This weekend, Ford will put its first Focus EVs on car carriers and ship them to dealers, Reuters heard.  Some 67 dealers in California, New Jersey and New York will receive 350 Electrics. Each dealer will get about six cars, one of which will be a demonstration model, the other for sale, Reuters’ sources said.

Ford did not want to comment on these enormous news. Ford spokesman Wes Sherwood only offered the sibylline statement that Ford is “still on track to begin shipping the Focus Electric this spring.”

The Focus EV will have a hard time. EVs are not necessarily flying off dealer’s lots. Nissan sold 2,103 of its all electric Leaf in the first four months of the year. In the same period, GM sold 5,377 of its not quite all-electric Volt.

Of course, some cars are not meant for rapid sales. They are more meant to fill a quota.

An obviously Axis-inspired driver was seen today in Kamakura, Japan, complete with aloha shirt and toy poodle. A British crime writer who stood next to me swore up and down  that this is the real thing and an original Messerschmitt Kabinenroller. What do you think?

I think this is too slick a fiberglass replica of the Messerschmitt. The real McMesserschmitt had three wheels instead of four, and the bodywork had some serious panel gaps.

The real Messerschmitt Kabinenroller had a 173 cm³ (10.5ci)  enginelet that propelled the Schmitt to an exhilarating 90 km/h  (55 mph). For a long time, it would have been just fine for the freeway.

The story that Messerschmitt had a surplus of  Me 109 fighter canopies that were recycled into the Kabinenroller is most likely apocryphal .

Francois Hollande has officially been sworn in as France’s new head of state, and as expected, his official car is a Citroen DS5 Hybrid4. But his predecessor may have one-upped the upstart Socialist with a choice ride of his own.

Leaving the Elysee Palace in defeat may be tough to do – less tough when Carla Bruni is the one escorting you to your new residence. But outgoing PM Nicolas Sarkozy’s exit vehicle, the Citroen C6 may be more authentically French than the DS5 chosen by Hollande – and a more appropriate successor to the DS’ namesake than the funky hatchback.

The DS5 Hybrid is a cool car on its own, but the choice of a Hybrid is an obvious pander to the anti-Sarko contingent that considers the environment just as sacrosanct as 5 weeks paid vacation. But the DS5 isn’t distinctly a Citroen, even if it does look European.

The C6, on the other hand, couldn’t be anything but a Citroen. Dynamically, it’s not a match for a 5-Series or an A6. But it is unspeakably elegant, with its long wheelbase, truncated rear deck and sloping roofline done in a much more tasteful manner than Teutonic pseudo-coupes. Put it next to an Audi A7, and the German car looks vulgar.