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"This press release, when you read the details, is not very impressive." This press release, like all high end / performance car press releases of the last 2-3
by rsync 9y ago
"This press release, when you read the details, is not very impressive."
This press release, like all high end / performance car press releases of the last 2-3 years, can be summed up as:
"blah blah, not electric, blah blah"
Like you, I am an ex-A8 owner who loved (loved!) those cars and have no interest in buying another one - no matter how nice or feature filled or well-designed they are. There's no way they don't know this and it becomes more and more stupefying that they cede this highest-of-margins segment to Tesla.
"Oh, and from the testing I've done this winter, the Tesla AWD system is at least as good as quattro. Probably better."
Exactly - it has two motors.
My disappointment is wide and deep as the major manufacturers continue to refuse to make a modern car. However it is Audi and Volvo in particular whose inaction is truly mind-blowing. Audi because they could continue to own AWD/4WD and volvo because their target market is ripe for the aesthetic and social benefits of electric cars.
Instead, Audi has spent ten years going down the "in 2-3 years we'll have an electric platform" and volvo has committed to a shitty-hybrids-with-lawnmower-engines-inside platform for the next 8-10 years.
- t0mbstone 9y agoThe reason they have to cede to Tesla is because of battery supply. There's a reason why Tesla invested in a huge battery factory and established contracts with a lot of providers so they could churn out the batteries cheaply.
- rsync 9y ago"The reason they have to cede to Tesla is because of battery supply." Then they don't have a product. There is no longer any such thing as a luxury vehicle with an ICE engine in it. I am not spending >100k on a nice new car with some high vibration, overly-complex[1], put-put-puttering 3 or 4 cylinder motor. I don't care how nice it looks or how fancy the software is. [1] Fuel economy regs make it necessary to turbo and super charge ICE engines to get 300+ horsepower out of these little 4 and 6 cylinder engines. These are not simple devices...
- Gravityloss 9y agoDaimler has built and is building large battery factories. Posts about those don't get upvoted on HN. In the least it's best to see how this forum is a very partial / biased view of the industry.
- linsomniac 9y agoYou are right that there's no way they don't know this. My Tesla sales guy said "I get a lot of people trading their Audi for a Model S". Then when I picked mine up, the couple who also had the same time slot to pick theirs up was trading a Audi. Right after I got it, I took a friend to pick up his Audi from the service center. I walked in with him and the service guy said to me "You're dead to me!" He is a really nice guy named Ryan, but I'll be honest that I'm kind of tired of being so tight with the Audi service guy. I'm hoping the Tesla doesn't cost so much down the road. I've already avoided 3 oil changes, so it's off to a good start. :-)