In particular, luxury car brands – as they “transition” to purveyors of devices:
. . .
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French Leyland is delaying the introduction of a Maserati-branded Quattroporte dEVice to 2028, and the current ICE-powered Quattroporte has already been discontinued. Also, Maserati is planning to offer dEVices only from 2030 onwards.
Time for a Maserati death watch, methinks.
Well known food brands that have been around for a long time are doing something similar to what Mercedes is doing. For example, considering that the WEF types want the masses to eat bugs and frankenfood instead of REAL FOOD, KFC and Tyson appear to be or are planning on using lab grown chicken or even insects to make their products instead of REAL CHICKEN. Predictably, the excuse given is “Cliiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimate change”, but I’ve already decided I won’t be getting any products from those chains anymore because they’re pushing this WEF crap.
There is no ‘market’. Customer demand is old school. Done! Put a fork in it. You take what ve sell or you gets nothing says the commie-fascists. “We the People” is now “We the corporate government” enacted by the coup of 1787 reinforced by the bank led panic of 1907 resulting in bankers reasserting their power in 1913 and relegating sovereign citizens and states to a lot of nothingness and just lines on a map.
When there was a modicum of freedom and law the nation became the most prosperous ever in the world.
With the bankers and their shills in control we are now miserable, broke and the laughing stock of the world. Listen carefully,,, you can hear the roar of laughter every time Biden speaks. No borders equal no country. Further in debt we go,,, more power for the bankers.Our children cannot pass grade level exams,,, while our schools teach lunatic, fringe, and sexual deviancy.
Capitalists like Ford and Whitney no longer grace this land. Ninety percent of consumer goods sold are imported by the traitorous American companies that left us to die on the vine,,, ninety percent of goods exported are weapons of war.
$20 US Dollars to buy 1 oz of gold in 1920. $2000 Federal Reserve play Bucks to buy 1 oz of gold today. $100 buys one sack of groceries. Include meat,,, not even one sack.
We are told we have to eat bugs,,, We have to buy Electric Phones on wheels while they jet around in their private jets and own ICE cars, and 400 foot yachts. We are told this will be the hottest year ever while we freeze to death in EV death traps. While we scrounge with our $12 per hour job,,, Greta is a millionaire chauffeured around. Lies do pay!
We know the medical complex is killing us off by the millions sterilizing and mutilating our children yet many stand in line for the death shots and allow their children to be chopped up. There is no ‘waking up’. You cannot wake the dead.
ken: Thanks for providing this summary. It’s always good to be reminded of the fuckery that we’ve been subjected to.
Not meant as a summary,,, more like a epitaph. Like watching a person with all sorts of talent and potential commit suicide for no apparent reason.
‘No borders equal no country.’ — ken
Uniparty is on the case!
‘Senator Ron Johnson asked whether the proposal to give the president enhanced deportation authority only when the number of migrants crossing the border exceeds 5,000 people per day could hinder Trump if he becomes the next president.
‘He said the plan to spend billions to “hire a lot more border patrol agents” to process 4,000 to 5,000 migrants a day is “stupid.” ‘
https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/4427478-senate-conservatives-opposition-border-deal/
Five thousand a day — 1,825,000 per year — is the new normal for the Uniparty.
‘It’s just the normal noises in here.’ — between tracks chatter on a Tom Petty album
I have a 2.0 L four in my Ford Focus! WTF do I need to spend $50K-$60K on an E Class Mercedes to get the very same thing? Why?
For $50-60k, I’d get a used 2011ish C63 amg, spend a few grand fixing it up, another couple grand modding it and be done.
For the $$$, better off getting whatcha want from an older vehicle
I agree. As it is now, even before the luxury car makers go electric, there’s nothing special about them now; Exhibit A is the E Class Mercedes with a 2.0L engine.
Amen, Mark –
The current E-Class Benz is shadow of what it was. It’s “nice” – but so is a Camry. What do you get for almost $60K? A 2.0 liter four and a bigger LCD touchscreen.
With every redesign, Mercedes turns their cars into Kias…No, Wait…Kia is a less chintzy car now.
I agree, Eric –
My issue with MB (or rather, MB’s issue with me) notwithstanding. I’ve witnessed the deterioration in “specialness” personally, over the past 30 years. In the mid-90s, a Benz S-Class was something. Today, it’s not much. Literally. I was at the grocery store the other day and saw one parked alongside a mid-sized Japanese sedan. The S look almost as ordinary but whoever bought it paid three times as much. And got a six.
My old A4 had a 2.0t, back in 2007.
Back then, it was niche, now its boring. After 4 turbski’s four bangers and a Ram, only way Ill get another 4banger is if its a MR2 Turbo or if I got it for free, gimme a V8 or higher!
And why we didn’t buy one, coming from a E340 (v6) that the wife liked.
And we told the dealer too, and they said ‘you’re not the only one’
We bought a V8 grand cherokee.
Wonder how the prices for E90 M3’s are? Probably jacked up considering how things are.
Shame ya can’t find an affordable manual V8 sedan, only thing that comes to mind are the otherwise solid B6/7 S4’s with their $5k timing chain jobs (yank the engine out to do it, as its in the back)
[T]he EeeVee market consists of Tesla and ‘others,’ none yet reaching a secure second place.
Wasn’t there another manufacturer that recently overtook Tesla as the top selling EV automaker worldwide? I don’t remember the name off the top of my head, I think it might have been “Barbecue Your Drivers” or something like that.
Or “Burn Your Dwelling”? 🙂
Tesla positioned itself as the iPhone of EeeVees, at least in the West.
No idea how Tesla and BYD pitch their brand images in China. Looks like China is putting the squeeze on Tesla to boost its domestic brands. Shocking, I know.
A good coronal mass ejection from the source of global warming (aka ‘the sun’) will make all electronic appliances worthless. My hit ‘n’ miss engines, EP’s firechicken, etc will be just fine.
And like the smartphone on wheels graphic, there will be two operating systems. One closed and only available on a single “platform” and the other being generic and available to anyone who can build hardware. Oh, there’ll be innovation (My new 6000SUX has headlights that are 10% brighter than last year’s model!) but nothing really Earth shattering.
Akio Toyoda delivers the eulogy for EeeVee Fever:
‘Battery-powered electric vehicles will only ever capture 30 percent of global market share, the chairman of Toyota predicted. Akio Toyoda said that traditional fuel-burning cars, as well as hybrids and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles would make up the rest of the market.
‘The grandson of the founder of the world’s largest car manufacturer said shifting towards electric vehicles is not the answer when a billion people in the world are living without electricity.
‘He told a business event this month that limiting consumer choices and ability to travel by making expensive cars is not the answer. “Customers — not regulations or politics — should make that decision.”
‘He added: “Engines will surely remain.”‘
http://tinyurl.com/2xpjmcdc
He forgot to add “unless they are forced”
I simply cannot fathom the mindset of car makers. Or their psychosis. FedGov is determined to destroy the car market, and most makers appear to be all on board with it. This does not appear to be a viable business plan.
Its probably because car guys in the industry died long ago or are enjoying their retirement in Tahiti. What is going on today in the car industry is beyond my comprehension.
John, it’s just Corporate-Gov corruption. Together, their laws and rules, have limited competition at insane levels. I’ve witnessed it myself in my biz. No one wants our ‘new’ equipment cause they don’t work (Tier 4, competition limiting BS smoke and mirrors).
The big corps lobby/line-the-pockets of ‘lawmakers’ and that’s what we get.
This recent EV’s suck news will not deter them, they will just find another way. Hence me saying ‘triple-down’. The scary part is it won’t work either, so what’s quadruple down look like?
I hope I’m wrong.
Easy, they promote the unqualified WOKE to top positions to appease the mob. Then the newly promoted unqualified WOKE in turn steer the company in the wrong direction towards ideologically driven goals, while neglecting profits and market demand.
If one extrapolates the EeeVee roadmap outlined by red guard Michael Regan of the EPA, then by the early 2030s the auto market should resemble the cell phone market, which consists of Apple, Samsung, and ‘others.’
Likewise, the EeeVee market consists of Tesla and ‘others,’ none yet reaching a secure second place.
But this gov-sponsored business model is manifestly not viable. Something else will happen. It could begin as soon as 2025, if a new administration takes a hard look at the EPA’s ruinous war on ICE vehicles (and gas stoves, and hydrocarbon power plants) and decides to burn it the ground.
It will be the 21st century analog of repealing the hated 55 mph speed limit decades ago. Drill, baby, drill.