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Originally Posted by NGT2
Weak economy? Inflation is wild and rates are very high relative to the last 15 years and people are still spending money like crazy.
EVs are largely seen as a gimmick, I think. The large demand that they and the governments envisioned just isn’t there. If it weren’t for regulations and tax incentives, you could probably cut that demand in half. They don’t help the environment and they aren’t really cheaper to own and run. It’s just another vehicle. Not saying it’s not cool or that it shouldn’t exist. But it’s a niche and in its infancy, still. Maybe a toddler at most. I don’t think we’ll all be driving electric vehicles in 20 years. I think something else will supplant them and I think ICE, to some degree, will still be around. Electric will remain one of many mousetraps.
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Agreed, there is a tonne of analysis on carbon footprint for a life cycle of an EV production, it’s battery production, mining, and then when the time for replacement comes in 7-9 years. The source of energy production to charge, the renewables are a small percentage at utility companies infrastructure. The simplistic view that most people have on EVs being more environmentally friendly is only true for the limited duration of ownership of what the owners see and think is what comes out of a gas car’s exhaust. EVs won’t stay as the sole option, it’s not sustainable, neither it is cheaper to own/run.
We’ll see more options for drivetrains but certainly agree that it’s possible we will see EVs only as a niche or small percentage of the market 15 years from now, maybe sooner. ICE in some form or the other will stay, maybe with a mild hybrid gaining further momentum with bigger battery boosts.
On another note: (all from design)
I cannot unsee the lack of hofmeister kink in all new BMWs and here what we see in the leak/render the Neue class is another level of butcher shop’s sharp cut gone wrong. The alternate design direction seems just horrendous Hyundai and Kia styles, all BMW character is lost. Why are they trying so hard to reinvent the cars?
I hear we need modernization but iMHO Mercedes have still kept to some design values. They don’t look ugly and you can tell they are still Mercs from a distance.
Porsche still look good (and even better, modern versions) and looks like they belong to the same family of the old panameras, 911s and Macan (even with the all news EV version).
BMW design camp is a slaughterhouse of mish mash of design teams, the bosses top to bottom who sign off on these strange looking designs with nobody to answer. What are they smoking there?
The BMW legacy is long lost since the iconic (yet controversial) designs of the Bangle or the Adrian Van Hooydonk eras. Those cars are aging quite well IMO.
We don’t need radical shifts here that speak cheapness, crass and confused design language. It’s over and over and over again with everything. Sat in an X1 Uber, no BMW feeling, the old X1 still had something to it. AND final closing note - the M2 looks weird on the road to me.
Sigh
