An R232 SL and EQS/EQE would make a nice garage pair. A quiet luxury sedan for everyday driving and top down V8 SL for the weekend. I'm first in line for an SL at my dealer and very excited for that car.

 

I didn’t say older people are the only ones buying it, just the ones primarily buying them. I know the average S-class owner makes $375,000 a year. I’m willing to bet the average age of 55 years old (s class buyer) won’t go down much for the AMG EQS models.

We shall see.

 

That income seems a bit low to be an S-Class buyer. Not questioning its accuracy, just saying it seems surprising to me.

 

https://www.mercedeseqtestdrive.com/...08cadc/summary

 

San Ramon is a terrible location for Bay Area aficionados. Palo Alto or San Jose would've been much better.

 

There is also the new trademark for Mercedes SL73... which is rumored to be the AMG Hybrid version with north of 750 HP maybe even 850 like the GT63 ES.

 

Just curious, what is wrong with San Ramon?

 

The location they had in Atlanta was also an odd choice. Very far out outside the city. Outer suburbs. They could have chosen a nicer more central suburb. I understand having it in the city would pose issues with traffic, etc.

 

I am very curious to see if this will happen, especially since packaging that battery will be difficult. So far, one SL plug in was spotted, but with circular tips, denoting it a 43/53 model rumored for EU (probably due to heavy V8 emission taxes). I thought they would call the new Hybrid GT4D a 73 but then ended up being a 63e (maybe the regular 63 is cancelled for that car?). I probably won't need anything more than a 55 anyways, as long as it has a V8 I'm all good

 

not sure if this was the rationale for the location, but if you look at the MB map of dealers in the area, San Ramon is pretty close to the center.

 

Signed up for the event in San Ramon. Mostly out of curiosity. I've been to drive events in the past, and whenever they are held at a central location they sucked, because you were essentially just stuck in traffic. So doing it in the suburbs with open roads nearby has always been better. The best event I ever went to was BMW's Ultimate Drive when it was held at BMW in Fremont. The route was a bit of highway, but then mostly through a largely empty industrial area, so you could really experience the cars. I went to a couple more afterwards, but they were held at more central locations and they were terrible. As said, it ended up being an exercise in stop&go traffic. Total disappointment, and I stopped going. I'm guessing for the EQS, part of the challenge is having a fast charger nearby, so they can keep the cars charged. Just goes to show that there are things with an EV that you have to consider and plan for that one doesn't have to with an ICE.

 

Best free driving event I've been to was the Porsche Experience.
They had an autocross course set up in the Gillette stadium parking area.
Got a feeler lap with an SCCA hot-shoe in the 911 to learn the track.
Drove a Boxster, a Cayman, a Cayenne, a Cayenne GTS and a 911. Got two laps in each.

I was mentally all set to the do the AMG driving school, then covid... boo

 

I attended something similar with Audi, the Audi Experience. They held it at a track in West Virginia. Got to drive all the Audi vehicles, including the R8 on the track. We also ran a small auto-cross in the TTs and the person with the best time got to ride with a professional driver in the R8 for a couple of laps around the track. I was originally invite to a R8 only event and I asked to be switched to the full event because at the time I wanted to purchase a S8 (I had watched Transporter).

 

San Ramon is a great city but it's relatively far from where most EV enthusiasts live (SF/Peninsula). Someone else pointed out MB might also be targeting other northern CA dealerships which would explain it.

 

Yes that would be a great combination. I am also thinking of adding a sports car back into my garage. Will certainly test drive the SL when it is out. although I tend to lean towards Porsche when it comes to sports cars.

 

I scheduled a test drive for December in King of Prussia (Philadelphia, PA). Even my wife is excited to see the EQS. We're interested in the EQS SUV but the EQS sedan will give us a good idea of what to expect.

 

FYI, MBUSA is releasing demo only 450 and 580's to the dealers.

 

I also do like me a Porsche sports car although now it seems if you want a 911 or a 718 4.0 you'll be waiting quite some time with how sold out they are. My father in law just received his GT4 last month so hopefully I'll be able to have some fun with that. I think I want a V8 this time around since they are dying and I've never owned one, so it'll either be a new SL or possibly a used GT.

 

Do you have a link to that article? Please post it. Thanks

 

Bay Area test drives are almost sold out...

 

Netstar communique to the dealers

 

Given the comments earlier in the thread about the EQS 580 being in short supply for the test drives, I sent an email to the team doing the test drives asking them to slot me for an EQS 580 since I've got a 580 on order. They replied quickly with:
Hello, Thank you for registering for an EQS Test Drive experience. There will be EQS 580s available to test drive at the location. Please let the representatives on-site know that you would like to drive the 580 when you arrive for your test drive, and they will be able to accommodate you.
Respectfully,
The Mercedes-EQ Test Drive Team

 

How soon are the EQS demos to show up at dealerships? Weeks, months?

 

My dealer said they will have a 450 in a couple weeks.

 

They are at the port along with my EQS waiting for a ship to transit.