RNM GS3

In 10years majority of cars will still be gas powered. It will take decades for EVs to take over. New car sales will be 50-60% EVs by then probably but you still have millions of older ICE cars needing gas stations.

I could see CA banning all ICE cars by 2050 and giving ppl a tax credit for seizing their pride and joy.

tex2670

My car has iDrive 5 - no touchscreen. There are some basic functions that I can perform just by feel of the controller and the shortcut buttons.

sm1ke

iTrader: (5)

Isn't this a Buick thread? Lol

Mike728

Squirrel!!!

SW17LS

in 10 years most luxury cars will be EVs. In 10 years for instance if you want an S Class, it will be an EV.

mmarshall

I'll respect your view, but my opinion also still stands. I found I-Drive (and (Audi's MMI) to be a PITA from Day One, and wasn't much more impressed with later versions, though I haven't sampled the latest ones. I find almost all of the video screens somewhat tedious to use, although GM probably has the least-tedious ones.

SW17LS

Yet, the entire industry adopted that style of interacting with infotainment. You find GM's less tedious because thats what you're used to.

Of course the first iDrive was a pain to use, they refined it from there and it became really the gold standard of infotainment.

tex2670

You are certainly entitled to your opinion. But (1) lumping iDrive in with Audi's MMI is unfair, as they are 2 completely different systems; and (2) trying out any feature on any car for a few minutes on a test drive or in a static review is similarly unfair; living with the system day-to-day is the real test as to whether something is good or bad. Even the easiest system can be difficult to navigate with no prior experience. I would suggest you find GM's the "least tedious" because that is what you have become used to in your day-to-day life, and now it's familiar.

mmarshall

I found them both a PITA. But, then again, I am of the generation that often finds those type of devices less than ideal. Younger people are more adept in operating them...and they were obviously not designed for us Baby-Boomers.


Many professional reviewers (including Consumer Reports) also like the way GM does their video screens.

RNM GS3

I disagree that next gen Sclass will be all EV.

This current gen will run for another 6-7yrs.
Next gen car might be all hybrid and will surely have EV option but definitely some sort of ICE powertrain will be offered, hopefully the V8.
Next gen design and powertrains will be locked in over next 2-3yrs if not sooner. No way MB can afford to go completely EV at this point.

The geopolitical climate with Russia/Europe and even the CA power grid issues continue to show we are nowhere ready for all cars to be EVs any time soon.

SW17LS

Mercedes has said that the next generation S Class will be EV only. Were they lying?

I know you want so desperately for this to not be true, but when a carmaker says they are going to take a big shift like this, they’re going to take it lol.

mmarshall

More than we'd like to admit, automakers often say something one day and do the opposite the next. It's not necessarily a deliberate intention to lie and misled...just an extremely volatile business with strong pressures from all sides.

tex2670

They are a public company. They can't do this. They may say something that doesn't pan out, but they are not allowed to make statements about future intentions which aren't based in fact.

SW17LS

Thats just not at all true. When a company comes out and says "This is our direction, this is what we're doing and where we will be in the next generation" they do that. And Mercedes has ended all their ICE R&D and rerouted all of those funds to EV and battery development, which aligns with what they have said.

Reversing course on this would be a HUGE blunder and it would cost them a fortune as well as damage their credibility as a shareholder organization. Thats not going to happen. The next S Class will be EV. Mercedes also already said what they will do for markets where EVs aren't practical, they will continue to sell the W223 in those markets.

You are all grasping at straws because you don't want this to happen, but it is happening. The industry has shifted and is investing too much in EVs to reverse course now. As enthusiasts, we better get happy about it.

lexusnyca

When they start to see the sales numbers collapsing, they will change their tune fast - or let them all shrink their capacity and get smaller by going all EV, if that's what they want to do. All these automakers think they are Tesla - that they are developing a buyers cult around their products, buyers that will pay any price and not care about value and build quality, etc. Well, they aren't all going to be Tesla, in fact none of them are. There is no pool of untapped new buyers coming into the auto space - a certain percentage of existing buyers are telling the automakers flat out - we will not buy an EV. They can't make up those sales losses by expanding into untapped buyers. Right now their "fix" for that problem is to have government forcibly banning non-EVs from the market - and again their buyers are telling them they will stay in the preowned market for decades if necessary to avoid buying an EV. I guess their next move will be to get government to ban gasoline completely. We will see how long the voters put up with this lunacy.