Lol...true. My wife drove a literally brand new GLE loaner a couple days ago, and actually called me just to say what a ridiculous POS it was...so much noise with so little result. I know everyone is hating on EV's currently, but improved technology from the 1890's is on its way out.

 

No hate on EVs here, I love EVs.

 

i love EVs too but I absolutely hate "telematics" and spyware. That's why I switched from Wintendo to Linux (except for games) and why I'd buy a Chinese EV and gladly pay the 25% import tax too. If only I could get this Huawei phone to work in the USA... free market, yeah, right!

 

People can "spy" on me all they want. What are you so afraid somebody is going to see? They are just gathering demographic and marketing information...there is no "guy in a room watching Crito"

 

The market is brutal for all high-end luxury EV’s, including Tesla-lucid - BMW,- Porsche Taycan etc. but the AMG EQ is getting crushed the most. Recently drove a lucid air GT I think it’s the best of the luxury EV on the market. Wholesale low 70’s on 22 eQS AMG

 

But there's a guy sitting on a rock in a cave in Afghanistan who's plotting to blow up three skyscrapper in NYC. Duh gubmint is bat poop crazy! :lol:

Spying on me is the only reason I haven't bought a Tesla yet. And I'm sure it won't be a guy in a room, it'll be an AI robot in a room. hehe

 

I just don't care...they can watch me all they want

 

It looks like this thread has taken a detour down the winding road of tangents. But, hey, I'm not one to shy away from belaboring my thoughts. Two cents incoming - brace for impact! 🚀"

Let's talk about surveillance and privacy in the US. We've got cameras on every street corner, drones in the sky, and even our phones are tracking our every move. It's like we're living in a real-life version of "1984," but with less Big Brother and more big data.

You might be wondering if all this spying is a violation of our rights. But in the era of social media, everyone is oversharing their personal information online, so it's not exactly a secret. Before you start complaining about your privacy, at least we're not living in North Korea, where the government puts cameras in people's homes and listens in on every conversation. It's like an episode of Black Mirror come to life. North Korea takes surveillance to a whole new level with cameras everywhere, including inside people's homes. If you think Alexa is intrusive, imagine Kim Jong-un watching you while sitting on the toilet. And forget about making anti-government comments; they're listening in on those, too.

Let's take a look at other countries. Russia, for instance, shuts down opposition websites and jails journalists for speaking out. We're lucky to have some of the strongest privacy laws in the world. At least our government isn't actively trying to crush dissent. And if the worst thing the government finds out about you is your secret obsession with "Tiger King," then you're probably doing just fine.

So, what's the verdict? Should we be up in arms about the government and businesses peeking into our private lives, or should we accept it as the new normal and embrace our inner exhibitionists? Well, I think it's a little bit of both. We should be aware of the risks and take steps to protect our privacy, but let's face it, most of us aren't that interesting. Sometimes, I wonder what would happen if the government decided to take a peek into my internet shenanigans. But honestly, they better be ready for some seriously boring browsing history. I mostly watch cat videos and memes. There's nothing scandalous here! And let's be honest if they ever spy on me while binge-watching Netflix and eating cereal in my snuggie; they'll be bored out of their minds in no time and questioning their life choices. So, I don't think they'll find anything interesting about me.
If the government does happen to find out about my secret love for '90s boy bands, I guess that's just the price I pay for living in the digital age.

 

Lol, I've thought the same thing about someone spying on me. They'd find I watch a lot of Eagles live performance from the 1970's, watch a bunch of car/mechanical/Mercedes content, and look at the weather every morning. On the one hand, if you have nothing to hide, who cares if people/bots are watching? On the other hand, it is completely creepy to be aware our every move (literally) is being tracked, analyzed, and stored to market junk to us. And really, that works on people? I'm more inclined not to buy a product pitched to me because I hate the ad industry. But for people heavily worrying about their privacy, chances are they are doing so on Facebook, and they have already given every shred of their personal data away to them to sell to the highest bidder.

 

Yeah, with all this surveilance I can rest feeling safe and secure in the knowledge that nobody can fly a plane into the skyscraper I'm working in without the NSA knowing in advance.

 

lucid is also getting butchered on resale. A $170k Lucid Dream performance recently sold for $87k on cars and bids.

 

Yah, all luxury cars get crushed in resale value. Here's my license plate on my near worthless 2008 CL550...it may be considered totaled if I need to fill up the gas tank all the way...

 

Oh lord. This explains a lot.

 

just want to share my trade-in experience yesterday
traded my 2023 eqs 580 sedan 13.5k for a used 2023 Rivian r1t launch edition 5.3k miles
I went to 2 dealers, both offer at 50k in the beginning, the 1st dealer end up offer 67k and 2nd dealer up to 70k. Rivian R1T sold at 70k + tax.

eqs is much better ride and quality than Rivian. but I need a pick.
Rivian only win at its space and utility, adding air suspension can go up and down, Tesla and extra Rivian charging station.
all other, you name it, Mercedes is way better.

 

Speaking of values - I collected 90+% of what I paid for my '22 EQS after I totaled it. Thought I made out pretty well.

 

Rivian just refreshed their lineup and the quad motor variants now makes 1025 HP and 1103 pound-feet of torque. I thought about maybe trading-in my EQE 500 SUV for one but don't need two SUVs (Im keeping my Jag FPace forever) and the truck bed is too short and high off the ground to be of much use for me. But from what everyone says it's a real beast off-road. The Jeep guy's won't be laughing at you for sure.

 

Thank you for sharing this information.

 

The only thing holding me back from a Lucid Sapphire is if their will be any parts and service for it in at least 10 years (and the current cost). Also, it looks like the performance industry is going hybrid.

 

How did you get them to increase their offers by 17k and 20k?

 

I'm not sure about parts for the Sapphire in 10 years, I can't even get parts (sensors) for my 2 year old EQS and I live way closer to Germany that the majority of people here (in Portugal)...

 

enjoy it while you can. The leading candidate for President quite likes the setup in Russia and North Korea.

 

I have both of these cars in my garage. I did think the Rivian has a better sound system though - my 22 has the Meridian Elevation audio. I think yours is the Rivian Elevation so it may not be the same.

 

I actually think the hybrid performance car makes no sense. I prefer non hybrid for weight - my 718 GTS is a much better driver’s sports car than the current 911 GTS and the hybrid is only going to make the latter even heavier.

Unless you like heavy GT cars in which case Electric will always be the king. Read the reviews of the new convertible Maserati - all the journalists preferred the EV version to the ICE.

 

I think for ICE, the ideal weight is around 3100-3850 lbs. A lighter car even with less HP/torque is very fun to drive on curves, or canyon roads, or track, or anything that requires the frequent change in direction and speed. Less weight is preferred.

We are seeing two ways in which to execute hybrid technology. The new 911 hybrid employs a smaller battery enough to take advantage of the electric motor torque with a lot of weight added. On the other hand, the new g90 m5 employs a bigger battery for short electric runs of 30+ miles and torque but sacrifice in much added weight. If you don't do a lot of canyon carving or track, the m5 hybrids works. Personally, I prefer full EV. Little to no gearing required and power and torque at any speed. The Achille's heel of full EV is the weight and greater energy consumption at higher speed, of course. I don't know if we will ever solve the weight to energy density issue, but other techs such as quad motors, rear wheel steering, and active suspension/damping will certainty make a heavier vehicle as competitively fun to drive as a less powered lighter vehicle.

 

Just an FYI, the new 911 T-Hybrid adds 110lbs compared to its predecessor (so 3% increase), an additional cost increase of $16k (9.7% increase), and the new turbo hybrid adds 61hp (12.7% increase) with a much better torque curve because of the electric turbo and electric motor.