In keeping with the “earthdream” color scheme for their F1 racers, Honda has been trying out a hydrogen-fueled car, the FCX, with selected customers in California. The styling is a bit retro, boxy and unimaginative but, when it’s alternative fuels that matter, who cares about the car’s looks?

Well, it seems Honda does. They have been showing off a new body for the FCX that is much more up to date and stylish. Called the FCX Concept, it has the usual modern grin for a grille and swooping lines everywhere.

I must be getting old – to me it just looks ugly…

One of the things that has surprised me in recent years is how different the car market is in the States as compared with Europe’s. It is rare to see a familiar European car on American roads and, when it does happen, it’s invariably one of those we think of as luxury marques – Jaguar, BMW, Mercedes Benz. Yet America is now producing smaller cars and, to be quite honest, they haven’t really perfected the idea yet.

They call them compacts whereas in Europe we would think of them as mid-sized. There are plenty of offerings from GM, Ford and Chrysler in this size but the designs are a bit wasteful in space, not quite as sophisticated as European cars of similar size. Surely there is an opportunity for European manufacturers here.

Take Peugeot Citroen PSA, for instance – the sixth largest car producer in the world yet completely unknown in the States. Some of their models would compete very strongly with American compact cars but they do not seem interested in establishing a foothold here. Being a Citroen fanatic (once a Citroen man, always a Citroen man), that pains me.

Take a look at these this model and tell me it would not sell in the USA:

Citroen C5

In the upper mid-range vehicle segment, the new look C5 is available in hatchback and estate versions. This “intelligent” road car combines styling, interior space and performance.

The Citroën C5 is a car apart in terms of the promise embodied in its styling and its strong personality. It brings customers wide array of technologies and innovation for exemplary well-being and safety.

The C5 features a wide range of modern, high-performance driving aids, such as Xenon dual-function directional headlamps, front and rear parking assistance, a speed limiter and a lane departure warning system (LDWS).

In terms of safety, the Citroën C5 also features new-generation ESP to correct the vehicle’s course with precision and efficiency, and a new steering column airbag to protect the driver’s knees and shins in the event of a collision. That is why EuroNCAP awarded the Citroën C5 five stars for safety, with 36 points out of a possible 37.

The Citroën C5 boasts a level of interior comfort worthy of cars further up the market, with laminated side windows and Hydractive suspension that actively filters out imperfections in the road surface.

The top of the range is covered by the 3.0i engine (ES9A). Featuring a V6 layout with 24 valves, this engine is based on the 3.0i V6, which is also fitted on the C8. It develops 152 kW CEE (210 bhp DIN) for maximum torque of 285 Nm at 3,750 rpm. Coupled with the new sequential, automatic six-speed AM6-type gearbox, this exceptionally driveable revised engine offers the smooth power specific to a 6-cylinder powerplant. An engine of consistent performance and power, it can cope with all situations. These qualities are largely due to the new variable timing of the intake camshafts.

Okay, I extracted that from the Citroen website but, if you’ve never heard the name, you were never going to find it, were you? It may sound like typical marketing hype but the C5 lives up to its promise, I assure you. Americans would love them…