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Volkswagen launches its first all-electric SUV, the ID.4

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Re: Volkswagen launches its first all-electric SUV, the ID.4

#471
Looks pretty nice. AWD is about $44k, $36k with the tax credit. Honestly that's a pretty decent option.

$40k sedans were always a bit of a practicality stretch. A sedan is fine for some things but in family with two working family the sedan is a secondary car wheel the SUV is the more expensive work horse.

A $40k electric SUV can be used for commute, ski trips, camping. Perfect for a family's 'main' car. It looks like electric might finally win both practicality and cost.

Re: Volkswagen launches its first all-electric SUV, the ID.4

#472

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Designing an electric car has a lot of different design tradeoffs than a gas car, so cars that are designed from the ground up as electric are going to perform better than gas cars that are electrified. The biggest two factors are that the battery is large and heavy, but is flexible in the shape it assumes. For good handling, you'd like to have this weight as low on the car as possible, and close to the center. The a…

But Tesla's cars are exactly this - they are largely gas sedans that look normal and are electric. People don't want some dorky looking electric car like Volkswagen's or BMW's. They want a normal car that's electric.

What’s interesting is that Tesla succeeded in spite of its dorkiness. Yes, you may think it is a “normal” looking car now, but sedans were dying, hatchbacks were dying, and you would be made fun of mercilessly if you had a spoiler on your SUV. But Tesla made cars like that and then succeeded in spite of those design cues and now Tesla owners are trying to make those things cool again.

Tesla might as well come out with a minivan and a wagon, they could probably make people think they were cool.

Re: Volkswagen launches its first all-electric SUV, the ID.4

#474

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> like all the old farts buying Harley's and pretending they are some kind of bikers...shame they destroyed the brand Actually, they kept the brand alive by buying the product. Without those people they'd have died long ago.

Sounds kind of like Leica to me: orthodontists running around Africa or Asia pretending to be Steve McCurry with $11,000 'Safari' cameras destroyed the brand for me. Yeah, sure, the company is still technically alive, but at what cost? (and lest you think I'm joking: https://www.dpreview.com/news/9864312105/leica-releases-limi... )

The same thing is true of guitar manufacturers and probably most other manufacturers of music gear.

Re: Volkswagen launches its first all-electric SUV, the ID.4

#475
post #440

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Are the cameras not good anymore? Or is it that the “wrong people“ are using their products that bothers you? If it is the latter, then you are just trying to buy an identity through brands, and you are as much part of the problem.

Leica glass is still top notch. GP is just making some weird status thing out of it.

Then just buy the M43 version?

Re: Volkswagen launches its first all-electric SUV, the ID.4

#476
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post #142

Is it their electric car or is it their car, electric ? I don't want your electric car. I don't want your e-initiative i-mobile green-tech tron-car. I want one of your actual cars, just electric . I don't want an ID.4 - I just want a Passat. I don't want the polestar e-initiative i-concept - I just want a V90 wagon. I don't want a future space truck, I just want a Silverado - but electric. God. Dammit.

I see what you mean, but that is not always going to be a good idea as electric cars is more than a change of motor. Much more aerodynamic, lighter, different frames for lower centre of gravity, different controls, dashboards, etc. (I am not a car designer). So a car designed from scratch will complete these much better than a simple conversion.

OK, but BEVs are heavier than gas-powered cars because of the the battery is heavy.

Re: Volkswagen launches its first all-electric SUV, the ID.4

#477

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Yup! Plus in the US the majority of all cars are not parked in a garage or driveway. How do those charge?

> in the US the majority of all cars are not parked in a garage or driveway. Source? That seems highly unlikely

The US as a whole is 65% homeowners, but population density drives that down. The Bay Area is below 44%. There are hundreds of thousands of apartments here with street parking where you can find it, or rows of carports in 2–3 story complexes that may or may not be lit but definitely no metered outlets.

Re: Volkswagen launches its first all-electric SUV, the ID.4

#478

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Anyone who's driven on a highway in Texas knows this is likely untrue, at least for most F150 owners. I see a shocking number of pristine, washed and waxed F150s every single day when I'm driving. Those and Ram 1500s dominate the roads here. I don't even live in a rural area. I live in DFW.

I live in DFW also and you are correct. I'd take a guess that 80% of F150 owners live in a quiet suburban neighborhood and have never used the truck bed. What really is insane is the folks like a neighbor down the street who has an F250 Diesel Monster truck that has never seen any off road action except the time he drove on his grass backing out of the driveway. Same with all the Jeeps with oversized tires and 12k in…

Why such concern about people owning things that they may not truly need? I'd say it is a bit of a slippery slope. Many things are not truly needed.

Re: Volkswagen launches its first all-electric SUV, the ID.4

#479

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>Actually, they kept the brand alive by buying the product. >Without those people they'd have died long ago. I disagree, the Company was founded in 1903 and was did well into the 90's and then the 50 plus crowd decided to be some kind of poser biker gang type and destroyed the brand. Not very different than what happened to the Corvette and all the 6o plus folks buying them the last 20 years.

Wrong, the brand hung on and is dying out with boomers. Everyone knows that the younger kids get crotch rockets. It wasn’t the hold people that ruined the brand, it was the brand marketing to Boomers for shortsighted gains. Harleys are for Boomers. Harley made sure that was the message. Now they pay for it.

charging 30k for a motorcycle didn't help

Re: Volkswagen launches its first all-electric SUV, the ID.4

#480
post #363

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dang, $29k starting price and you don’t even get power windows? What happened to the F150??

They’re bought primarily either as status symbols or for business use.

A truck as a status symbol? In Russia or the balkans the rich mobsters use Mercedes SUVs for that.
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