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> Number of models is irrelevant No it's not. Right now, there just is no EV "family car". I would love to buy a model 3, but with that ridiculous trunk there

> Number of models is irrelevant No it's not. Right now, there just is no EV "family car". I would love to buy a model 3, but with that ridiculous trunk there's just no way I could fit my kids stuff in there. All the EVs currently being built (or announced) are just commuter cars. Sedans and small SUVs are great for driving to work on your own, but I think it'll be really awkward to go on a skiing trip with a family of 4 in a Model 3 or in a Nissan Leaf or whatever. (technically there's the Nissan eNV, but that car is hideous) Maybe Volkswagen will be the company that finally builds a practical EV...

clouddrover 8y ago
Maybe you need a VW bus. Lots of room. One for home: https://www.autoblog.com/2018/07/19/volkswagen-id-buzz-crozz-us-production/ https://www.autoblog.com/2018/07/19/volkswagen-id-buzz-crozz... And one for work: https://jalopnik.com/the-volkswagen-i-d-buzz-cargo-is-the-future-of-home-de-1830681651 https://jalopnik.com/the-volkswagen-i-d-buzz-cargo-is-the-fu... And a dune buggy for the weekends: https://www.greencarreports.com/news/1121245_volkswagen-confirms-electric-dune-buggy-concept-for-geneva-auto-show https://www.greencarreports.com/news/1121245_volkswagen-conf...
pedrocr 8y ago
You're ignoring my point. Having different models is obviously great for different uses. Hence S/X/3/Y/etc. Number of models is irrelevant when it's a bunch of different versions of a VW Golf like you get with VW/Audi/Skoda/Seat/etc.
- clouddrover 8y ago
  > Number of models is irrelevant when it's a bunch of different versions of a VW Golf It isn't a bunch of Golfs. It's hatchbacks, crossovers, and buses built on the same modular platform: http://newsroom.vw.com/vehicles/future-cars/official-the-vw-bus-is-back-and-its-electric/ http://newsroom.vw.com/vehicles/future-cars/official-the-vw-... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TQut6ks3nSY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TQut6ks3nSY
  - pedrocr 8y ago
    You quoted 27 different models. That's not 27 different types of car, it's all those duplications over a few model types. And when they're all in the market we'll all be happy. Until then it's just a promise.
    - clouddrover 8y ago
      You might as well say the same thing about the entire car industry. It's a silly perspective. The MEB platform can be adapted to hatchbacks, sedans, crossovers, vans, and even dune buggies. That's what will give Volkswagen economies of scale Tesla doesn't have. It isn't just a promise. It's the mass market arm of their EV strategy.
      - pedrocr 8y ago
        Debating against things people haven't actually said is not productive. I think having common platforms is an advantage, hence why the Model Y is reportedly heavily based on the 3. That's what all the manufacturers do. I was specifically talking about your claim that number of models was an advantage that VW had. In EVs they currently have almost no models and ship almost no cars. They've announced a platform and somehow to you that's them being ahead of Tesla who is already at a ~400k cars/year rate. I hope VW and all the others get their act together and ship millions of EVs every year. If they end up crushing Tesla that's no problem for me either. But this argument of yours that VW is somehow ahead in EVs without actually selling any significant amount of EVs is just ridiculous. It's just a promise until they ship.
        clouddrover 8y ago
        > I think having common platforms is an advantage Yes, an Volkswagen advantage has. > that number of models was an advantage that VW had It is. Their MEB modular platform allows them to target every segment across multiple brands while maintaining economies of scale in manufacturing. They're good at it: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volkswagen_Group_MLB_platform https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volkswagen_Group_MLB_platform https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volkswagen_Group_MQB_platform https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volkswagen_Group_MQB_platform As I say, better planning and bigger scale.
- jakobegger 8y ago
  The current MQB system isn't just used for VW Golf and Audi A3. The system scales from small compact cars like the Audi A1 or the VW Polo to big family cars like the VW Touran or Skoda Superb or even SUVs like Skoda Kodiaq. If their strategy works out, and they can introduce a system like that for EVs, they can start introducing multiple new models per year.

clouddrover 8y ago

Maybe you need a VW bus. Lots of room. One for home: https://www.autoblog.com/2018/07/19/volkswagen-id-buzz-crozz-us-production/ https://www.autoblog.com/2018/07/19/volkswagen-id-buzz-crozz... And one for work: https://jalopnik.com/the-volkswagen-i-d-buzz-cargo-is-the-future-of-home-de-1830681651 https://jalopnik.com/the-volkswagen-i-d-buzz-cargo-is-the-fu... And a dune buggy for the weekends: https://www.greencarreports.com/news/1121245_volkswagen-confirms-electric-dune-buggy-concept-for-geneva-auto-show https://www.greencarreports.com/news/1121245_volkswagen-conf...

pedrocr 8y ago

You're ignoring my point. Having different models is obviously great for different uses. Hence S/X/3/Y/etc. Number of models is irrelevant when it's a bunch of different versions of a VW Golf like you get with VW/Audi/Skoda/Seat/etc.

clouddrover 8y ago
> Number of models is irrelevant when it's a bunch of different versions of a VW Golf It isn't a bunch of Golfs. It's hatchbacks, crossovers, and buses built on the same modular platform: http://newsroom.vw.com/vehicles/future-cars/official-the-vw-bus-is-back-and-its-electric/ http://newsroom.vw.com/vehicles/future-cars/official-the-vw-... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TQut6ks3nSY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TQut6ks3nSY
- pedrocr 8y ago
  You quoted 27 different models. That's not 27 different types of car, it's all those duplications over a few model types. And when they're all in the market we'll all be happy. Until then it's just a promise.
  - clouddrover 8y ago
    You might as well say the same thing about the entire car industry. It's a silly perspective. The MEB platform can be adapted to hatchbacks, sedans, crossovers, vans, and even dune buggies. That's what will give Volkswagen economies of scale Tesla doesn't have. It isn't just a promise. It's the mass market arm of their EV strategy.
    - pedrocr 8y ago
      Debating against things people haven't actually said is not productive. I think having common platforms is an advantage, hence why the Model Y is reportedly heavily based on the 3. That's what all the manufacturers do. I was specifically talking about your claim that number of models was an advantage that VW had. In EVs they currently have almost no models and ship almost no cars. They've announced a platform and somehow to you that's them being ahead of Tesla who is already at a ~400k cars/year rate. I hope VW and all the others get their act together and ship millions of EVs every year. If they end up crushing Tesla that's no problem for me either. But this argument of yours that VW is somehow ahead in EVs without actually selling any significant amount of EVs is just ridiculous. It's just a promise until they ship.
      - clouddrover 8y ago
        > I think having common platforms is an advantage Yes, an Volkswagen advantage has. > that number of models was an advantage that VW had It is. Their MEB modular platform allows them to target every segment across multiple brands while maintaining economies of scale in manufacturing. They're good at it: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volkswagen_Group_MLB_platform https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volkswagen_Group_MLB_platform https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volkswagen_Group_MQB_platform https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volkswagen_Group_MQB_platform As I say, better planning and bigger scale.
jakobegger 8y ago
The current MQB system isn't just used for VW Golf and Audi A3. The system scales from small compact cars like the Audi A1 or the VW Polo to big family cars like the VW Touran or Skoda Superb or even SUVs like Skoda Kodiaq. If their strategy works out, and they can introduce a system like that for EVs, they can start introducing multiple new models per year.