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VW’s $50B Bet on an Electric Hatchback

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71–80 of 193 posts

Re: VW’s $50B Bet on an Electric Hatchback

#71
post #66
post #64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It looks like a Golf... It's a very classic design for VW.

More like the Polo, the cheapest and smallest of the VWs. For me it's also not an appealing look for such an expensive vehicle.

Up is the smallest of Volkswagens actually, and this has the front from that. It's not a good looking vehicle by any measure.

Re: VW’s $50B Bet on an Electric Hatchback

#72
post #59

WHY do these vehicles always have to look so freaking dorky? This is one of the things that Tesla nailed. Their vehicles are beautiful, and look like first-class products. This, the "ID-3" looks like a prius. I'm sure it's a fine car, and I really do love EVs, but man oh man I wish the designers would take a page from Tesla's book. edit: to be clear, my current car (that my wife and I share) is a chrysler pacifica mi…

I think this is pretty subjective. My preferences have changed over the years, and I think this is a pretty cool design. Call me super dork I guess...

Re: VW’s $50B Bet on an Electric Hatchback

#74
post #26

I'm planning to buy a new car in two years, and I'm really excited about the possibilities of electric cars then. What I really want is a mid-sized hatchback, with interior form similar to my current Subaru Forester (and a zillion other similar light-duty quasi-SUVs). It's such a popular form factor, and Tesla isn't there on it.

>light-duty quasi-SUVs is that not exactly the niche that the Model X is trying to serve?

Model X is idiotically expensive. It costs as much as a fully specced out Range Rover, and that's silly amount of money.

Re: VW’s $50B Bet on an Electric Hatchback

#75
post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That doesn't account for the energy used to charge the cars during their lifetime, though. Thankfully, in general the United States energy grid is getting less CO2-intensive.

yes, this is a huge concern. If these cars are powered by coal or other dirty energies it doesn't make sense. Most charger networks here are powered 100% by renewables though

It still makes some sense. Granted coal rich sources will definitely make the transition worse. https://cleantechnica.com/2018/02/19/electric-car-well-to-wh...

Lifetime emissions for EVs beat ICE cars in 2-5 years [citation needed]

Re: VW’s $50B Bet on an Electric Hatchback

#76

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> There is no reason for VW to not build more, if the demand is there. If the demand is not there, then it can become a financial disaster. The problem is that EVs are going to cannibalize the legacy auto industry. It takes far less people [1], far less parts (typical combustion engine has ~2k moving parts, a Tesla powertrain has ~17), just a much smaller supply chain overall [2] to deliver EVs. And these EVs will la…

Most of those factors are actually beneficial for the corporations however; less parts and people means less logistical overhead eating away at profits. The increase in reliability is a questionable loss too as most consumers dump their current car every 6 years regardless if it still works or not in their effort to keep up with the Joneses. Beside battery wear will put a hard limit on car lifespan anyway since those…

The original model S could do a 90 second battery swap. Not sure about other Tesla models, but I sure hope they are still designed for easy battery replacement. I would guess they are as Elon Musk is hoping for the cars to eventually last a million miles.

Re: VW’s $50B Bet on an Electric Hatchback

#77
post #59

WHY do these vehicles always have to look so freaking dorky? This is one of the things that Tesla nailed. Their vehicles are beautiful, and look like first-class products. This, the "ID-3" looks like a prius. I'm sure it's a fine car, and I really do love EVs, but man oh man I wish the designers would take a page from Tesla's book. edit: to be clear, my current car (that my wife and I share) is a chrysler pacifica mi…

Completely agree. I remember reading Musk had a fights with the original Tesla designer because he wanted to make something weird and funky and ended up firing him. Just make it normal looking, but you know, the good normal.

Re: VW’s $50B Bet on an Electric Hatchback

#78
post #64
post #59

WHY do these vehicles always have to look so freaking dorky? This is one of the things that Tesla nailed. Their vehicles are beautiful, and look like first-class products. This, the "ID-3" looks like a prius. I'm sure it's a fine car, and I really do love EVs, but man oh man I wish the designers would take a page from Tesla's book. edit: to be clear, my current car (that my wife and I share) is a chrysler pacifica mi…

It looks like a Golf... It's a very classic design for VW.

Yeah, it's basically eGolf v2 (or v3?) with a decent range. I considered an eGolf - I think it looks nice.

Re: VW’s $50B Bet on an Electric Hatchback

#79
post #49

This is vaporware. VW are stuck. They are not able to innovate. VW EVs are always tomorrow, whereas actual manufacturers do deliver EVs now : Nissan and Renault besides Tesla.

You do realize that VW has been shipping and selling the e-Golf EV for many years now, and in good quantities? They're all over the bay area, and seem almost as popular as the Leaf.

Re: VW’s $50B Bet on an Electric Hatchback

#80
post #59

WHY do these vehicles always have to look so freaking dorky? This is one of the things that Tesla nailed. Their vehicles are beautiful, and look like first-class products. This, the "ID-3" looks like a prius. I'm sure it's a fine car, and I really do love EVs, but man oh man I wish the designers would take a page from Tesla's book. edit: to be clear, my current car (that my wife and I share) is a chrysler pacifica mi…

>WHY do these vehicles always have to look so freaking dorky?

Someone once explained to me that it was because EVs try and minimize the weight of the chassis to extend the range of the vehicle, and it's difficult to get more traditional curvatures in the chassis while doing that and balancing with safety/cost.

No idea how accurate that is.

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