I have listed downsides to EVs. You gave your opinion to counter those downsides. In previous posts, you have called opposition to EVs or criticism of EVs political.
You should demonstrate how they are political, or retract your assertion.

That's what I hate about Mercedes and why I would never buy another one. Got a used 2019 AMG GTC with 13K miles. Because of time not mileage the prior owner had multiple service A & B performed. They already changed the plugs! He said he didn't want to void his warranty by not having it done. I put 3K miles on her since I got it. Dropped her off for an oil change and was given a list of items that should be done based on time. Over $1,000. Said no thanks. Also the oil changed was $300! I have my Ford F250 Super Duty that takes 17 qts of oil replaced at the dealership. $199. $100 more for 7 qts of oil just because it's a Mercedes? I guess enough people pay it for them to keep over charging... If I didn't love the car I would buy something else...

Those downsides are often not actually downsides, they’re just perceived downsides that aren’t actually an issue is my point. Do you seriously not see a political bias in regards to opinions on EVs? I’m not going to get into an argument over whether or not the sky is blue lol.

There is a big difference between the facility of a MB dealer and the facility of a Ford dealer. Yes the oil change is going to be $100 more because it’s a Mercedes. The shirt is $100 more at Nordstrom than it is at Target. A night in a hotel room is $400 more at the Ritz Carleton than it is at the Holiday Inn. Mercedes dealers have more amenities, they have nicer finishes, they are often in higher end more expensive locations, they have loaner cars and other perks that Ford dealers don’t have and those things have to be paid for.

You should find a good independent Mercedes specialist and take it there. It will be much cheaper and you won’t get all that upselling. Expecting the Mercedes dealer to be the same cost as a Ford dealer isn’t a reasonable expectation though.

I stopped going after the pandemic. My (very trusted) service advisor retired and every time I went there was something unnecessarily added on, done, or recommended. Not to mention the price increases. I was a hard-core fan, but no longer. Lucky enough to have a local mechanic I trust.

Similar experience for me, although My Guy died unexpectedly. I had known him since he was a lot boy in the 70's. He was the only person holding the place together after the store got bought by a Dealership Group.

I tried two highly respected MB independents. One was all talk but no real ability with newer cars, the other (who I still use on older cars) said they weren't prepared for new tech cars - licensing, training and equipment.

Luckily I found another Dealer owned by an enthusiast, and that shop is stellar. I drive an extra hour for service.
Going in for a B service today, actually. They would pick up and deliver a loaner if I wanted, but I have errands in that Big City so I'll use their loaner to kill four birds with one stone.
I'll even save money on my service.

Experiences are different and IMO generalities don't apply.

Similar thing happened to my guy, he had been around forever and he had a stroke unfortunately and had to retire. Luckily I have another good guy at the same dealer chain just at a different location.

Yes.. They offered us Coffee and some fruit while we waited over 2hrs. to get done. No loner car since we didn't reserve one before hand..that's on us. Nordstrom or the Ritz is giving you something.. Better quality etc.. We're just getting an oil change. They offered a free car wash but it too so long to do our oil I said no. Getting into the car there were finger smudges all around the door edge. Will make sure they wash it next time. My Ford Dealership will give us a loaner if we ask but we usually wait since it's done in under 30 mins. Given the choice I rather spend the $100 on Coffee and pastries on the way home. We only have one MB dealership in the area so it makes it hard. EVERYONE says they work on these cars but finding one that really knows what they are doing is the challenge.

Am I the zealot? I have 3 vehicles. 2 are ICE.

My daily driver is a PHEV. My sports care is an ICE 2 seater. My 3rd is an SUV I keep at our ski chalet in a remote location for winter driving. Only ICE makes sense.

So I would call myself pragmatic. Use what currently makes sense for my application.

However, I do agree that making hysterical claims about grid blackouts without doing any critical analysis could be thought of as being a zealot.

OMG you guys don’t remember the business history. Betamax was a Sony proprietary technology. JVC developed VHS to compete with Betamax.

• Betamax had better resolution
• Betamax initially had better sound fidelity

BUT

• VHS was licensed widely, allowing more manufacturers to make VHS machines, which led to:
  • Faster price drops
  • More variety in products
  • Greater market saturation

AND
Because of the market saturation video rental stores carried more VHS tapes. Betamax owner walked into their local Blockbuster and were out of luck.

Pragmatic is good.
But denying the grid challenges is whistling past the graveyard.
Just ask NY state and CA, who have declared emergencies.

From this article https://finance.yahoo.com/news/surgi...132400142.html
"The demand for clean electricity is rapidly increasing, driven by factors such as industrial expansion, urbanization, rising global temperatures that boost air conditioner use, the development of large artificial intelligence-powered data centers, and the growing adoption of electric vehicles."

It's not hysterical - it's pragmatic and real.

You are getting more for what you are paying, you're getting a more upscale experience servicing at the Mercedes dealer. I'm not saying you should pay the dealer, I don't, but I'm explaining why it costs more and why its unreasonable to expect it to cost what the Ford dealer costs. This is not unique to Mercedes, all luxury car dealers are that way.

More pesky facts!

So what is the solution? Stop industrial expansion, urbanization, rising global temperatures (which my guess is you don't think are a thing), pause AI data centers? Demand for electricity always increases, the work needs to be done to modernize our electricity supply grid so that we can meet the demands of the future...not stop progress.

Just be aware.
Don't dismiss facts.
Don't call people who are aware of reality "hysterical." It makes you look foolish.

Don't keep accusing me of things you imagine. Yes there's global warming. Yes there's stress on most systems.

Yes my investments are thriving because I'm aware. Realistic. Not hysterical.

Where did I ever use the word hysterical?

Hey, don’t do a bait and switch. Our discussion was whether there is existing capacity to charge ever car in America at night (assuming that they are EV) and I demonstrated the answer is yes.

Now you have jumped to AI and all other daytime growth in demand. Those are issues even if there were no EV’s. But the good thing is that as daytime capacity increases there will be even MORE excess nighttime capacity to charge EV.

The demand for everything is more during the day than night and EV are a great night time offset.

So your pragmatic worry is illusionary.

Also, VHS had a copy protection technology that didn’t work on Beta.

That's where I started, multiple posts ago.

Many here seem to be in denial, but the effects are cumulative and true.

Data centers (AI) and the Hyperscalers (MSFT, AWS, GOOGLE and soon AAPL) don't sleep at night when the wind dont blow and th Sun don't shine.

In all of my 40 years of experience in cars, shops and dealerships there was only one exceptional and honest shop run by a former dealership master mechanic. The rest of them were.....

By then Beta had lost the format war. Most Hollywood releases were on VHS. BUT Macrovision worked on both formats. People eventually used video stabilizers or Time Base Correctors (TBCs) to bypass Macrovision

It absolutely is real, but my point is stopping progress isn't the solution, thus not buying an EV isn't the solution. The grid needs to be improved to meet the demands of the future. Just like the grid that existed in 1940 wouldn't have been able to meet the demands we put on it today.

...mediocre at best lol. Same experience here. The best overall dealer experience I have right now is Chrysler, believe it or not. My Chrysler dealer has always exceeded my expectations and always taken me and my issues with vehicles the most seriously. I have never heard "we couldn't duplicate that", I have had problematic Chrysler products and they have always stuck with me and gone to bat for me with Chrysler while Lexus and Mercedes have had to be spoon fed and guided along to get me to where I need to be. My car has always been promptly looked at and returned to me quickly, where with Mercedes I actually one time went and got it because they hadn't even looked at it after 5 days when I had an appointment booked 2 weeks prior and I wanted it back...

Hysterical. You do remember the governor of California directing the state to not charge their EVs, lest the grid be overwhelmed, don’t you?
This in a state that by 2035 was mandated to have EV only.
Here is the critical analysis, one of theses things doesn’t match the other.

When you read my posts, you agree with me.
When you insert your own dialogue, you argue with it.
What a waste of bandwidth.

(Most recent example: YOU said "stopping progress.")
You often argue with yourself. I keep asking you to read both what I've posted AND what you wrote, to no avail.
Try harder.

Here is a group of stereotypical EV fan boys when confronted with the realities of the the Electrical Grid - and its weakness'.

For me, I live in hurricane land. We can very reasonably foresee three to four weeks a year with no electricity in our region...and that is even if the grid was up to a good standard (and it is not).

Thats not accurate at all. Like I said in the other thread you like to move your goalposts. I’ve read what you posted.

Weeks without power means no gas pumps too, BTW. how often are you “weeks without power”, it’s not often. You must not rely on electricity for anything since it’s so unreliable.

Gas stations here are for the most part also homes to diesel generators to run the pumps in case of power failure. Every Wawa near me has one. Last storm the city was dark but for my clinic, Waffle House and Wawa (well, and the hospitals).

And as for often. In general a week a year is average. Depending on the storm (hurricane).