MB has been getting very sloppy with their designs. I have 2 vehicles with the new "Smart assistant" feature that you talk to....and it works poorly with only about a 15% success rate at best. It has not improved at all in 3 years. Interesting that I can use apple Carplay and talk to Siri and get almost 100% accuracy.

MB has just not done a good job with their "Hey Mercedes" assistant, and they show no evidence that they are improving it. They even demonstrated it at a recent event at the dealership......and it failed in the demo (though everybody had a good chuckle).

They also have not addressed various design flaws, such as the fact that the GLA250 will not start in cold winter weather. 3 years now and the issue is still not resolved for the 2018/19 model year. The 2021 model seems to have gotten it right though.....but the poor people that bought the previous model years have been abandoned by the brand.

The new 48v electric chassis system on the GLE63S (2021) works ok, but is slow and klunky on the 2021 GLE63S. It was way more hype than the reality brings. The transmission mapping on the 2021 GLE63S is also terrible in comfort mode - to the point that the vehicle is not drive-able in cold weather on comfort mode. Has to always be in sport or sport plus mode to have an acceptable drive (bunny hops terribly in comfort mode in cold weather).

Also in the GLE63S - the lane keeping assistant/emergency stop assistant becomes disabled after you drive it for about 15-20 min. The reason for this is that the cowling that houses the front facing LIDAR/camera has no ventilation and builds up fog on the LIDAR/camera lens. Mercedes is aware of this and they are apparently manufacturing a replacement cowling for this.....but nothing has happened in a year regarding this.

In my opinion, Mercedes is hurrying R&D to market way too much and with insufficient time taken for design and optimization. The vehicles are less reliable than ever. I can't imagine that things will improve much with the pressure that they must feel to meet the same model types put out by the VW group. They are SUPPOSED to be a premium brand - and a certain amount of reliability should be expected for the large price tags of these vehicles.

I'm personally going to bail on MB for new vehicles - though I will keep my 2021 G63 and my 2021 GTC (truly both excellent vehicles that represent the pinnacle of R&D for those vehicles before being discontinued). Instead of a couple of new additional AMG vehicles, I'm going to replace my wife's 2021 GLE63S with a new Cayenne TurboS E-Hybrid. I'm also getting her a TTRS to drive around just for fun.

Mercedes cancelled all their "small and fun" cars in order to focus on "Grandpa cars".

 

Interesting, I can't say I disagree with your points.

Yea, lazy design language everything looks the same. As for the tech, MB really seems to rush it all to market consumer be dammed. They pack ten gallons of tech in a five gallon hat, make it flashy and complicated, what can go wrong? IMO the GLE has been one of the most flawed rollouts in the brands history. Between the 48V failures and the amount of buybacks due to simple QC failures I can't see myself ever owning one.

Mercedes seems to be resting in their legacy and brand prestige that lasted decades as they were arguably the best production automobile manufacturer in the world. Now their goal is to have their product in every driveway at every price point possible. No way quality and customer satisfaction survives, they can't be everything to everyone. Cars are now treated as appliances or iPhones. Recycle every three years, heck no one wants to own these outside of warranty. Whatever happened to MB cars break-in periods at 100K miles? Replaced with flashy tech that can be highly temperamental.

The G and GT are stand alone's that IMO represent everything Mercedes should be and was.

 

Agree with both of you. I would like to add the discontinued C217 coupe and cabriolet and the SLS to the G and GTC as almost extinct pinnacles of MB engineering and design.

 

This week (Jan 11 2022) MBZ is saying the SL55 and SL63 will arrive in US in 2022 2nd quarter:

"The 2022 Mercedes-AMG SL-Class will go on sale in the second quarter of 2022."

2022 Mercedes-AMG SL-Class First Drive: Bigger, Better, Luxuriouser (motortrend.com)

 

So, are they finally unsuspending V8 model sales for MY2022? Or just for the new SL-Class?

I get the impression they're just going to skip MY2022 and jump right to MY2023 for all the others (E, G, GLS, GLE, etc).

 

Just the SL's.

 

https://www.carscoops.com/2022/01/20...lug-in-hybrid/

This gives me more of a reason to believe we won't see any V8 Gwagons again

 

Look for 4 banger/hybrid AMG's on lower line MB's.

E's and above will continue with the V8's.

G will have a V8.

 

Did you see the new E-Class plugin hybrid? https://carbuzz.com/news/this-is-our...rcedes-e-class

 

There will reportedly be a V8 “E Performance” in some Mercedes AMG Models, others will get the Formula 1 4 cylinder. E Performance improves economy by about 10% in the V8, making it compliant with the new regulations. That will be my next ride if it’s available in a GLE 63S for 2023.

 

No I did not. Interesting. Maybe no V8 for the E either?

 

WHOA! Lots of speculation. I read nothing in the first article about the G-Wagon and the 2nd article said nothing about a V8 in the W214 E-Class.

 

Since MB hasn't confirmed anything, everything will be up for speculation. The point I was trying to make is that the new GLC 63AMG is being equipped with a 4 cylinder hybrid powered engine instead of your typical V8 biturbo engine. Makes me wonder if the Gwagon will face the same demise.

 

No, the G Wagen will continue with the V8 until ICE production ends.

 

ICE will stop for all MBs by 2030-> https://www.forbes.com/wheels/news/m...electric-2030/

 

that’s not entirely correct. They said they would be able to go fully electric in 2030 where market conditions allow. Seems unlikely that adequate EV infrastructure for the entire USA would be built out by then.
Likely to continue to see ICE in the US until at least 2035 when some statewide ICE bans come into effect.

 

MB released this information just 3 months ago so I think 2030 is a real target. Besides, most EVs today have a range of 350-500 miles which is plenty for most Americans. Also, Congress is planning on funding an infrastructure project for adding an additional 500,000 public chargers before 2030.

 

Pretty sure Ive mentioned this a little earlier in the thread but everyone keeps wanting to spread misinformation or get dramatic.
The current S-class, the upcoming SL, the current and next E63, the G class, all the current Maybach models and anything 63 other than the upcoming C63 all still have the v8....The GLC is just a jacked up version of the C class and is in the same class which is why it will be getting the 4 banger.
The S-class just got released and the SL hasn't even come out yet and it got announced with 2 V8 variations. Why on earth would Mercedes put V8's in their current and upcoming cars and then not put one in one of their most iconic vehicles which heavily relies on the V8 for much of its character?
Others are speculating that in addition to the chip shortage, the Mercedes lineup was not complying with emissions regulations hence their one year North American delay. One year of not making V8's for a V8 hungry North America along with taking it away from anything C-class and below should lower their emissions average across their lineup and we'll have this exact same car back by 2023.
Source: the GM at the dealership I buy from and what he's been told by Mercedes Canada.

 

100% this. Anyone that thinks the G, one of the most expensive SUV's on the planet is going to go with a four banger is crazy. Absurd.

 

Next E-class may not coming with a V8 engine. Articles have suggested that the AMG lineup for the C-class, E-Class as well as the new GLC will not be equipped with any V8s. It will take way more than one year for MB to reduce their EPA averages. Tesla is even selling their EPA credits to other big car polluters to allow them to sell more V8s. MB is very behind on their EV sales and they only have 1 EV car in their line-up to offer. Don't expect to see more V8s out of MB for a while (with the exception of the S-class and SL) every other model (including G) will run on 4 or 6 cylinder hybrid boost engines which by the way will still sell out. All these assumptions that MB will lose a ton of revenue because their Gs are all of sudden running on an EV platform is utterly ridiculous. Sales will still continue on!

all in all, only time will tell. We should hear about MY23 in the next 6 months.

 

Even still the E-class JUST got refreshed and it still has the V8 so it makes zero financial sense to dump it now given it most likely has another 3 or so years of production which Mercedes has planned for.
Btw, Im not saying the electric G's wont sell. Im sure every trophy wife and rapper will be wanting one but by my dealership's account it will be sold alongside the V8 G's so consumers will have an option.
I guess we'll wait and see but Im fairly certain the E, S, SL etc classes will lose the V8 before the G will. Id wager the G will be one of the last remaining MB cars with the V8 before it goes extinct.

 

300 million vehicles on the road in the USA and only 500,000 public charging stations planned by 2030? Not everyone lives in a house with a garage or an apartment building with power outlets at every parking spot or even parking period.
Even public spaces that have chargers now have what 2-5 spots? And I thought Costco Gas was bad on weekends,

 

500,000 charging stations is plenty. Compare that to only 150,000 gas stations in the US. That's 3X the number of existing refueling stations in America.

 

If the majority is driving EV, we will need more charging stations than gas stations considering how long it takes to charge, although who knows what technology will be like in 9 years.

Even when they stop selling ICE's it'll be interesting to see how long they'll allow them on the road?

 

Not saying you're wrong, but will we though? I'd imagine most people with plug-in EVs charge their cars overnight.