Chevy Volt owners are a fanatical, interesting bunch. Just watch the commercials. But one major gripe has always been that the car can only fit the driver and three passengers. So what is the Founder of GM-Volt.com supposed to do when his family grows? Get a Ford, of course.

It has something in common with Gwyneth Paltrow—sliding doors—and it'll bring the European MPV aesthetic to American mothers of young children—the only Americans who will fit in the 7-seater's third row. Actually, it's a 5+2, but who's counting?

Ford's answer to the Chevy Volt isn't just an all-electric version of the Ford Focus. It's also two varieties of its upcoming C-Max hatchback — a regular hybrid and a plug-in hybrid that Ford says beats the Volt in efficiency.

Unlike the 2012 Grand C-Max, its smaller brother, the new five-passenger Ford Focus-based C-Max has no plans for storming the US market. This one does however look cooler, especially when dressed in this fashionable shade of Ford Fiesta green.

Last night, we said the seven-passenger Ford Grand C-Max would be heading for the U.S. Now we can give you all the details, better photos and our initial thoughts.

Business Week's David Kiley became the latest embargo Twitterbomber, spilling the beans on Ford's plans to bring the all-new 7-passenger Grand Focus C-Max to the US market in 2011. Others then let loose with photos. Here's everything that's out there.

The first vehicle based on Ford's new global Focus platform, the new C-MAX will drop cloth later this month at the Frankfurt Motor Show. But, you say, why should we care? Well, because we're told it may wash ashore here.