Yep. I have a good internet connection, am a 10 minute drive to PBI for all my work travel, and pay no state income tax. It is a bit of the wild west down here, though . . .

 

I hear ya... all of us have our own biases and experiences... no right or wrong position. I have spent years on the Bimmer board as well as on the Audizine board... and read loads of horror stories shared about "the other German brand" by owners of those cars/vehicles... as for reliability ratings, yeah, well, its about "statistics", and that can be defined in any which way works for the protagonist.

For me BMW (and to some extent, Audi) have lost the touch on new car designs and are turning out models which pitch buyers into a love/hate decision. Not good... for the health of the business, regardless of the doo-dahs these cars offer. I wanna walk away from my car feeling good about it and able to glance back and admire it, not avoid looking at it I just can't see myself owning / driving any of the new BMWs... not my taste in design language or direction... and I am not interested in all the "better" driving dynamics from a car I can't stand to look at. Nope.

 

Help me out with the wild west comment, haha....have very little frame of reference outside a trip to Tampa a few years ago which I loved. We were on a resort but a couple days took time to drive around the area and the suburbs in particular to see if we could picture living there. I got that whole "strip mall and highway" vibe I expected. Very different way of living than here in the Boston 'burbs for sure.

 

Florida is the real live free or die state. There's not a lot of rules and no state income tax equates to a not high-level of state services. Most people from places like Massachusetts would never put their kids in the public schools here. There's no such thing as a car inspection and the sh*tboxes on the road show that. And the closer you get to places like Miami, the more seriously dangerous the drivers become. Yes, we're aggressive up north, but swerving lane changes at 120 mph are commonplace here. If you're commuting every day on I95 in that area, it's only a matter of time before you end up in the middle of one of the regular crashes that close all or most of the lanes. I'm far from a timid driver, but it can be a bit unnerving at times.

 

The TV ads for the Keys makes south Florida look enticing. But I'm happy here in the wild west of western Colorado in view of snow-capped peaks. There are crazy drivers everywhere and legalizing pot here hasn't remedied that.

 

I'm 28, the only car I have ever owned is a 2013 320i. After driving it, I figured I would stick to sporty cars and probably BMW for the rest of my life. I test drove a M340i and was almost certain it would be my next vehicle. Life happened, I got married and I started rethinking if the M340i would really be worth it in Central FL.

Most of the time, all you can do is accelerate from a stop and with the amount of traffic around, there is rarely any opportunity and for that matter roads where you can have a fun spirited drive. The crazy drivers around make it even worse. Ultimately, I'm either driving stop and go traffic or cruising on city roads/highways. Unless you drive at an odd time where the roads or empty or goto a track, I couldn't justify getting the M340i. (I would really like to learn to drive on a track but I've settled for sim racing).

I decided it would be in my best interests to get the 5 series for a more compliant ride and the bigger size and room would make it a comfortable family cruiser as that is in my near future. I waited for the G60 but like you, as much as I wanted to stick with BMW, I couldn't bring myself to pay 80k for a 540i that is lacking in features and finish due to all the cost cutting. They removed all the leather stitching finishes on the door, there is very minimal trim on the interior, most of the door and dash are soft touch plastic now. No rear wheel steering in the ICE models, no air suspension and there isn't even an adaptive suspension for that matter. I feel like the W214 trounces the 540i in pretty much every category and feels far more premium at a similar price point.

 

Have you driven a W214 yet? Curious to know if you feel that vs. the W212 or W213 indicates similar cost-cutting measures.

I love the design of the last gen 5 series, the new one? That would take time to grow on me, to be kind about it. And no V8 option so really don't see the point of switching from my W212. She's getting long in the tooth at ten years old but absolutely nothing wrong with her and I've had the title for over 3 years now, no lien. Hard to part with that when there are plenty of other expenses, so I think I'm leaning toward hanging onto the E-class and only buying something new when I can afford to insure both vehicles and not trade in my precious W212.

 

I'm curious, say you live near a coast, what about coastal roads? I know there are all resorts/condos/etc. along the beach itself but they can't all be 100% straight? Or, alternatively, going inland where maybe not everything is set up like a grid (excuse my naivete here, I've only been to Florida once since Disney in the 80s!).

 

IMHO, this decision makes too much sense! I mean, why part with something that has been good to you? I once made the mistake of trading away my beloved 2005 SLK55 AMG. It didn’t take long to regret that decision, and it remains my one great regret every time I think about it. A 5.5L NA V8 motor that is now gone for ever, damn I miss that car!!! Never doing that again, that’s why I had to buy another SLK to assuage the pain… when you find something that works and has treated you well, why throw it away for some shiny object that may/may not love you back as much?

 

So true. That settles that for now, then. Saves me money in the meantime as well.

In fact, I'm warming up to the idea of staying Benz and going for a gently used W124 wagon down the road if I do wait, much as I enjoyed the Audi Allroad. Now I have more time to decide, anyway.

 

This was my house garage a few years back in the northern 'burbs of Boston, MA... with all 3 German brands in the garage.


Today, re-located to the milder weather mid-Atlantic region, have gotten rid of both Audi and BMW which were replaced by MBs, and I am a happy camper. I recommend you hold on awhile to get that off-lease W124 with all the specs you want. I am holding off to get an off-lease low-miler W214 E53 AMG in 3 years from now... That is my next buy, for sure.

 

I drove the W214 E350 and IMO the interior does feel quite premium. Even simple things like the AC vents have a nice finish and even weight to them, the arm rests in particular have soft cushioning. It feels like they have paid attention to making the car feel premium and upscale, they are definitely charging quite the sum for it but if I was willing to pay 80k for a 540i, I suppose I can justify the 90k for a W214. If you look hard enough, you can find some cost cutting in certain areas like using hard plastic as opposed to stitched or soft touch plastic but the W214 is far ahead of the G60 in terms of cabin luxury feel. Another area I feel MB USA let us down is removing certain features/trims in the US model most notably No AMG steering wheel, No 4 zone climate control and the dash color being restricted to black as opposed to being in the same color as the seats. I also think they cheeped out on the headliner, no Alcantara option.

Can't really compare to W213 and W212, never driven a W213 and I've only been a passenger in a W212 which was pretty much a base model.

I won't say that it's impossible to find a nice twisty driving road, you can probably find some tucked away somewhere. From my experience in Orlando, the bigger problem is with FL's surging population and abysmal public transport system. Roads are overcrowded and incredibly congested cause everyone needs a car to get around. If by some odd chance you get lucky and there is no one ahead, you can have some fun until you hit the next light or find someone up the road going slowly. God forbid you encounter garbage trucks hauling away trash in the middle of the day on a 2 lane road. Unless you really go out of your way to find a good road to drive, 99% of your driving is spent in stop-go, highway cruising or light to light acceleration. I feel like you're better off going to a track if you want a fun driving experience.

I haven't spent much time on the coast but I've been around Daytona Beach and it didn't really feel all that different.

 

It's been quite a few years and I have not gotten used to the new BMW huge grills. I still think the grossly enlarged kidney grills are horrible - keeps me away from newer BMWs.

 

I think the 48v electric system is not mainly for the performance nor the fuel economy. The new E class is supporting L2+ driving assistance which is high-energy consumption.

 

Apparently, 48V is intended to be the replacement for 12V over the long term, but unfortunately it's off to a rocky start. Implemented safely and reliably, it does have efficiency advantages over 12V systems, but lithium battery technology is struggling to survive its adolescence. As applied exclusively to mild hybrid tech, there's no reason that a malfunction must immediately cripple the vehicle. It could be taken offline for a couple hundred miles to at least provide an opportunity to drive to a repair shop or provide mobility while a replacement unit becomes available. But I guess the tow truck drivers union has some pull with the EPA.

But non of this Level 2 + technology is essential to saving the planet. If it's so power hungry it should be discontinued along with V8s.

 

Let's not say things we can't take back

Agreed with the larger point, though - implement the technology in a manner that allows the vehicle to operate if it fails, especially if it's just sitting on top of otherwise functional tech. Use that engine power in the traditional way....and hell, even gimme a CEL if it makes you feel better about my chances of getting it fixed sooner than later. But it shouldn't be so invasive as to disable the vehicle entirely when there are ways to implement otherwise. Not sure if this is still the case but you can kill that dumb engine stop feature with the push of a button; should be the same here.

editing to add: I had a 2009 Honda Odyssey minivan that had their "VCM" variable cylinder management technology. It was a disaster and trashed otherwise great 3.5L V6 Honda engines. When that happened to me the work to repair was mostly covered, but the VTEC forum members had figured out how to trick the system with a simple resistor placed in between a couple sensors (been a long time since I did this, I forget the steps), and it tricked the system so it barely ever want into VCM mode. Was kind of nice; I gained the full potential of my 3.5L V6 engine in a fairly large vehicle, and lost not even 1mpg or so on average.

 

I have 2 V8 twin turbo vehicles, and as the saying goes, "you'll need to pry them out of my cold rigor mortis hands!"

 

It is hard to imagine that, in 2024, much of the West would still resist both electric vehicles and autonomous driving, while China has reached a 40% EV adoption rate.

 

Well, there's more than one side to this story.

"A subsidy-fueled boom helped build China into an electric-car giant but left weed-infested lots across the nation brimming with unwanted battery-powered vehicles.(...) a series of fields where hundreds upon hundreds of electric cars have been abandoned among weeds and garbage."

https://www.bloomberg.com/features/2...ev-graveyards/

 

In China, a common knowledge is that electric vehicles are assigned green license plates, whereas oil-powered vehicles have blue license plates.
I can see most of them which abandoned are powered by oil and are Operational Vehicles. And the only picture with green plates vehicles seems to be new and be sold.

"Year-on-year, the retail sales of new energy vehicles in 2023 increased by 36.2%, reaching a total of 7.736 million units." -- China Passenger Car Association (CPCA)

In comparison to 7.736 million electric vehicles, the hundreds or thousands of phased-out vehicles hardly signify anything. This, in fact, underscores the rapid pace of upgrading and renewal in China's electric vehicle market. An increasing number of Chinese electric vehicle manufacturers are gaining recognition globally for their high quality and advanced autonomous driving technologies, like Nio, Li, Xpeng, Zeekr, Xiaomi, Huawei and so on. And the Chinese electric vehicles are more and more popular in the world.

I hope all your gentlemans do not live the world where the news meidia and politicians want you live. And welcome here and see the truth.

 

Hundreds of thousands of abandoned EVs might not be much at China's scale, but are there hundreds of thousands of abandoned barely used petrol cars? What happens when the millions of now new EVs are a few years old?
We might not have that many EVs in Europe, but a similar thing is happening to used cars. When they're a few years old, the batteries are useless and replacing them is prohibitively expensive. People will gladly buy used petrol cars, even ones that are 10 years old or more. They don't want EVS that are even a few years old. To come back to Mercedes, just look at the prices of used Mercedes EQ cars. They sell for half price after as little as a year.
https://www.motor1.com/news/714685/m...ly-half-value/

 

First of all, not that much(Hundreds of thousands of abandoned EVs ).
Electric vehicle batteries usually come with a warranty period, commonly set at 8 years or 100,000 kilometers.
Believe it or not, some day China will make the ev vehicles cheaper and cheaper and people replce a EV car just like changing a new iPhone.
And how to deal with the abandoned batteries is actually a big problem to solve. Maybe they can recycle them for another use like Energy Storage. China is rich in hydroelectric, wind, and solar power generation.

 

Don't believe the fake TV news! EV battery prices have gotten absolutely CHEAP lately. Glad I didn't invest in lithium mining!




https://about.bnef.com/blog/lithium-...ow-of-139-kwh/

 

The larger point for me is that fossil fuels are not the enemy, and at least where I live, natural gas still provides more than half the electricity in my area, let alone a very cheap, efficient and reliable method of heat and cooking fuel in my home. As far as China goes, they are building a ton of new coal plants. Because they know that fossil fuels are a requirement for a stable electrical grid. Renewable sources like solar and wind can only supplement the grid, not replace it - ever - certainly not reliably.
So rather than get a (natural gas/coal/nuclear-powered) vehicle where I need to spend thousands of dollars for an electrician to put a port in my garage, I think I'll just keep driving my car and going to the gas station.

 

That's interesting because I'd say that the price gouging energy racketeers at Shell and Exxon aren't our friends. And despite fake TV news blaming coal burning China for global warming, they've actually done more to combat climate change than the USA has. 25% of all cars sold in China are now electric. In fact, if you look into NIO they've invested heavily in nuclear fusion energy and their battery swapping technology also eliminates all your recycling concerns.

The real problem is political appointees who know little or nothing about the industries they're been allowed to captain.