs diesel emissions with a series of steps including a catalytic converter, a particulate filter and a squirt of a urea and water solution. The result is exhaust clean enough to meet California’s stringent standards which do not distinguish between diesel or gasoline engine emissions. In short, a 50-state legal diesel engine.

The rewards are a compact crossover with top tier fuel economy. The EPA rates the 2014 Mercedes GLK250 BlueTEC at 24 city 33 highway 28 combined. This beats almost all the competition – at least for now. Only the BMW X1 xDrive28 ties the GLK for highway fuel economy. Lesser brand crossovers like the extremely popular Honda CR-V or Ford’s highly-touted Escape with a 1.6L EcoBoost engine can’t touch the diesel for sheer economy.

The GLK, first introduced in the US for the 2010 model year, was thoroughly revised and reworked for the 2013 model year.  While I love Kim Cattrall as Samantha on Sex in the City, showing her loading up a GLK on Rodeo Drive in the 2008 film didn’t make me rush out to buy one.

My first drive of the GLK 350 (previously the only model available) was less than inspiring, mostly because I couldn’t get past the horribly cheap interior and junior-GL styling that I didn’t think worked.

Fast forward to 2013 and I’m a convert. That me-too was properly laser-sculpted and is now much more fluid and mature. While she’s still not a sexy kitten like the Audi A4 Allroad, the GLK just looks more comfortable in its sheet metal.

The double-bar grille is more prominent and the front fascia and new headlamps flow more organically.

More important is the quantum leap in interior quality and ambiance  The steering column stalks are now up-to-date. Plastics feel substantial, thick and soft, where appropriate. Switch gear remains stock Mercedes parts bin.

The interior of the 2014 GLK 250 is more driver focused with the re-positioning of the 7 inch navigation screen and the center console mouse-like controller.

The leather-wrapped three-spoke steering wheel is small in diameter, and almost sporty – although at 4,246 pounds curb weight, you really can’t call the GLK sporty.

The instrument panel and steering wheel feel properly upscale and very Mercedes-Benz — which is a good thing.

I particularly like the four round air ducts with the aluminum-look bezels and cross-hairs. They really elevate ambiance and overall premium look. Pleated leather in the door inserts add a touch of luxury and the wood accents are convincing.

You sit quite upright in the cabin – more so that almost any other car on the market. I found the position as well as the stock Mercedes seats quite comfortable and leg and shoulder room more than adequate. The GKL has real cup holders – something that you will appreciate when you realize that BMW forgot to put decent ones in the X1.

The 60/40 split rear seats fold flat in the GLK. There isn’t a ton of space, but it’s all well tailored and properly flocked.

Of course, for me, what sealed the deal was that sweet little engine. While it won’t win any speed records, 369 pound-feet of torque at only 1600 rpms more than makes up for having only 200 ponies. Mercedes’ standard in-house 7-speed automatic is flawless.

The 4Matic all-wheel drive system, standard on the GLK 250 BlueTEC, has a rear-drive bias and doesn’t shave much from a fairly tight turning radius of 37.7 feet (a full foot shorter than the 2013 Ford Escape).  I found the electronic rack-and-pinion steering tracked straight with a light feel — more than passable for a small crossover with no sporting intentions. It’s a distant cry from the recirculating ball gears of my 1988 190E.

Like all German cars these days, you have to add pricey options to get them to the level of options you’d expect on a luxury car. For example, the rear visibility of the GLK isn’t great, so you would be wise to look for a rearview camera. It’s standard on the base $23,000 Honda CR-V, but on the GLK, you have to opt for the $2,790 Multimedia Package, which includes COMAND hard-drive navigation on a 7-inch color display, 10GB Music Register, SiriusXM Traffic and Weather and Enhanced Voice Control.

You also can’t get the handy power tailgate by itself, you have to buy it as part of the $3,450 Premium 1 Package which includes a Panorama roof, SiriusXM Satellite Radio, Auto-dimming rear and side view mirrors with a digital compass and garage door opener. No unbundling! Heated front seats are a $750 stand-alone option.

The panorama glass sunroof is part of the Premium 1 Package. I wish it could be unbundled.

Needless to say, all this quickly adds up to something north of $50,000. The GLK 250 4Matic is $1,500 more than the rear-drive GLK 350 but $500 less than the 4Matic version.

If the price for the car doesn’t confuse you, there is the  issue of the price of diesel fuel. It routinely fluctuates from below regular grade gasoline to more than premium. However, you are supposed to use premium gasoline in the GLK 350. For me, the fuel price is a push and the increased economy you get out of every gallon of diesel more than repays any price premium at the pump.

The interior of the new GLK looks like a nice place to spend time. Road trip anyone?

Also, diesel power makes sense for people who do most of their driving on the highway. Simple Google searches will tell you that diesel drivers routinely get better than EPA estimates on long trips and the GLK 250 BlueTEC has a road trip-friendly range of more than 500 miles.

The best news is that the GLK now feels like a proper Mercedes-Benz and I have confidence in more than 100 years of diesel engineering experience. Still, nothing sells a car like 369 lb-ft of torque behind every push of the pedal. Try it and I think you’ll be hooked too.

2012 Fisker Karma. R.I.P. Fisker Automotive, Inc. 2007-2013.

Fortunately for investors in Fisker Automotive, this week the media’s attention is focused on much more serious events happening in Boston. Sure, Fisker’s filing for bankruptcy will make the news, just not for nearly the number of news cycles usually devoted to this kind of failure.  Bloviating “experts” will excoriate the Obama Administration for giving Fisker a $528.7 million Department of Energy “Advanced Technologies Vehicle Manufacturing” loan. Automotive executives will say that they knew Fisker had bad karma.  Blah, blah, blah….

The Fisker Karma’s interior looks nice, except there were lots of complaints about sloppy workmanship, poor fit/finish and cramped quarters.

In Los Angeles, we have different tea leaves that pick winners and losers in the rarefied niche market of advanced technology hybrid and electric vehicles. Roaming our streets on a daily basis is a never-ending parade of beautiful, fast, exotic, expensive and classic cars – not to mention the countless hybrids. LA has a large enough market for low-volume high-tech, advanced drivetrain vehicles that low volume, expensive cars have a place here. If we like it here, the vehicle and/or its underlying technology stand a good chance of expanding and flourishing.

On any given day driving around Metro LA, you can see exotic cars like the Honda FCX Clarity, a Tesla Roadster or a Mercedes-Benz B-Class FCV (Fuel Cell Vehicle). The Chevy Volt is more popular than the Chevy Cruze.  The BMW ActiveE isn’t a stranger.  Last year, the Toyota Prius was the best-selling vehicle in California – no surprise to anyone as you can’t drive anywhere without being surrounded by them.

The Coda sedan. CODA Automotive’s first and likely its last car.

When CODA Automotive opened up its first store in the fall of 2011, in the Century City Shopping Mall, I visited the store and tested the Coda – the company’s first offering, an all-electric sedan. That was November 2011 and I pronounced the Coda dead-on-arrival. The $45,750 (later reduced to $37,250) Coda was far to expensive, even with up to $10,000 in federal and state tax credits. It borrowed styling from a decades-old still-born Mitsubishi econobox and I found it primitive and uncomfortable. It was a battery and a drivetrain in search of a body. No one bought it.

By the time CODA Automotive abruptly ceased nearly all operations in December 2012, the LA Times reported that it had sales of no more than 78 vehicles based on a recall notice issued by the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration. I never saw one on the open road.

By contrast, the Nissan Leaf was less expensive, thoroughly modern, futuristic-looking and far better equipped. And the Leaf was backed by an extensive network of Nissan dealers. Last year, Nissan sold 9,819 Leafs. Last month (March 2013), Nissan sold 2,236 Leafs. Today, the Leaf is a common sighting in LA.

Justin Bieber’s Fisker Karma in chrome. You know, a “stealth color” right? Photo: TMZ.com

With the arrival of Fisker Santa Monica in 2011, the stage was set for “volume” sales of the highly-anticipated Fisker Karma, an extended-range electric vehicle. Suddenly the Fisker Karma was all over the wealthier areas of Metro LA. Justin Bieber bought (or was given) one painted in bright chrome and was notoriously chased by the paparazzi. Leonardo DiCaprio had one. Wealthy Santa Monica entertainment executives with the need for a green veneer but a disdain for a common Toyota, were customers.

In 2012, the curvaceous  cramped, four-door, six figure, five thousand three hundred pound Karma became a common sight in LA. It was like the iPhone 5 of the wealthy eco-conscious car buyers. Flash with a bit less guilt.

But as with everything in the tech industry, things can change instantly and customers are fickle. The batteries caught fire. Consumer Reports bought a Karma and it bricked. Battery packs were recalled. Fisker stopped production of the Karma and lost thousands of cars in Super Storm Sandy. On October 16, 2012, A123 Systems, Inc., the supplier of the battery pack for the Karma, did the corporate version of bricking.

The Fisker Karma had a very fetching hind quarters belying its porky 5,300 curb weight.

Even if 2012 had been clear sailing for Fisker, its fate was sealed when the pure electric $100,000 Tesla Model S debuted last July. With the 85 kWh flat-floor battery pack, an EPA certified range of 265 miles, a much larger interior and gobs of cargo capacity, that stunning 17 inch infotainment/control display and sports car handling, suddenly the $100,000 Karma’s 32 mile EV range and “extended range” of up to 300 miles didn’t seem so impressive.

The 2013 Tesla Model S won Car of the Year awards from both Motor Trend and Automobile Magazine.

Then, near the end of 2012, the Model S snagged two very important COTY awards from Motor Trend and Automobile Magazine. The LA-based orders started to pile up for the Model S.

Almost all controls inside the Tesla Model S are accessed on the brilliant 17 inch full-color, fully-internet enabled center touch screen.

You might see the tail end of the Tesla Model S more often than the front because this car is seriously fast and can easily blow past the most powerful German sedans.

A black hole has been sucking the Karma off the streets of LA and like the Big Bang, the Model S has exploded on the city, everywhere I go. A shady, apartment lined street in West Hollywood.  Abbot Kinney in Venice. BOA Steak House. The Palm Springs Art Museum. Ralph’s parking lot. Sunset Plaza. USC. The 405. The 10.

A new 2013 Tesla Model S enjoys Doris Day parking at BOA Steakhouse in West Hollywood.

Another new Tesla Model S is able to find a coveted street parking space on Abbot Kinney in Venice.

Range anxiety? Not with that big battery pack and the $1,200 optional Tesla Twin Charger that can double the charging speed at home or the office. And if you’re on the road, locate one of Tesla’s Supercharger Stations that can recharge the 85 kWh battery – more than 250 miles of range – in one hour. Pretty awesome.

We are witnessing very rare automotive history here in Los Angeles with the life and death of Fisker and the Karma and the rise of the Tesla Model S.  I’ve never seen a car become so hot so fast and then nearly disappear to be replaced by another even hotter car — not even when the Hummer disappeared with the fuel spikes in 2008 to be replaced by the Prius.

I kind of feel bad for the Karma.  She got dumped for a virgin electric with a bigger battery, a dazzling infotainment interface (17 inches!) and sports sedan handling good enough for the exclusive six-figure German mash pit. However, I don’t see too many Karmas being sold into indentured servitude on the resale market. Only a few thousand were ever produced and sold, and none really saw hard time, so while you won’t see many on the road, most will find their way into private collections and museums.

As the bankruptcy vultures prepare to dismantle Fisker, we can be sure that Hernik Fisker, while a talented designer, is not destined to be the Henry Ford of ER/EVs, despite sharing his initials. Fisker Automotive will take its place in the sprawling automotive graveyard among such former luminaries as Packard, Duesenberg, Tucker, Studebaker, Pontiac and Plymouth. The automotive business is complex and cut-throat and few start-ups survive.  R.I.P. Fisker Automotive.

April 25, 2013, Editor’s note: On April 1, 2013, Tesla announced that it had delivered “more than 4,730 Model S Cars” for the first quarter of 2013. For the same period, the competition sold:

• Audi A8 – 1,462
• Audi A7 – 2,083
• BMW 7-Series – 2,338
• BMW 6-Series (including the Gran Coupe) – 2,071
• Lexus LS – 2,860
• Mercedes-Benz S-Class – 3,077
• Mercedes- Benz CLS – 1,695

So when you look at the $100,000+ luxury class, the Tesla Model S seems to be ahead of the class. These statistics support my observations that the Model S has transcended the EV range anxiety and it’s overall excellence is attracting its share of the luxury market.  This is an amazing accomplishment for the first mass-produced car from a start-up manufacturer.

The first 2013 Cadillac ATS rolls off the assembly line. It was a great moment for GM’s luxury division.

I certainly was skeptical. After all, the Bavarian Motor Works has been honing its 3-Series for decades and it’s the de-facto benchmark by which all compact sports sedans must be compared. Cadillac’s engineers tore apart the 3er to see what makes it tick and then built the company’s all-new rear-drive Alpha platform to meet, match or exceed the standards of BMW.

The short answer is that Cadillac has succeeded in making a competitive, first-rate compact sports sedan. Is it a BMW? No, it’s not, but it’s a great freshman entry. It’s not quite carved from one block of granite and doesn’t convey the decades of engineering experience and crammed trophy cases that paved the way for the current (internal code) F30 BMW is built.

A BMW 328i sedan – the benchmark for all compact sports sedans and the target of the 2013 Cadillac ATS.

Perhaps I’m biased because I’ve owned at least one or more cars from all the German manufactures. Perhaps I’m predisposed to expect mediocre product from the Wreath and Crest division of General Motors. However, in the ultra-competitive luxury car market, brand image is vital and perception translates into sales reality.

GM’s luxury division is going to have to work magic to get BMW, Mercedes or Lexus owners to cross shop – particularly in a region like Southern California where a Caddy is joke punch line, not something you drive. Cadillac’s customers skew much older and attracting youth to the brand – youth that will appreciate the driving dynamics of the ATS and who will know how to use all the electronic gizmos – will be key to the future of the brand.

I’d like to get past the styling before we get to the actual driving experience. The ATS wears a conservative, toned-down version of Cadillac’s decade-old Art & Science theme. I like the way the vertical headlight array sweeps up the front fenders and the mini fins in back are a Cadillac hallmark. The rear center brake light is nicely integrated into the trunk lid. The whole package works well, but color choice is very important to the overall look.

2013 Cadillac ATS Luxury Sports Sedan

Detail of the 2013 Cadillac ATS’ headlight module. Note how the vertical LED running lights sweep up and over the front wheel fender. A nice touch.

The rear of the 2013 Cadillac ATS. You can still see vestiges of fins in the vertical taillights and the center brake light is nicely integrated into the trunk spoiler.

The ATS’ Alpha chassis is text book sports sedan: Front engine, rear-wheel drive, four-wheel independent, multilink suspension, four-wheel anti-lock disc brakes and optional all-wheel drive. Like all modern cars, to save weight and engine drag, the ATS uses the latest-generation electric power steering unit from Germany’s ZF.

Cadillac offers three engine options: The base unit is a Chevy 2.5 L four-cylinder unit with direct injection making 202 hp. Next up is a 2.0L turbo four, also with direct injection, making 272 hp and the most potent engine (before the inevitable ATS-V makes its debut) is the familiar 3.6L direct injected V6 good for 321 hp.

The standard transmission on all trim levels is GM’s aging 6-speed automatic with paddle shifters. You can get a 6-speed manual transmission only on the 2.0 turbo models. GM always seems late to the party on transmission. Its competitors have been using 7- and 8-speed automatics for a while now. However there is hope. The just-introduced 2014 Cadillac CTS, which also rides on the Alpha platform, will use an Aisin (aToyota affiliate) 8-speed automatic on some models with V6 engines. The 8-speed should migrate to the ATS in the next model year. Problem solved.

I drove the ATS 3.6 Luxury with a base MSRP $42,090 – much more than the standard ATS 2.5 that starts at $34,000. Aside from the V6, 6-speed automatic and an assortment of other goodies, it come standard with the CUE (Cadillac User Experience) infotainment system (sans navigation). My tester had the optional $845 Driver Awareness Package and nothing else.

Morello Red leather with Jet Black accents is an optional interior on the ATS

The ATS was a delight to drive. If this was around in the Roman times, Mercury wouldn’t have needed wings on his shoes. The 3.6 has plenty of power and a very broad torque range. It effortlessly flew up hills and down wide boulevards. This was a happy time for my right foot; just don’t watch the instant fuel economy readout.

The ATS felt light and nimble, even in “Luxury” trim wearing only standard 17 inch wheels and all-season tires. And I do mean light. The V6 ATS weighs around 3,400 – about 100 pounds less than the comparable BMW 335i. It’s also balanced nearly 50-50 front/rear, long a BMW bragging point. It easily tosses into turns and straightens out without feeling like the mass is still moving in the opposite direction.

A cutaway of the 2013 Cadillac ATS shows how weight was saved by using aluminum and high-tensile steel.

Fortunately, the Cadillac doesn’t use run-flat tires like almost every BMW. Even on highway braille bumps and uneven surfaces, the chassis was calm, quiet and composed, facilitating a sporty but comfortable ride. It was a joy.

Steering is light, well balanced with commendable road feel. Much can be attributed to the ZF EPS unit, but Cadillac’s engineers really spent bundles of time and untold computing hours tuning the steering – and it shows. There was no drift, and it tracked laser straight and small movements yielded exacting results. I wished for slightly better on-center feel. That said, I wished for the same things when I drove 2012 BMW 328i and it’s the benchmark.

Cabin quality was on par with the competition, but not to the level of Audi. Materials felt rich, plastics were mostly soft to the touch (with a few glaring exceptions) and I liked the French stitching on the dash. Some switchgear felt cheap.

The cock pit of the 2013 Cadillac ATS sports sedan. This one has CUE, Cadillac User Experience, the brand’s high-tech infotainment system.

For me, the cabin was a bit claustrophobic – I’m 6’1” tall, 180 pounds. While I fit in the seat, and I liked the electric adjustments, side bolsters and the manual thigh support extension, I just felt like the passenger and I were too close. There was an unconscious jousting of elbows for the slim center arm rest.

And with me in the driver’s seat, the back seat is good only for small adults or children. There was barely room for our two dachshunds. The BMW 3 seemed to have more space. Trunk space was on par with the others in this category. If your idea of weekend fun is Swedish meatballs and flat-packed furniture, buy an SUV.

Cadillac’s CUE infotainment system is frustrating and might be enough to kill the deal. I’ve driven many cars with more responsive touch screens. I believe Chevy’s MyLink infotainment system that mixes a more responsive touch-screen with old-school knobs and buttons is far superior. While CUE’s haptic feedback is nice, I always felt a hesitation when I punched a function on the slick 8 inch full color screen. It was slow enough to make me almost want to touch the control again. Like many others, I’m used to the instant response of an iPad screen and CUE feels like the design predates the iPad which is already on its third generation.

The capacitive sensing touch screen of CUE.

I also don’t like the lack of physical knobs for things like volume or climate control. While I’m sure you’d get used to sliding your finger over the slick center panel to raise or lower volume, I’m willing to bet users will elect to control that kind of stuff with the redundant hard buttons on the steering wheel.

The center dash touch panel of the 2013 Cadillac ATS has no knobs or physical buttons. Everything is touch sensitive. It’s easier to turn the knob to turn the sound up or push it to turn the system off.

The very fact that the 2013 Cadillac ATS exists is a minor miracle and I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend it to someone looking for something different from the standard issue (in LA) BMW 328i, Audi A4 or Mercedes C250. But for me, it’s really the Almost There Sedan from Cadillac. It would only be attractive on a heavily-vented short-term lease. I have high hopes for the ATS, particularly when it matriculates to its 2^nd generation. Maybe then, some of its freshman flaws will be exorcised and we can call it the All There Sedan.

[Editor's note: March 2013 sales were announced two days ago. Cadillac's March 2013 sales were up 55%. The ATS had its best month since launch, with 3,587 units sold - outselling the Audi A4/Allroad, but still a distance from the BMW 3-series with nearly 9,000 unit sales. Ward's Automotive reports that 70% of ATS sales were "conquest sales" from BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Lexus.  Fifty percent of ATS sales were with the 2.0T engine, with the remaining half split evenly between the base 2.5L I4 and the 3.6L V6 engines. ]

Ford dropped the Escape Hybrid when it introduced a completely redesigned model for the 2013 model year. More fuel efficient gas engines in the new Escape are able to achieve nearly the same level of economy as the outgoing hybrid model.

To replace the Escape Hybrid, Ford introduced the 2013 C-Max which is available only as a hybrid or plug-in hybrid known as the C-Max Energi. The C-Max, based on the outstanding Focus platform, has been sold in Europe in various forms for years – just not as a hybrid.

2013 Ford C-Max Hybrid SEL

Ford reconfigured the C-Max for US sales by getting rid of its rear sliding doors in favor of conventional 4-doors. Ford marketing believed that sliding doors would automatically brand the C-Max with the Scarlet M (for minivan) and, in the States, the M-word is the kiss of death.

The compact interior of the 2013 C-Max will seat five – but that’s two adults and three small children.

The C-Max is as close as we are going to get to a Focus wagon and it’s the only direct competitor to the Toyota Prius V. It’s tall, like the Mazda5 compact minivan and you sit a bit higher and more upright than a normal car. The rear liftgate is large and the floor height is marginally higher than a comparable passenger car for easy loading. Lots of glass surrounds you so visibility is excellent and the large side mirrors are tipped with concave mirrors that provide an analog solution to blind spots.

2013 Ford C-Max Hybrid – Rear

My 6′ 1” frame fit into the driver’s seat, but there wasn’t much extra room. The standard manual tilt/telescoping helped make things comfortable. Rear seats are best for children or small adults as the cushions are short, with no thigh support and there’s a paucity of larger adult legroom. It should be fairly easy to strap in child seats as the tall doors and the C-Max’s diminutive size put belts and buckles in easy reach for weary parents.

The rear seats of the C-Max split 60/40 and fold flat. Not much leg room for adults, but it’s pretty easy to reach in to grab the kids.

The flat-folding rear seats split 60/40 to open up 52.6 square feet of cargo space. Perfect for a Costco run or a couple large dogs. It would be nice if the rear windows rolled all the way down, but I’m not sure the rear occupants would care.

Plenty of cargo space in the back of the Ford C-Max with the rear seats folded down.

MyFord Touch is Ford’s much maligned infotainment system that is the number one cause of customers’ dissatisfaction with Ford vehicles in recent in JD Power & Associates surveys. Consumer Reports slammed Ford both before and after a major software update to the system. I’m a fairly tech-savvy guy, so I have mixed feelings about it.

The 8 inch color display on the C-Max is set high – too high, in my opinion – in the center stack. It’s deeply inset (as opposed to flush) in the dash and there is a table ledge of hard button controls in front of the screen.

The 8 inch touch screen of MyFord Touch is deeply inset into the dash. Note the hard shortcut buttons and volume control in front of the screen.

I think that you’d get used to it with some time; but the on-screen fonts are too small and delicate and each of the four major function – telephone, information (including navigation), radio and climate are brought up only by touching a slim bar that is either in the top or bottom of each assigned quadrant.

Because of the placement of the screen, when your hand reaches for one of those functions, your hand partially blocks your view of the screen, so you’re mostly poking around blind. It’s also hard to see the hard-button controls that are on the ledge in front of the screen. There are some redundant “hard” controls for things like volume or climate control; but selecting a preset radio station can be difficult with bumpy streets and the slim on-screen touch controls. At least the touch response is fast.

The four quadrants of MyFord Touch. To bring any area up to full screen, you tap on the slim area at the top or bottom corners.

Power for the C-Max comes from a 2.0L Atkinson-cycle I-4 hybrid engine channeled through an electronically controlled Continuously Variable Transmission (CVT). The gas engine is good for 141 hp and 129 lb-ft of torque. Together with the permanent magnet AC synchronous electric motor, the system is good for 188 hp with a top speed (not that you’ll ever get there in this car) of 115 mpg. Ford says the C-Max can go up to 62 mph in electric-only mode, but it’s nearly impossible to do without being on a closed track with nearly zero gravity on your left foot. The statistic is useless in normal driving.

The C-Max’s electric motor is powered by a compact 1.4 kWh lithium-ion battery and, like the Prius, regenerative brakes feed the battery when you brake and the gas engine runs a generator to keep the battery charged. The battery doesn’t suck up any cargo space. Nifty graphics in the instrument panel show you how “green” you’re driving and which direction the electrons are flowing.

A cutaway of the 2013 Ford C-Max Hybrid.

Speaking of the Prius, I think Ford engineers have jumped over Toyota’s flagship hybrid when it comes to smoothness of operation. Most of the time, it’s hard to notice when the gas engine goes on and off. You don’t feel the shakes and vibrations associated with the Prius. Even Ford’s CVT lacks a distinctive whine unless it’s pushed hard. The regenerative brakes don’t have that touchy-grabby hybrid feel either. In short, the driving experience is utterly normal except for the odd silence when the car is started and when it’s drifting in EV mode.

The cockpit of the 2013 Ford C-Max Hybrid. It bears more than a passing resemblance to the Ford Focus, which serves as the basis for the C-Max.

I like the compact size, ease of operation and visibility of the C-Max for daily city driving. The electric power steering had decent feedback – shocking, really, when compared to the electric rubber band attached to the Prius. While the C-Max will never be a NASCAR pace car, it scoots up to city speeds easily and without fuss, never feeling underpowered. I think it would need a bit more time to come to highway speed. Its turning radius was good and parking was easy. The C-Max was also relatively quiet for a small car.

Ergonomics are very good and the plastics and switchgear is on par with the excellent Focus. I’m not sure how much I’d like it on highway trips where road noise and the short wheelbase might make for a noisy and choppy ride.

While the C-Max may not be the sexiest car in the parking lot, it is fresh and modern.

The C-Max’s stated EPA fuel economy is impressive – 47 mpg city, highway and combined , besting the Prius V’s 42 mpg combined. However, several media sources, including Consumer Reports, has called out Ford, challenging those figures for the 2013 C-Max.

The C-Max I drove showed an average 28 mpg – but you expect lower figures in a tester. CR states that the C-Max achieved overall fuel economy of 37 mpg during its tests. By comparison, the Prius V achieved 41 mpg in CR’s test cycle – just 1 mpg shy of its EPA rating. So while the C-Max bests the Prius V in the EPA number game, in the real world, the Prius V bests the C-Max by 4 mpg. If you buy a C-Max, I recommend lowered expectations when it comes to fuel economy.

The 2013 C-Max Hybrid SE starts at $25,995 and a fully-loaded SEL can easily grow to $33,500 with niceties like leather-trimmed seats, navigation, an upgraded infotainment system and MyFord Touch, hands-free park assist, hands-free liftgate, rearview camera, parking sensors and a panoramic fixed glass roof. The Prius V can get pricey too, starting at $27,445 and rising all the way to $37,535.

While the C-Max Hybrid wouldn’t fit my driving needs, I believe it is a sweet little tall wagon that drives well (like its cousin, the Ford Focus) and offers lots of grown up features for a reasonable price. I wouldn’t call it stylish, but it is a fresh face in the hybrid market – particularly in Prius-happy L.A. The C-Max will appeal both to Eco-conscious buyers as well as people just looking for good fuel economy in a tidy, versatile package.

A couple weeks ago, headlines around the country trumpeted (or jeered, depending on your perspective), that the Toyota Prius was the number one selling vehicle in California in 2012.  How many? An impressive 60,688 – more than the entire population of Cheyenne, Wyoming.  You could practically feel the derision and scorn aimed at California from “real Americans” who only buy big pickup trucks and SUVs. Those damn socialist, communist, tree huggers, over-zealous environmentalists and car-haters in California.  How dare you choose a Japanese-made hybrid over an American pickup truck!

2013 Toyota Prius in the top trim level – Five.

I think the Prius’ crown makes sense and here’s why: Gas is expensive in California – more than most of the rest of the country – and the Prius delivers the best fuel economy for the dollar.  For the vast majority of buyers, whether they admit it or not, it’s a pocketbook issue. Aside from economics, you can pretend to (or actually) care about the environment and brag about how little you spend on gas.  It’s also a class-less car.  You will see people of all socioeconomic levels driving a Prius — from a wealthy Hollywood star to one of the below-the-line staffers on a television show.

The 2013 Toyota Prius v (“v” for versatility) has more cargo capacity and a wagon-like tailgate.

The whole Prius ethos is wrapped up into a simple, right-sized, easy to drive transportation appliance that people love. We have one in our family and it functions exactly as advertised. It is very reliable and requires almost no driving skill to glide through daily activities and gets a relatively consistent 40 mpg (never the 50 mpg claimed).

However, for us in Los Angeles and the other large metropolitan areas that dot the beautiful coast of California, this isn’t surprising. You can’t throw a stone in any direction without hitting one.  And in 2012, the Prius family grew to three models: The standard Prius hatchback, the compact, Yaris-based Prius-C and the larger Prius-V wagon.  We are used to the creepy “silence” a Prius makes as it rolls along before the gas engine kicks:  There is that vague electric hum (like you hear from a transformer) and the subdued road noise from the low-rolling resistance tires as if someone was pushing a stalled car.

The Prius c (“c” for compact) was introduced in the first quarter of 2012 and was an instant hit from the beginning, despite tepid reviews. It’s based on the humble Yaris.

This isn’t to say that our former favorite car, the Honda Civic, didn’t do very well, despite being dropped from Consumer Report’s “Recommend List” for the first time in memory and receiving near-universal scorn from the automotive press. When I drove the 2012 Honda Civic in 2011, I piled on the poor Civic calling it a second-rate, noisy econobox.  But as you can see by the graphic above, Honda Loyalists didn’t abandon their favorite car and still bought 57,124 units.

Honda execs, horrified by the merciless criticism, rushed a heavily-revised 2013 Civic to market in 18 months. I predict it will be a close race between the Prius and Civic in 2013.

The heavily revised 2013 Honda Civic is sure to outsell the 2012 in 2013.

Apparently we also like cars better than trucks. In California, in 2012,  passenger cars accounted for 62.9% of sales; SUVs 24.3% and pickups and vans, 12.7%.  Compared to the entire country where passenger cars accounted for only 51.6% of total sales.

In 2012, hybrid registrations were 98,154 (a 7.4% of the market) and 2996 electric cars were registered (0.2% of the market) mostly Nissan Leafs, with a few Teslas thrown in.  The Tesla Model S is growing in popularity.  Just yesterday, on my short drive home from the gym, two of them passed me.  And last week in Venice, I saw a brand new Model S parked on (appropriately) Abbot Kinney.

The very sexy and very fast 2013 Tesla Model S

Toyota and Honda still dominate our market. Below is how the various manufacturers divvy up the highly-lucrative California market:

• Toyota (including Scion and Lexus) grabbed the lion’s share at 21.1%
• Honda (including Acura) 12.5%
• Ford (including Lincoln), 11.3%
• GM (Chevrolet, GMC, Buick and Cadillac), 11.2%
• Nissan (including Infiniti), 8.3%
• Hyundai/Kia 8.3%
• Chrysler (Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, Ram, SRT and Fiat) 5.5%
• VW (Volkswagen, Audi, Porsche. Bentley, Lamborghini and Bugatti) 5.5%
• BMW (Including MINI and Rolls-Royce) 4.5%
• Mercedes-Benz (including smart and Sprinter light trucks) 4.1%
• Other 6.7%

The rising star in California is Hyundai’s twin, Kia, with sales up a whopping 53.3% in 2012.  And a  little car company whose sales are part of the “other” rounding category, Subaru, had a stellar year with sales up 44.2%.  Volkswagen, in its march to conquer the world, saw its California sales increase 37.9%.

Broken down by region, in 2012, L.A. and Orange Counties accounted for 522,256 (approximately 40%) of the total 1,310,720 (retail, excluding fleet) new car registrations.  Southern California (including Riverside, Ventura, Santa Barbara and San Diego counties) accounted for 67% or two thirds of all registrations. That makes sense given the vast freeway systems, long distances and lack of good public transportation.

California top-selling vehicles, by segment were:

Entry Level: Nissan Versa, Kia Soul, Honda Fit, Fiat 500, Ford Fiesta

Subcompact: Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, Toyota Corolla/Matrix, VW Jetta, Hyundai Elantra

Sporty Compact: Chevrolet Camaro, Ford Mustang, Dodge Challenger, Scion tC, Hyundai Veloster

I don’t quite think of the 2013 Chevrolet Camaro (in ZL1 Convertible trim in this picture) as a “compact” sports car… But that’s how it’s categorized.

Standard Mid Size: Toyota Camry, Honda Accord, Nissan Altima, Hyundai Sonata, Kia Optima

Large Mid Size: Dodge Charger, Chrysler 300, Nissan Maxima, Buick LaCrosse, Toyota Avalon

Near Luxury: BMW 3-Series, Mercedes C-Class, Infiniti G, Lexus ES, Lexus IS

Luxury: Mercedes E-Class, BMW 5-series, Lexus GS, Audi A5, Audi A6California Auto Outlook Q4 2012

Sports Car: Porsche 911, Nissan 370Z, Chevrolet Corvette, Mazda MX-5 Miata, BMW Z4

Compact Pickup: Toyota Tacoma, Nissan Frontier, Ford Ranger, Chevrolet Colorado, Honda Ridgeline

Full Size Pickup: Ford F-Series, Chevrolet Silverado, Ram, Toyota Tundra, GMC Sierra

The Ford F-150 pickup truck and all its derivatives have been the best-selling vehicle in the US for more than 20 years. This model is the SVT Raptor, an expensive performance upgrade to the standard F-150.

Minivan: Toyota Sienna, Honda Odyssey, Dodge Caravan, Nissan Quest, Mazda5

Full Size Van: Ford E-Series, Ford Transit Connect, Chevrolet Express, Sprinter, Nissan NV

Compact SUV: Honda CR-V, Toyota RAV4, Ford Escape, Nissan Rouge, Jeep Wrangler

Always a big seller and favorite in both California and in the whole US, the Honda CR-V seems to hit the sweet spot of the compact SUV market.

Mid Size SUV: Toyota Highlander, Honda Pilot, Ford Edge, Jeep Grand Cherokee, Kia Sorento

Full Size SUV: Ford Explorer, GMC Acadia, Ford Flex, Chevrolet Tahoe, Chevrolet Traverse

Luxury SUV: Lexus RX, BMW X5, Mercedes M-Class, Acura MDX, Mercedes GLK

The Lexus RX350 is forever popular in Los Angeles. This one is the F-Sport model with some subtle changes to the grille and body cladding.

You can download the full California Auto Outlook, Fourth Quarter publication here.