
smk4565
Members-
Posts
13,743 -
Joined
-
Last visited
-
Days Won
11
Content Type
Forums
Articles
Garage
Gallery
Events
Store
Collections
Everything posted by smk4565
-
VW News: ID. Buzz World Premiere, A Bulli for the 21st Century!
smk4565 replied to G. David Felt's topic in Volkswagen
I agree, it will probably cost over $50k, which is going to cut down the appeal. If you don't factor in the commercial vans, the minivan market is down to Pacifica/Voyager, Odyssey, Sienna and Carnival. 4 minivans compared to the hundreds of crossovers that you can pick from. -
VW News: ID. Buzz World Premiere, A Bulli for the 21st Century!
smk4565 replied to G. David Felt's topic in Volkswagen
Looks good and the Van life crowd will like it. It could do well since there aren't many vans on market, compared to how many crossovers there are. -
Chevrolet News:All-Electric Blazer SS Preview by Chevrolet
smk4565 replied to G. David Felt's topic in Chevrolet
GM has off road pick ups, although no Raptor or TRX competitor. But GM doesn't have anything like a Wrangler or Bronco. And I assume this Blazer SS will be like a Mustang Mach-E competitor, maybe larger since an Equinox EV would be the size of a Mach-E, but same idea, crossover that is fast in straight line, swoopy styling or sporty look. -
Chevrolet News:All-Electric Blazer SS Preview by Chevrolet
smk4565 replied to G. David Felt's topic in Chevrolet
The current Blazer sucks, so I hope they make this Blazer SS an off road oriented vehicle since they can't make Broncos, Wranglers and 4Runners fast enough. The market is in this off roaders, GM is missing out big time on this market with way too many Chevy/Buick/GMC mall cruiser crossovers that are all too similar to each other. I like GM using Equinox, Silverado, Blazer names for their EV's and not doing some sort of EV1, EV2, EV3, EV4, EV5 garbage like Kia (and yes I know GM made an EV1). Stick with established names, even if they are killing the Blazer name with bad product, they could still save it if this EV is good. -
Except an AMG CLA45 is faster around Virginia International Raceway than a Supra 3.0, ATS-V, Gulia Quadrafoglio, Panamera Turbo and Challenger Hellcat Widebody. (Tied with a C6 Z06) Although 20/29 mpg isn’t that good, the 48 volt I-6 Mercedes get around 22/30, but the CLA doesn’t have a mild hybrid system yet, the new C-class does, so we’ll have to see those mpg numbers, plus I think that dual clutch transmission on the CLA isn’t good on gas like the 9 speed torque converter automatic.
-
The CT5 and XT5 have a 4-cylinder too, but if you mean a 6 cylinder CT5 is 4-cylinder E-class money, that's a valid comparison. But also the C43, GLC43, SL43, etc are getting a 390 hp 4-cylinder, the C63/E63 a 640 hp 4-cylinder hybrid, so you are going to get what used to be V8 power with high gas mileage, which given the likelihood of $5 a gallon gas, that is going to look appealing.
-
So VW is going to throw away brand equity in names like Tiguan, Jetta and Passat, for id3, id2, and id5? Makes no sense. Kia if they throw out names like Sorrento and Telluride (although new) for EV5 and EV9 is another bad move. Imagine Chevy throwing out Silverado and Corvette because the new EV naming structure is CE1, CE2, CE3, etc, awful. The Mercedes plan is to make an electric equivalent of every one of their gas models. GM basically has the same plan forming, EV Silverado, Equinox, the Bolt is basically EV Trax/Trailblazer, EV Corvette (eventually), the Lyric is basically EV version of XT6, and so on. These plans make sense because they are just going to map their current line and current names and make them electric, so they can retain current customers. Not sure which Tiguan buyer is trading their car in to spend $15k extra on an id4 which they never heard of.
-
Daimler(last year, now called Mercedes-Benz) has 2 car brands, Smart and Mercedes, plus the commercial trucks that would have been in last year's revenue. And Volkswagen has VW, Audi, Seat, Skoda, Porsche, Lamborghini, Bentley, Bugatti, Ducati, Scania and Man. I did find Mercedes Car and Vans revenue for 2021 was $119.8 Billion, and Mercedes-Benz Mobility (the finance and insurance arm) made $30.5 Billion. So $150.3 billion combined, still makes them #5 on that list without Daimler Trucks and if you put Stellantis in there. Tesla since they aren't on there was $53 billion. Heck is Mercedes has a strong year they might beat Ford. And I don't expect their 1 car brand to out-revenue the 14 combined brands over at Stellantis or VW.
-
But the rest of the VW lineup is Taos, Tiguan, Atlas, Jetta, Passat, etc. Why does 1 brand have two naming schemes? Same can be said about Cadillac. And likewise with Kia and the K5, Telluride, EV6. Pick a freaking naming scheme and also calling cars EV1, EV2, EV3, EV4, etc is lazy. Probably why VW Group global sales in 2021 were at a 10 year low, not a competitive line up. And Mercedes names before you go there mean something as C is for C-segment, E is executive segment, S is sonder-klase, or special class, Geländewagen means all terrain, etc.
-
Having sat in both EQS and S-class, the S-class has a better interior, and the dash/cowl on the EQS is rather high, I don't know why it is higher. But keep in mind the S-class interior beats anything outside of Rolls-Royce or Bentley. The EQS still has the best interior of any EV on sale now, and fit and finish quality as noted by the article, which Tesla does not have. I would take the S580 all day long over the EQS580, but I would also take the S580 over any EV. All these EV's are over priced, most $10-20k more than a similar vehicle form the same brand, at least the EQS costs the same as the similar gasoline model.
-
But VW doesn’t make a car called the 4, ani I think they have iD 3,5,6, whatever coming. Not an iD Jetta or iD Passat. I don’t like the EQE styling, the E-class looks better. But I don’t see another EV that’s better than EQE or EQS except maybe the Taycan, because Teslas and other EV’s don’t have very good interiors and even Tesla doesn’t have Mercedes’s tech or self drive capabilities.
-
A Mercedes interior blows away anything Ford, Tesla or Polestar have. 4 wheel steer which Tesla doesn’t have, a rear drive entry model which Tesla Model S doesn’t have, Mercedes has applied for US authorization for level 3 self driving, which no one else has. The EQE will do just fine, they have EQ-GLE and GLS coming next year, EQB on sale in the USA this year, Maybach EQS and EQ-GLS coming next year, EQ G-class maybe next year. They will have more EV’s than Tesla.
-
But all other VW’s have a word name, except maybe GTI, but that is just short for Golf GTI. The iD4 doesn’t match VW’s naming system and it’s worse car than the Kia, Hyundai or Mach E. Just like their other SUVs are no match for the Asian SUVs. Mercedes electric cars are the same naming scheme as gas cars, just with EQ in front.
-
The EQE53 does 149 mph, 155 mph on the AMG EQS. So the performance is there, both those cars have 0-60's in the 3's and both are "53" models, which means there must be a "63" model coming with more. Not impressed with the iD4, bad name, bad car. And the Tiguan and Taos aren't that competitive either, VW's whole lineup isn't competitive with rivals outside of the GTI, which has so few rivals. Compare an Atlas to a Highlander or Telluride, that's a joke, Tiguan vs Rav4 or CR-V, not even close.
-
The Audi E-trong GT wheelbase is about that of an Acura MDX, the overall length 2 inches shorter. The EQS wheelbase is 6 inches longer than an Escalade's, there isn't really another EV that size, outside of the full size pick ups. So this EQE is really what to compare to the Audi, Porsche and Tesla sedans, which are more in the mid-size category.
-
$99k Tesla interior: The reviews of the EQS say it has the best ride quality on market, it also turns tighter than a Mini Cooper and most reviewers say the tech is better than Tesla. You are still getting a lot for the price. And right now the EQS is the largest and most luxurious EV on the market. Here is the e-tron GT, which also starts over $100k, yet is only EQE size I don't see those 2 as any big threat, especially when the EQE is their size, yet not their price.
-
They aren't Daimler anymore, they renamed the company Mercedes-Benz( and Daimler Truck was spun off to its own company). And rumor is the current S-class is the last with an ICE powertrain, so these sedans will start to merge to one product, maybe the E and C go another generation into the 2030s. I don't think the EQE will outsell the E-class, nor will the EQS outsell the S-class, so when the time comes, I can't see this 1 Bow design language winning.