carlosinseattle

Not sure of the best thread for this article:

https://www.caranddriver.com/news/a4...s-killed-soon/

Tom in Austin

They don't mention it in the article, but one assumes much of the strategy is based on what the Chinese market wants. I may the only one, but somehow the new electric models don't seem particularly aspirational.

Check out Peter DeLorenzo's post this week on autoextremist.com; the whole EV market has a precariously narrow appeal.

DaveW68

That's because almost all EV's are freaking hideous....including the offerings from MB which look like a blob of Silly Putty. I think people are finally getting hip to the fact that the resources to build and run electric cars are MUCH more taxing on the environment and our natural resources than any ICE cars & trucks ever were. Not to mention the restrictions on running them. We'll never have the grid in place to run only EV's by 2035 like the govt has mandated. In fact, I don't think we'll have it ready 100 years from now. The environmental lobby is a freaking joke with it's sole purpose being to enslave the masses with their lies about global warming, emissions, and oil running out. There is enough oil in just a single basin under Utah and a couple of other states to last the world over 10,000 years.

Tom in Austin

Well yeah, that's one way to put it ... LOL!

VII

Nah the electric car will become dominant due to lower total cost and increased convinience for city dwellers.
The grid for slow charging is pretty much there.
The cars will likely become less ridiculous looking as companies get on top of the range.
It is sad but liquified exploding dinasours transportation will become a luxury and will slowly become ever more expensive and complicated.

DaveW68

Now THAT is funny!!!

The amusing thing is that oil and natural gas are still called "fossil fuels" when in fact neither are a product of animal/dinosaur fossils. Oil and natural gas have existed under the surface since God made the Earth.

SW20S

This move by MB makes perfect sense

superswiss

The brand is becoming uninteresting at least for me. This has been known for a while. I'm not entirely upset that the C and E coupes are getting folded together as I always felt the coupes are different cars from the sedans and I realize that coupes are a niche. Also, that's how it was with the CLK. But except for a single sedan, I've only ever owned 2+2 coupes. I'm not sad to see the 4-door and SUV "coupes" go as those were just marketing stunts. The 2+2 coupes are the classic grand tourers. Fun to drive on a twisty road but with enough practicality for occasional passengers and big enough trunk for a 2 person road trip, but close to a sports car when just driving by myself.

For example I travelled through Europe for 2 months with my C63S coupe with up to two Samsonite luggages in the trunk for over 6000 miles and usable rear seats to take friends and family out for dinner and such at the various stops, but in between the major destinations I had a fun sports car instead of a bulky sedan. It's sad to see that these kinds of cars are disappearing. Not sure what the future holds, but my interest in cars is waning. I find no joy in sedans, especially luxury sedans and most electric cars are soulless. Porsche is probably the only German brand left that still builds exciting cars and BMW also hasn't given up on enthusiasts. Sounds like AMGs are just gonna become soft luxury vehicles with higher margins for the badge. I do have to say, though, I was not disappointed with the EQE 53 I drove recently, so I do still have some hope.

MBNUT1

"A fossil fuel[a] is a hydrocarbon-containing material formed naturally in the Earth's crust from the remains of dead plants and animals"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fossil_fuel

bishop64

My take is:- current battery technology just still does not give a very satisfactory range. So, all (or most) EVs look like a bob sleigh, to reduce the drag and to increase the mileage.
However, once the battery technology advances to a very mature stage, yielding a longer range comparable to current ICE cars' mileage, then car manufacturers will have room to design vehicles with more 'traditional' look. How many years until then? Who knows? Perhaps a decade or two?

BTW, way back in the older days when EVs were unheard of, this bob sleigh appearance of 'modern' cars was already there. I mean, basically every single Sci-Fi movie made by Hollywood has this bob sleigh look for the 'futuristic' transportation. Why?

Anyway, 33 MB body styles? That is a lot! Too many, I would say. Keep the 2-door coupes but 4-door coupes should be the first to go, IMHO.

emilner

Electric cars are terrible in city environments. There is no place to charge them- people living in apartments don't have garages with ports. And the grid would completely collapse if we went fully electric now or in the next few decades.

emilner

Fossil fuels do not come from dinosaurs. Only an engineer father believes that...

MBNUT1

My post didn't say that they do.

emilner

no, but your quote and reply with source sounds like you think it does.

MBNUT1

MBNUT1

My post said dead plants and animals. It didn't specify what types of animals.

DaveW68

Thank you Bill Nye. But my point is that the oil and gas being extracted from beneath the soil are not the product of dead plants and animals. Oil and gas have existed since the formation of the Earth and are just part of the planet. Calling them "fossil fuels" is completely misleading and wrong. Mankind will never run out of them.

MBNUT1

Regardless of their origins the real issue is the impact of burning hydrocarbons on the atmosphere.

DaveW68

What's the point of this chart? That we are 1 degree warmer than we were 150 years ago? Awesome! Maybe I'll be able to get in one extra round of golf in 10 years when we're 1.1 degrees warmer than 150 years ago.

Take this chart back 1000 years and you'll see much wilder swings than this. Mankind's effect on the environment is so infinitesimal that it's almost impossible to measure. And that my friend is the real truth.

hyperion667

Why should we be forced, slowly, to rely on electric when there are always power outages? How many of 1000's are without power in the US right now due to storms/weather etc? And the gov wants us to rely further on this grid for cars?!
Sometimes when it RAINS hard the power goes out in my area of NC!!

Call your electric provider and ask them to recommend another power company and see what they say.

MBNUT1

Since you asked

SW20S

You don't understand the impact 1 degree has on the earth's climate. It doesn't make any sense to believe that all of the chemicals we pump into the atmosphere that don't occur naturally has no impact on the environment. Thats just absurd, of course it does. Just because you don't understand those impacts doesn't mean that they don't exist. They are easily measured, have been measured and are clear.

As for EVs and the electric grid, the grid will be fine.

hyperion667

How great is it to be so knowledgeable about so many things in life?
"You don't understand".
"It doesn't make any sense to..."
"Just because you don't understand..."

Oh man......give us a fawking break!!

bishop64

I am quite sure, before this world ends (due to global warming or not), this thread will either end or be cleaned up.
There might or might not be global warming, but this thread is heating up quickly.
No need to go back hundreds of years, recent history tells us that threads deviating from cars and into politics will have the same fate.

PS
BTW, environmental issues are often political ones too.
MIT Technology Review did an article a few years ago on global warming. It did a survey on scientists supporting and not supporting global warming.
Very interestingly, the majority of the camp of scientists who claim global warming are Democrats while (you might have guessed it now) majority of the camp of scientists who do not believe in global warming are Republicans. Needless to say, all the scientists of both camps are not bogus scientists but from reputable universities and organizations. Both have hardcore data to support their claims. Coincidence or not? How politics affects science? You go figure.

hyperion667

Xie xie!!