BMW Ends ICE Production in Germany! Mercedes?

What "inherent weakness"?

 

500 mile range with a 12 minute recharge time doesn't sound weak.

 

The Edmunds article provides data on how much they actually get.

 

The "extra few minutes" is usually close to an hour if you can find a charging station.
The local runabout is usually a smaller vehicle, more economical and easier to park, etc. The larger vehicle generally carries more passengers and luggage, etc., and offers a more comfortable ride.
My wife and I generally take two or three road trips per year of around 1,000 miles round trip. Not practical in an EV.

 

If you are a 2 car family, you could have one of each.

 

And yet Tesla is the sales leader.

 

EV semis are unsuitable for most trucking and will remain so as far in the future as can be seen. At this point they are little more than short-haul showpieces, and marketing baubles.

 

BS.

 

That is my point.

 

And yet the Interstates are full.

 

Well, we'll really be able to tell if EVs are viable in their own right in June when the massive direct and indirect subsidies they're currently getting disappear.

 

They suck at doing work.

 

"Every Tesla we've tested has failed to hit its EPA range estimate."

 

Try hauling a trailer.

 

Try it with ICE Toyota Corolla.

Lot of cars can't haul trailers, and if that's what you need to do, then you'd get a care that's better suited for it.

Can EVs haul?

Yes.

Ford F-150 Lightning Vs. F-150 Hybrid: What We Learned Towing and Hauling With an Electric Truck
https://www.cars.com/articles/ford-...ng-and-hauling-with-an-electric-truck-455992/
2022 F-150 Lightning Lariat
Horsepower: 580
Torque (pounds-feet): 775
Curb weight (pounds): 6,760
Payload capacity (pounds): 1,697
Max. towing capacity (pounds) - EV w.Tow package: 10,000
Max. towing capacity (pounds) - Hybrid: 11,600
Max. towing capacity (pounds) - ICE: 14 000

 

Predicted range was cut roughly in half when towing. From your link:
"While we liked the Lightning’s quietness and smoothness when towing, you just can’t plan on towing that far with it. We started our approximately 140-mile towing route with the Lightning’s extended-range battery pack at a 97% state of charge and the truck showing 317 miles of predicted range. With the Airstream hitched to the truck and the truck in its towing mode, the predicted range soon dropped to 158 miles — right around half of what it was before. Entering your trailer’s specs in a trailer profile can improve the Lightning’s predicted range accuracy when towing."

 

All cars lose range while towing, but like I said earlier, if you know you are going to be towing a lot, then you should stick with gas powered cars. Many people down here tow their boats to the Keys, and I doubt any of them use EVs. I know I wouldn't.

 

Agree generally. The key point is that it's a lot easier and quicker to refill an ICE that's towing than to recharge an EV that's towing.

 

Yes. They are not ideal for everything.

 

I thought the big push in Germany was supposed to be toward development of hydrogen energy technology.

Link: https://germanyworks.com/branch/hydrogen/#:~:text=The National Innovation Programme for,buses (€600 million).

Hmm... Germany? They don't want coal, they don't want nuclear, they don't even want natural gas... no, they want electricity? And how are they going to produce electricity in anything approaching sufficient amounts without generating it from something else?! Wind? Solar? Ever been to Germany? Not enough wind or solar to do the job.

Well, let's see... water is 2/3rds hydrogen, and, water covers 71% of the surface of the Earth... right? Gee! Is there an 'answer' lurking in there somewhere?

Oh, and BTW, in the north, Germany borders both the North Sea and the Baltic Sea! Getting that hydrogen may not be as easy as baking a cake, but at least the most important ingredient is very close-by....

 

Interesting idea!

I think the labor situation in various industries are far from equal due to a number of factors. But, your idea could well help unionization, rather than forcing each industry to attempt to organize themselves against the forces of the industry.

 

Current hydrogen is almost ALL created by using major energy to split hydrogen from fossil fuels.

It becomes just one more way to burn fossil fuel.

That could change if the industry moves to getting hydrogen from water using clean energy.

I don't know the comparison between retail price of hydrogen using that process and simply directly using the clean energy in cars.

It looks like hydrogen cars will likely use ICE technology - which is significantly inefficient due to all the moving parts, including transmissions, oil pumps, cooling pumps, etc. Maybe this can be improved. Gasoline ignores this inefficiency because gas is so energy dense.

 

Well, all-in-all, I certainly shouldn't fret over what Mercedes or BMW do. When I was young I couldn't afford any of either of them, nor Porsche, nor Audi. Now, in retirement, I could buy a variety of moderately-priced German cars, but I wouldn't even want any of them -- they're all MONEY PITS! Besides, it costs a fortune to get license plate stickers and insurance for them.

But there's still a lot of people who get-off on the snob appeal of thinking that German cars are expertly-made masterpieces, crafted by "little elves in the Black Forest" (or some American-imagined crap like that). Truth? A lot of Mercedes and BMW's are made in Alabama and South Carolina, respectively! Tatsächlich!

Naw, give me a good, low-mileage, used Buick instead. Hurry, though, if you want one. Buick has stopped making full-sized sedans like the magnificent Lucerne... all you can get brand new now are these itty-bitty things and/or 'concept cars' -- and you'll pay through the nose for them!

. "I know the German word for 'beer', and that's all!"

 

As a work truck, the Lightening has the benefit of providing power for equipment being used - 110v and 220v.

I don't know if the Lightening is set up to power your house during power outages, but some larger EVs are doing that.

Yes, range predictions by Teslas is getting far more accurate. There is a list of about a dozen factors that affect range and that the car uses to identify appropriate charging stops on your trip, etc. I know my Rav 4 is not good at predicting range. There is a meter on the dash that shows the car's opinion. But, it's not particularly accurate if you use it to decide whether to go to the next city for gas.

This is software, so it is a feature broadcast to all Tesla cars of any age.

 

None of which is relevant.