syswei

I thought the below data interesting. Despite various shortcomings of Tesla products, in the USA at least the Model 3 is somewhat dominant among EVs. The chart includes plug-in hybrids; leaving those aside, among pure EVs, the Model 3 outsold the next-best selling EV from a competing company (the Bolt EV) by 9x in September and 8.5x YTD. Tesla can also claim 3 of the top 4 bestselling pure EVs in the US.

Utopia Texas

The next generation of batteries are theoretically going to be solid state and weigh 50% less than the current offerings. At that point I will get serious about EV’s !

syswei

Porsche has said solid state is 5-7 years away. If a person can live with the range and charging infrastructure issues, a reasonable case can be made for buying an EV before then, and then replacing it when solid state comes out. If I wanted to spend 125k or so (with options) on a Porsche sedan within the next year, I''m pretty sure I'd go with a Taycan 4S over a Panamera 4S or 4 E-Hybrid (btw on the Porsche site the respective 0-60 times are 3.8, 4.2, and 4.4 sec, and base prices are nearly identical). But I think since my wife wants a crossover/SUV to replace our Tesla, we're unlikely to get a Taycan; might get a Porsche EV SUV, if one appears soon enough, or an EQC or possibly e-tron. And I might wait for a EQS rather than go for a PHEV variant of the W223, to replace the W222.

syswei

MB EQS spy shots...




Lots more here, similarly camouflaged/covered.

syswei

MB EQC and Audi e-tron quietest among EVs tested:



source
Tires and conditions differed, as noted.

A number of reviews have indicated how hard MB worked on noise reduction for the EQC, with R&T calling the result "the quietest ride this side of a $325,000+ Rolls-Royce Cullinan". Presumably the EQS will be at least as quiet.

amir1

The future is electric cars.... But there are some un-expected issues to consider... Talking to a friend of mine who lives just north of San Franciso, due to the fires, they have had their power cut by their utility company (PG&E) for about 10 days now. Luckily for him, he only has one electric car in his household. (The other is a small hybrid SUV). His wife's electric car has been out of power for a while now with no way to recharge it. he drives quite a distance to fill up gas in his hybrid. After this experience he swore he will never have two electric cars in his household. (I guess many people up there do and are basically stuck) Maybe its time to invent solar charging stations for households. Anyone?

Utopia Texas

I have already looked into a solar charging station with battery storage for EV’s here on the Texas Gulf coast. Minimal station for here at home starts at 20k. A lot depends on your location and yearly amount of sunlight. You have to have a huge storage battery in the system to charge a car during periods of low to no sunlight.

superangrypenguin

You are seriously underestimating the amount of energy required for an electric car.

Solar? Sure, if you have 2.5 acres of solar panels and 19 years to charge your car...it's not going to happen.

syswei

If you or anyone here has an interest in buying a Tesla Powerwall 2 energy storage system, I "won" one in Tesla's referral program and could sell it at a decent discount (but not an overwhelming discount, since I will have to pay income taxes on the retail price, as I expect Tesla to issue me a 1099 if the Powerwall is installed anywhere). I don't have a need for it since my FL residence is in a highrise building, and my CT summer place has a wood shake roof, unsuited to solar, and already has a natural gas powered backup generator.

syswei

I have long thought that EVs are most suited for multi-car households that also have at least one ICE or hybrid, but my reason was having a vehicle more practical for the occasional long trip. You bring up a good point. I had thought that blackouts impact ICE cars because gas stations won't have electricity to power the gas pumps. But with an ICE you can drive to an area that does have electricity; with an EV you can drive to a public charger in an area with electricity, but those may be overwhelmed, since a large fraction of EV owners rely on home, and sometimes work, chargers.

syswei

No, more like 12 solar panels and storage, for typical driving needs (37 miles a day), per this article, but you can google other sources.

MBNUT1

How did you come up with these numbers?

Utopia Texas

Here is a way to have the best of both worlds.....LOL

syswei

EV G-Class in the works.

syswei

EQC U.S. launch date Q1 2020, per the DOG (thanks to Wassaby in the EQC forum).

Only 7 "curated" option/color combos (8 if you count the "1886" special edition), and as I read the DOG, no custom factory orders appear to be possible. Only 5 exterior colors in total. Perhaps MB is going this route in order to achieve reasonable profits despite the expense of the battery.

syswei

Aspark Owl Is a 1984-HP Electric Hypercar Claimed to Hit 60 MPH in 1.7 Seconds

Due mid-2020, one can be yours for $3.2 mil.

syswei

BMW i4 EV, coming in 2021.

syswei

Porsche Taycan Turbo gets disappointing EPA range of 201 miles per C&D article and Jalopnik article.

Utopia Texas

The reason I had my deposit refunded two weeks after the formal presentation.......

syswei

You might know this already, but the Tesla Roadster 2 when it ships is supposed to have a 600 mile range, and the Cybertruck is promised to have a version with 500+...in fact there is a shot of the prototype's screen showing 620:

syswei

Once-deemed ‘Tesla killer’ Mercedes EQC flops with 55 units sold in Germany to date

Makes one wonder what the real reasons are behind MB's recent decision to delay the EQC by another year for the U.S. market.

absent

"Plaid" would sell much better and would do more conquest sales if they significantly upgraded and modified (more aggressive and sport oriented) the current interior.
They could easily charge $40k-$50k over the 100D if the car looked different (and better) over the latter.

Wolfman

True but I also read that lead times for the EQC have been pushed back to Q2/3.

So who knows... I’m the end, Tesla’s real strength may be the lack of supply constraints for large volumes of batteries.

Reminds me somewhat of people complaining of Apple not using OLED screens some years back, not recognizing that the iPhone production numbers exceeding global manufacturing output of OLED screens.

S_W222

Tesla needs another 10 years before they can fix their internal quality issues. MB EQ line might quick them out of this market if Tesla doesn't do something with their production and quality problems. They can't even produce cars with doors that are evenly aligned/spaced!

syswei

It could well be that supply/production constraints rather than lack of demand are the real issue, but that would mean that MB's 100 years of experience isn't helping them much.