In a volatile oil market, automobile producers are scrambling to gain an edge on their competitors using technology considered purely futuristic until recently. Mike Schweizer and Rasheq Zarif of Mercedes Benz USA, LLC, gave a lecture during the energy seminar series for engineers last Friday on recent progress in the field of sustainable transportation. According to Zarif, the purpose of Mercedes’ intensive $1.7 billion research project has been to “accelerate the paradigm shift” between fuel-based and cleaner technologies.