smk4565

It is a failure, although BMW does it and sells more EV's than Mercedes and Audi combined, by doing ICE and EV on one platform. Mercedes isn't doing what BMW does, the electric GLC, E-class, S-class, and on a totally different platform than the ICE cars but look the same as the gas car. 2 platforms, 1 design language.

I think they just need SUVs built at Alabama because they sell so many SUVs here. Probably having the same body and interior on ICE and EV platforms will help manufacturing a lot. GM could probably do that with Equinox ICE and EV, it seems like it would be better economies of scale to have the ICE Equinox body and interior on Ultium.

It is still a matter of packaging. I have not been in an Escalade EV since I don’t know how roomy it is, it better be huge in there. But i have been in some SUV’s were the 3rd row is basically useless, I think the Volvo EVX90 or whatever it is called is like that. And this might be an EV issue, the need to shrink the battery so it doesn’t eat cabin space. And that might take years.

You should be able to get interior space without a vehicle being this large, it is bigger than the Ford Excursion. The ID Buzz could fit six 6-foot people in it with ease and is smaller than this.

This thing is just too large.

Through February 2025 Ford is down 7.4% for the year and Lincoln is down 14.6%. Ford Mustang is down 34% and Mach-E is up 62% and outselling the ICE Mustang 6,841 to 5,191. E-transit up 3%. F150 Lightning down 15%

Alabama makes GLE, GLS, EQE SUV, EQS SUV. Sindelfingen makes GLC, E-class, S-class, EQS, Maybach S-class, AMG GT 4-door Bremen makes EQE, C-class, GLC, SL, GT, CLE, GLC Coupe They can make SUV and sedan and convertible and coupe all in one plant, but it seems easier for them to switch EV and ICE in one plant. But perhaps they do it this way for commonality and quality control. C-class, CLE, GLC are very similar. Just like Honda Pilot, Ridgeline, Odyssey, Passport, Acura MDX are all the same.

Mercedes has MMA which replaces the MFA (Mercedes front drive architecture) and it is optimized for EV and the compromise is on the ICE side, this is CLA, GLA, GLB staring in 2026 model year. MB.EA is the EQ cars, to be replaced in 2026 with EVA2 with 800 volt and the new EV platforms, for C-class, E-class, S-class, etc. AMG.EA I am not sure what is different, but it will underpin the 1,000 hp AMG electric sedan and SUV and apparently they could put a V8 on that platform. MRA2 is the rear drive platform for C-class up to S-class for the 2021 and newer cars. What they don't want to do is wha tBMW does, and take an S-class chassis and just stuff batteries in it. So they need MRA and MB.EA underneath with the same body on top to optimize the ICE car and the EV. MHA is the GLE/GLS platform, which is basically high riding MRA G-wagon is a ladder frame not shared with anything

The EQS interior is more like an E-class, and the EQE is like a C-class Plus. Nicer than a C but not on par with E. And the GLC EV has 483 hp according to the rumors, so why buy a 402 hp EQE SUV for more money? You can basically kill all the EQ cars in 2026.

More chargers will help adaptation as well. EV's are probably a better option for 80% of consumers, maybe more. Delivery vans, mail trucks, school busses all make more sense as an EV, commuter cars should be EV's. Pickups used for towing should be diesel. Maybe some ICE sports cars, but the Mustang is down this year after 2024 was its worst year ever so I don't see where the ICE sports car demand even is. Outside of like a $400k Ferrari but that is so limited a market. Tesla will probably never top their 2023 sales volume. They might drop to like 1.5 million units a year or maybe even less and just hover around that volume the next 10 years. The Chinese are kicking their ass on price and the Europeans won't buy them.

Well I pretty much have accepted that I won't be buying a car until 2029 because a Rav4 will probably cost about $60k by summer at the rate we are going.

There need to be more EV's and lower cost ones. Once the Chevy Bolt, Kia EV2, EV3, EV4 type cars come out with lower costs the EV market should pick up. And Mercedes has a whole new EV line coming, GM is still expanding Ultium, Toyota isn't even in the game yet, so once all those guys ramp up there will be a lot of options. I think a lot of the EV pushback is from people that don't want to lose their V8 or sports car, which is a small % of the population or people that know nothing about EVs. Sure people don't want to lose their gas 911. But I can't imagine anyone is saying the 3 cylinder Ford Escape, 3-cylinder Nissan Rogue, 3-cylinder Chevy Trailblazer, are some sort of excellent driving experience and they are going to hold onto poor NVH, underpowered engines that the turbos blow after 100k miles and "you'll have to pry it away from my cold dead hands." Most sub $40k cars are just appliances that an EV with a bad driving experience. Once they get $30-40k EV's out, you'll have Rolls Royce level NVH compared to a Nissan Altima or something it will be night and day.

I have heard people saying they like driving the EQE and EQS, but the looks are just so bad there is no price at when they become desirable. I am very excited for the electric E-class though because it will have the 800 volt NMC battery and it will look the same as the ICE E-class which looks great.

Xiaomi SU7 Ultra - 5,291 lbs - 1,527 hp - 1,305 lb-ft - 391 mile range - Top speed 217 mph - 0-60 in 1.98 seconds - starting price $73,000 Granted the SU7 is a sedan, but this SUV is coming. Based on those specs, Cadillac and the Germans have work to do.

The iX is 0-60 in 4.4 seconds, it is a lot slower than Lyriq-V and $10k more money. I don't know how the interior quality of the iX is, but recent BMW's I think are not as good as the old days. The Lyriq has some cheap materials here and there, but overall is pretty good. I don't care for the rear end design of the Lyriq, but if you want a big 2 row electric SUV it is a good option. I think the Optiq is pretty nice inside for the price, they need a v-series version of that. And I still say, replace the CT4/CT5 with an electric sedan/coupe mid-size car, maybe a little bigger than a Model 3. BMW has an iX M70 with 650 hp, it does 0-60 in 3.6 seconds and priced at $111,000 according to their website. They have the xDrive 60 at a 4.4 0-60 for $88,000. I think the Lyriq is pretty good value. They could up the interior a little bit, but at the price it's okay. It would be nice to make the V-series lighter somehow, but all these EVs are overweight.

The EQ cars are not good. Too heavy, not enough range, too expensive, interiors aren't as nice as the gas equivalent, etc. Luckily they are being killed off in a year or two. The new Mercedes EVs are coming starting this year, CLA with 268 or 375 hp, GLC with 483 hp in 2026, E-class EV in summer 2027. AMG electric super car, AMG sedan, AMG SUV with the Yasa axial flux motors start arriving next year. And the EQS test mule with solid state batteries is on the road which is over 600 mile range, so they can put that into the EV S-class when it arrives. Their EV future all of a sudden looks great.

I meant low cost cars like Sentra, Jetta, Taos, Trax, Maverick, Mazda 3, etc at are made in Mexico. And Honda and Toyota definitely sell Canadian made cars here, I've even seen UK built Civics here. Yes, but even a Pilot or Odyssey is about 70% American parts, 30% of the parts going in will be tariffed. Honda could be okay, Tesla, the VW Buzz are all high American parts content. But no one is immune from the storm, and the tier 2 and 3 suppliers could get hit hard too.

Yeah, Toyota is really strong globally, and has a lot of cash, they can weather a storm. Honda is screwed because their top 2 sellers are made in Canada, but they have a lot of US manufacturing. The Xaiomi SU7 smokes the Plaid all day long, and it outsold the Model 3 in China last year. Tesla is starting to fall behind the Chinese, the Model S should be $45,000 and Model 3 at $29,000 to compete with what the Chinese have. Tesla can't turn profit at those prices. And Elon is scaring the customers away which doesn't help them either.

Agreed. All the low cost cars are made in Mexico, the Civic, Rav4 and CRV are made in Canada so you hit 3 of the best sellers hard. Stellantis is screwed for sure, they have a lot of Canadian production and they already have a price problem. GM and Ford will be weakened when the dust settles. And the Chinese will be the winner, I doubt any of the legacy car companies will be able to hold them off. I just read today how Porsche is struggling in China because their cars lack the tech and performance of some of these Chinese EV's. If Porsche who builds great cars is falling behind, what chance does Nissan, Ford or Chevy have?

They could try that, but it would be expensive (even more so with a 25% tariff since it is made in Canada) and The Mustang had it's worst sales year in history in 2024 despite being a new model and the Camaro and Challenger being out of the picture. I read they sold over 70,000 Camaros in 2016 and it was down to 5,000 last year as they closed up shop. There is no market for these cars. I am sure they could sell a few thousand Hellcat Chargers, but is that even profitable? And I agree that the EV Charger will fail, the early test drives make it seem like the product is a bit half baked and they are too expensive.

Just imagine a Jeep Compass with an extra 25% tariff on it. Sounds like a sales winner.

Gas prices have gone up a little in the US this year but once the tariffs go into place and summer fuel blend and summer demand come in, I am sure gas prices will shoot up.

Durango sales were down 14% in 2024. Granted the model is as old as dirt, but it was the only Hellcat model they had and the sales keep dropping. And I suspect like 5% of Durango sales are Hellcats, and the majority are V6 rental cars or police package.

In true Stellantis fashion, they should make the Compass about $55k to compete with the Land Rover Evoque so that when they don't sell they can discount then $13k like the Dodge Hornet and still not sell any. All they have to do is put the Hellcat in the Wrangler for $130,000 and then all of a sudden that $60k Wrangler with a 4-cylinder looks like a smoking deal.

The grille is ridiculously large, the bolt on screen on the dash makes no sense. I don't get how BMW had it's best sales year ever in 2024 when they build these ugly cars.