patrick_y
[PuristSPro Moderator]
33549
All the car companies market their batteries as being module replaceable.
But this really isn't something customers are asking for. This is really something insurance companies are asking for and warranty companies. Consumers think they want this, but I can tell you less than 1% have actually done this - partially because batteries are relatively reliable; and secondly, cars depreciate so quickly in general, that it's not worth it to replace a battery module.
For instance, let's say I could upgrade my battery to the latest one for $20,000 USD (this would mean replacing all four modules in my car with the latest and power densest module, which would mean I would get a lot more range. Which would be cheap if that really included parts and labor. Assuming $100 USD per kWh (supposedly the material cost), the battery cost alone would be around $8,500 USD for the raw battery, plus ancillaries (like the metal box it needs to come in, battery computer management system, etc, plus labor, plus a profit margin... But if you look at how much a new car costs, I'm already only around $10,000 away from a new car - then might as well do an entirely new car.
And if one is willing to buy a used car (I bought my Tesla new, but I do understand some people habitually prefer to buy used cars because the first 2-3 years of car depreciation is so steep), I could upgrade to nearly to a 2 year old car for much less than the battery cost.
Tesla has even tried making some cars with batteries that are glued together as a whole! My car has 4 individual modules that each rest in a metal frame and can be removed. There's are some Teslas configured specifically in a way that the whole battery is glued together! This saves on manufacturing costs, but it does increase the risk of a car being totaled more quickly by an insurance company. But so far, the money saved upfront does seem to be net beneficial; as the money saved upfront does seem to still cost less even when averaged with the increased insurance risk.
Gone but not forgotten - the CLS 🇩🇪
The nameplate has disappeared from the MB portfolio recently and doesn’t look likely to be replaced. The first gen was a result of a McKinsey project and called Jag fighter - there were days when they took Jaguar seriously in Stuttgart. Some years ago, th...
While nowadays…
An estate fits the family needs a bit better I would buy one of these again in a heartbeat, if they were still offered 🤷🏻♂️🤞🏻
It was a bit of an acquired taste…
But I agree the lines really grew on me with time 😊
Beautiful Design and Profile 👍😊, very cool Experiment by Mercedes
Fun Factor, if I had to choose one, my 2006 G55, they weren't so prevalent then, still had that old school raw Purity. The 355 is a very close second ...
Back in the day…
They were also allowed to be a lot louder than the passenger 55s, due to a laxer noise regulation applying (was considered a separate class of vehicle). Another one to consider but in Germany I find them useless, as they are super loud (wind noise) above ...
Do you think that Story is True? I mean how can an Austrian Mountain Goat Survive Desert Conditions 😋
I pushed it to 210km/h on a curved bend, how it took that curve and came out the other side instead of launching me into the sea is one of Life's Great Mysteries 🤞😄, didn't hear any wind noise then 🤣
It was the major customer that allowed for the German army to piggyback on the order for theirs…
There is even a Peugeot version for the French Army. With a Peugeot diesel engine and square headlights
I Bow Down to Your Knowledge, O Great One!
Who Knew? You Did 😁👍 Source: Autónavigátor.hu ...
The knowledge gain from being a Top Tier supplier to industry!
I was lower tier but managed to spend many an hour learning the ins and outs of manufacturers and their models
Much of this came before I entered the industry 😊
Have been naturally curious from a young age. Back then this meant printed material. And optimally using all foreign trips for acquiring it 😁
The cls shooting break remains my fav family car merc to this day
Love all generations of it and saddened they wont be making a new one
Couldn’t agree more 👍🏻
Was driving behind a shooting brake 63 today. It definitely is a cool one. First they dropped the SB, now the whole line - sadly 🤷🏻♂️
Ray. Donovan.
This car must be black and come with a baseball bat in the trunk. Iconic. Cheers Marc
Hehehe. Violence prone as Ray
Donovan was, a rocket launcher would’ve not gone well with his hands-on attitude.
A very recent separation...
I miss the hardness of this very special toy. Keep enjoying driving. Best, Simone ...
Like riding a terrier 👍🏻🏁
Was such an enrichment of the automotive landscape. What replaced it?
It was indeed and we already lost it!
Now there's a Mini Cooper f56 parked in her tiny lot. Like chalk and cheese!
It was around for a while irrespective 😊
A huge difference in approach between this and the Mini. These differences are unlikely to be again so pronounced going forward…
I did, the old f56, myself.
Very fast until 150 Km/h and across a 180 Km range... After that, there is nothing!
It’s progressing quite fast these days…
Very seriously considering an electric car for the next purchase 😊
You had the electric one, right?
It truly was a breath of fresh air and saved the company back in the day 👍🏻
This could be a long list but …
Let’s start with the Jaguar XJR V8 Supercharger 😎 ...
Jag XJR was a monster
I was offered an XJR6 like this one - one owner, low miles they said. Totally different engine but still a wonderful car. The owner was John Haynes, Jr. and most of the miles were done in their shop and they photographed all sorts of jobs done on it. I wa...
The XJR6 was a nice car Mike …
I like the colour, Carnival Red Mica if my memory serves me right.
Computer Active Technology Suspension (CATS) …
The principle behind CATS was to vary the damping characteristics in proportion to the force of body and suspension movements. Crucially, the Jaguar system was to be entirely automatic, unlike some other makers’ switchable systems.
The car that brought about the CLS in the first place 😊👍🏻
With the aptly named CATS suspension 😊 I have been looking at these recently but continental European prices have gone up dramatically over the last years 🤷🏻♂️
I've always admired that design, and wondered about its ownership experience....
My biggest 'regret' was having to sell my E90 M3 at the height of the Great Recession with a paltry 9,000 miles on the odometer. It had to be done financially speaking....
And what a car that was 🙌🏻👌🏻
As for ownership experience it was by and large good. The non-AMG ones were reasonably stress free while the AMGs were a tad more temperamental (mine had left me stranded with less than 6000 miles on the clock. Wasn’t anything major but the ‘Das Beste ode...
Great looking car
I think they still offer the amg gt 4 door? I think that is a little more cramped. Less comfortable
Indeed…
That one is on its last legs and will get pulled soon. The last vehicle based off the W213 platform and here available in the full fat 63 variety. But as you say with just a tad too little space for the family 🤷🏻♂️
I really liked the first and second generation CLS.
I found those designs to be very beautiful. The interiors of the car felt very high quality too. I haven't met the third generation in person.
I was not sold on the third…
Until I came to be the temporary owner of one and then fell in love. It really gelled. Had they made a CLS63 in that generation, it would have been the best option but alas not 😊🤷🏻♂️
I was considering the second generation CLS63 with the 5.5 liter engine with 577 horsepowers.
That seemed impressive. And my biggest motivation was that I heard it would consume a lot less fuel - as a friend who had a 2016 model year CLS 63 AMG S 4 Matic told me he was averaging over 20 mpg (around 11.7 liters per 100km) in his commute. This was n...
I understand the electric bit 😊👍🏻
Of course if you travel further afield the home charger will not suffice but overall it should. Unfortunately the shooting break didn’t make it to the third generation - that would have been the best option for me 😊🤷🏻♂️
Yes. The autonomy of the electric car is not very far.
I can only travel about 300 km at highway speeds before I need to recharge. Which is very short. I sometimes have to drive 100 km for dinner and another 100 km back! And I'm not always starting with a full charge!
300km is not a lot…
Thought even early Model 3s were a bit better than that - or has the battery aged in the meantime?
Mine is a December 2018 build and a 2018 model year.
The battery has definitely aged; and I could never get the original advertised range on the highway (not even close). I'd say it's lost about 20% (or slightly more) of its original capacity in about 5.5 years. According to the Tesla degradation charts, I'...
Sounds like still acceptable for one of the early generation cars…
I believe this to be better nowadays. Players like Ferrari are also modular using their cells so that much smaller parts of the battery can be upgraded or replaced, not saddling a later owner with the costs of a whole battery if just parts are below par 😊...
All the car companies market their batteries as being module replaceable.
But this really isn't something customers are asking for. This is really something insurance companies are asking for and warranty companies. Consumers think they want this, but I can tell you less than 1% have actually done this - partially because batte...
I would need to check…
But believe they go down to many more modules than 4. Actually the currently poor and unpredictable resale values (at least in Europe) are a much larger impediment to the spread of electrics than range anxiety. And many traditional OEMs don’t want to take...
Oh yes! Some brands have more than 12 modules in their battery packs!
Yes... The banks are taking a huge hit on leasing these cars since the market value of the 36 month old car is so much less than what the banks predicted the residual value would be and thus the banks have to take a huge loss.
It’s not surprising, really 🤷🏻♂️
As with any new technology the progress is fast, leading to the three year old version being much more obsolescent than previously with the mature technology where little to nothing happened over that timeframe. I guess the car manufacturers missed a tric...
Only one car on my 'missing' list :-(
1982 W123 230E Letting this one go was the only mistake ever in my life ;-) grrrrrrrrr Angry Bim ...
Now you made ke want to try it all the more 😁👍🏻
First car I remember being driven in but it was long gone from our household by the time I could start driving myself 🤷🏻♂️ Possibly need a look in the classifieds 😉
As Nicolas describes it: Class !
And a really nice drive, although I treated it as a race car from time to time when I was young and had a few 'sweaty' moments with it . Nota: This pic was taken too early by my friend, I told him to wait a bit ... it finally hit the 'h' a bit more to the...
Brilliant 😁🦾🏁
When 200 km/h still meant much more than it does nowadays 😊👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻 Thanks for the memories 🙏🏻