The three major German automakers have long dominated the global automotive sector by offering world class engineering and a product range that runs the gamut from reasonably cheap to ultra lux. This weekend’s IAA Mobility show in Munich highlighted the fact that German carmakers know they’re far behind and, maybe, know what they have to do to catch up with their Chinese rivals.
There’s so much news to catch up on, so we’re also going to talk about NASCAR TV rights, executive pay, and then share some photos of the Skoda Superb because I like the Skoda Superb. Let’s jump right into it.
Can BMW, VW, And Mercedes Compete With China?
The German Big Three all showed off concepts of what their future cars could look like, ranging from massive re-interpretations like the Vision Neue Klasse Concept to the extremely mild Volkswagen ID.GTI (more on that soon), with the CLA Concept somewhere in between.
There are two obvious perspectives on this one can reasonably take, and it depends entirely on how quickly you think China can find its way into the market.
The Optimistic View: Germany Is Finally Taking EVs Seriously
With no disrespect to David’s beloved BMW i3 intended, the German approach to electrification was pretty much as bad as the effort made by legacy American, English, French, and Japanese automakers. The only two groups who took it seriously enough were Tesla and the various Chinese brands, the latter of which were massively boosted by Chinese government intervention.
It’s easy to point to Dieselgate as the catalyzing factor for German automakers to suddenly start their electrification process in earnest but, reasonably, I think it was the quick rise of the Model S as the best selling luxury car in Europe, which started way back in 2016. It’s hard to underestimate how much of the German psyche is built around the idea of the Mercedes S-Class being the best/finest/über luxury car (or Audi A8 or BMW 7-Series, depending on who you ask). The Model S quickly ate its lunch and has never looked back, with Tesla becoming the biggest “luxury” brand in the world last year.
I say this, because Germany has focused more on the higher end of the market with vehicles like the BMW iX, Porsche Taycan and various Audi eTrons, than they have the lower end of the market. This is starting to change, of course, with Volkswagen offering the ID.4 and ID.3, and Mercedes selling the Chinese-based Smart.
How big is this challenge? Here’s some important scene-setting from Reuters:
“We (Germany) are losing our competitiveness,” said Hildegard Mueller, president of the German Association of the Automotive Industry (VDA), adding the Munich car show illustrated “how the high pressure of international competition” makes it essential for Germany to invest more in electrification.
The average EV in China cost less than 32,000 euros ($35,000) in the first half of 2022 compared with around 56,000 euros in Europe, according to researchers at Jato Dynamics.
“The base car market segment will either vanish or will not be done by European manufacturers,” BMW CEO Oliver Zipse said on Sunday evening in reference to China’s push into Europe.
If you’re an optimist, you look at the cars of IAA and think that the Germans are finally less dominated by high-end EVs and more focused on what they need to do, which is make something that can compete with Chinese automakers and compete with Tesla. The new CLA is bling-y, but maybe that’s what Mercedes customers want? Chinese automakers have the tech but, perhaps, those companies lack the swagger of a Benz. The Neue Klasse is focused on building something that looks new, while also is likely to perform similarly to Chinese offerings at a competitive price. The ID.GTI is pretty plain, but Volkswagen also has Cupra as a quasi-startup focused on people who want sporty EVs.
Plus, The European Union doesn’t have an Inflation Reduction Act and, therefore, German automakers are more able to tap Chinese partnerships and batteries to compete on price.
The Pessimistic View: It’s Too Late
None of those three German cars mentioned above are going to be in production this year, let alone for sale. You know what will likely go on sale later this year? The BYD Seal pictured above, which just debuted at IAA.
This is a D-Segment (think Volkswagen Passat, BMW 3-Series, or Mercedes C-Class) electric car with an 82.5 kWh LFP “blade” battery pack. It offers, depending on variant, either 570 km (RWD) or 520 km (AWD) of range on the WLTP cycle for £44,990 or £47,990.
It’s hard to even compare it with anything because the closest German “saloon” for sale in the U.K., for example, is probably the Mercedes EQE, which has a slightly better range but starts at £76,450. By comparison, a base C-Class in the UK is the C 200 AMG Line Saloon and that starts at £45,165.
The argument here is that there are so many Chinese cars coming to Europe and, short of some last minute dose of protectionism, it’s going to be difficult for German automakers to catch up. Sure, there’s a pride in the local automaker, but how much is that pride worth? Are consumers going to wait months or even years to get a potentially more expensive option when there’s plenty of not-as-good-but-good-enough Chinese cars around?
It’s hard to imagine.
Is NASCAR About To Blow Up Its TV Deals?
I love baseball. I do. It is a constant source of heartbreak and consternation but, at least for a few more weeks, the Astros are the world champions and it all feels worth it. [Ed Note: Matt and his daughter’s shared love of baseball is truly beautiful to watch. -DT]. Of course, if you’re a Rangers fan you’re probably ready to jump off a bridge after being forced to watch your once-dominant position in the AL West crumble as fast as your bullpen.
The thing I don’t love about baseball is trying to watch baseball from home. I’m one of those suckers who pays for MLB.tv and still can’t enjoy a bunch of games because of outdated blackout rules or, worse, those games being played on various random networks. And don’t get me started on the Apple+ version of baseball coverage which, despite featuring people I like, is pretty terrible.
NASCAR has long been split between Fox Sports for the first half of the season and NBC Sports for the second half/playoffs. It works. Those contracts are up soon and it’s becoming pretty clear that NASCAR is going to look at an MLB/NFL-style split for its broadcast rights. (Full disclosure: I produced/directed a TV show around motorsports on NBC that included NASCAR races).
The good news is that, as announced, the Xfinity series is going to the CW Network full-time from 2025 to 2031. This sounds like it’ll mean free-to-watch races on the CW app and an over-the-air broadcast for those who don’t want to download another app. This excites me.
My old pal Gerry Smith over at Bloomberg has the scoop on what else is coming, which is less exciting to me:
Amazon.com Inc. and Warner Bros. Discovery Inc. are competing to broadcast a new package of Nascar races, with the league trying to boost its overall revenue by bringing in more media partners.
The companies are vying with a third broadcaster for a package of between six and eight races during the summer months, according to people familiar with the matter who asked not to be identified discussing private negotiations.
It’s going to be hard to convince the haters, but NASCAR is fun to watch and more interesting/exciting to me than Formula 1 in its current condition. Similarly, I think it’s important for NASCAR to find new ways to reach viewers, but an MLB-like split across multiple networks could cause consternation for the average fan if not handled well.
The CEO Of Lucid Made $379 Million Last Year
Every year, Automotive News does this great chart of what all the automotive CEOs make and it’s a good reminder that automotive CEOs, whether successful or not, get a ton of money. This year’s chart is out and, yet again, the CEOs of Lucid and Nvidia (the chipmaker) are on top for 2022.
Nvidia, which makes computer chips, gave Jensen Huang $506.3 million worth of pay and benefits, while Peter Rawlinson got $379 million from Lucid, an electric vehicle maker that went public in 2021.
Rawlinson’s compensation was 11 times more than the next highest-paid CEO, Mary Barra of General Motors.
If you ever want to know why companies push so hard to become publicly traded, this is partially why. Tying your compensation to stock means that, if the stock goes up, you get a lot of money. There are downsides to this (a lot of short-term thinking), but it’s the way of the world at the moment. I’m sure Rootwrym will be in the comments soon to expand on why this is problematic.
Of the $379 million that Rawlinson earned by, uh, having to lower prices to stoke demand, $372 million came from stock award gains. Overall, though, the median CEO compensation was down 3.9% as more economic uncertainty resulted in smaller bonuses compared to the huge payouts in 2021.
The Škoda Superb Is Keeping Its Hatchback
While most of the news out of Europe has been focused on the new generation of electric cars, the reality is that automakers will still be selling ICE vehicles for at least another generation. If I had to buy an ICE vehicle in Europe what would I get? Would I go cheap and get a Dacia Duster? Maybe. Perhaps I’d get a Puma ST, which is delightful (and I owe you all some words on, having driven it recently).
I don’t know for sure, but I’m a sucker for the Škoda Superb, which is sort of the Czech version of the VW Passat/VW Arteon platform. Even better, the Superb is going to keep its hatchback! From the company:
[T]he Superb, will once again complement its popular Combi estate with an elegant hatchback. The new iteration of this traditional body variant has grown in length and height and at the same time become even more aerodynamic. Its sculptural Škoda design has evolved further and now features a redesigned octagonal Škoda grille and updated door handles. The wide range of powertrains for the new Superb now also includes a mild hybrid.
Hell yeah, though I’d prefer a PHEV to mild hybrid.
The Big Question
If you had to buy a car in Europe, what would you buy? If you’re in Europe, what did you buy?
Photos: Lucid Motors, Skoda, Mercedes, BMW, BYD
I moved to Germany 9 years ago and bought a 3-year old Superb. The Superb was . . . great. It had the 170 hp 2.0L TDI and a 6-speed manual. We loved it, but once Dieselgate broke, we sold it and bought a used Mercedes E300 wagon. That was great in that it had the rear facing seats, but otherwise, I missed the Superb. When we moved to the UK, we bought a new SEAT Leon wagon, which was about £5k cheaper than the equivalent Golf wagon. It’s been a solid family car. It’s big enough for daily use with 3 kids, and for longer trips we throw a roof box on top. If we move back to Germany though, I will probably go for another Superb.
Matt said there would be Rootwyrm, but there is no Rootwyrm. I need my daily Rootwyrm Rant as read by Lewis Black.
If living in Europe/UK the Toyota GR Yaris is my pick!
If I was in Europe, I’d likely buy the Suzuki Swift turbo sport. I love small cars, it’s apparently a blast, it’s reliable, and I’m parsimonious.
I bought a VW Caddy in Belgium, fice years ago. Simple, mk5 platform, good ground clearance, a lot, lot, lot of space and good performance from the 1.4 tsi. 142k kms now. But right now, as a replacement, I would like to stay in the same compact van class bit the offerings have to much electronics and driving aids for me now to willingly trade in my Caddy. If I wanted to go back to cars, I’d probably buy a Superb or Dacia Stepway.
Not setting a very high bar there. 😛
Although it seems like most of the major racing series have been a bit of a snoozefest this year. Even MotoGP and motocross, which in past years have delivered some incredible competition, are having off years in terms of competition. Here’s hoping the big names in those two series can get healthy and competitive again.
As a (very small) Lucid stockholder I can say there have been no gains for the stock in the past year. The only way this came from stock is if a bunch of options vested and this was the total amount.
Note, I wrote this before watching the latest MotoGP round, which may have re-introduced quite a bit of drama in that series.
If I lived in Europe, I will buy something small and cheap, even if its used. Public transportation is good, you can get anywhere by train, bus, scooters, a bike, etc. Something like the Chevy Bolt but in Europe… Fiat 500e?
Aixam Crossline
On a recent trip to Ireland, the rental cars were a Hyundai Tucson (6MT, Diesel) and a Seat Tarraco (also 6MT, Diesel). Neither car would be my first choice! However, it was fun to drive a manual transmission diesel SUV/Crossover, since I know damn well that can’t happen here. And though it may not be thrilling, never had the chance got pilot a Seat, so that was fun in its own right. However, I did see an Alpine over there in the proper blue… and that may have to take the cake. Sure, I have an affinity for some Peugeots and the whackier side of Citroen, the Alpine just looks irresistible.
I do not care what you do, how smart you are, or how much you are going to use that money to “reinvest back into the market”…
There is no human on this planet that is doing ANYTHING worth this much, full stop.
I know it’s “stock”, but this is super, duper, utterly bullshit that should not exist. I am upset at Lucid for making this deal. If I saw tons of these things on the road, at a price that anyone I am actually friends with driving one, then perhaps a very good pay compensation equitable with the other CEO’s in the space would be okay. But, this is just an fucking insult to us all.
The two biggest BS things that execs get that should be illegal: Bonuses tied to stock performance, and golden parachutes.
We never learn. Enron, Worldcom, WaMu…
I used to watch NASCAR pretty regularly, but barely follow it anymore. I think there’s multiple factors working in concert that have put NASCAR where it is today in comparison to where it was 20 years ago (which to be fair, is somehow still the most-watched motorsport in America by a factor of at least three).
But since you’re discussing the broadcast angle, I’ll throw my $.02 behind the fact that the races are just too long. I’m not sure in 2023 that folks want to spend 3-4 hours on a lovely Sunday watching a race, especially when F1 and even IndyCar have the good sense to get their events done in two hours or less. For about a decade I’ve held the opinion that most NASCAR races could be shortened by 100 miles (save the iconic ones) and if anything the show would improve.
Yup, NASCAR needs to take a page out of MLB and look at ways to shorten it, its more like 4-5hrs, no broadcast ends on time. If they favor streaming, what will happen when advertisers realize people only watch the last 20 mins which is last 4 laps, caution, restart 2 laps, caution, restart 2 laps…. The prior 4 hrs is pretty boring, parade precession, everyone just trying not to wreck waiting for the end when they all have a chance to win.
Seems like the stupid stages and competition yellows likely made the races even longer. I hate those things because it makes the races seem “fake” to me, but if they are making them longer too, there’s another great reason to dump the gimmicks.
This is a real issue. Back when I used to tape the races I’d find myself watching them on fast-forward when they were just making laps and slowing back down when they hit the pits or there was an accident. And God forbid they hit a rain delay…
The German automakers are in a really difficult position, although I wouldn’t necessarily say they’re as far behind as the Japanese when it comes to EVs. BMW currently sells multiple full BEVs in the abomination known as the iX, the i4, the upcoming new 5 series, and the current 7 series. Mercedes has a ton of full EVs as well. Audi is a bit behind with only the iD4 and Taycan reskins, but Audi is always behind. Their entire deal is restraint.
Something else to note is the prevalence of hybrid tech at those companies as well. Many of BMW and Mercedes’ models are mild hybrid in base form and there’s a wealth of PHEV options from both brands. There isn’t a single, solitary PHEV Lexus or Acura, and Acura doesn’t even have a single HYBRID across their entire lineup right now, at least in the States.
When it comes to the cheap stuff they’re definitely struggling though. The VW offerings seem incredibly bland and their infotainment systems are dealbreakers for a lot of buyers. VW in general seems directionless and confused at the moment and I’m starting to wonder if they’re in legitimate trouble. They went all in on technology and flashy design and skimped on everything else. I know we have some VW diehards on this site but I couldn’t in good faith recommend a single one of their products right now unless it’s offered at a significant discount.
Anyway if I’m buying a car for Europe I’m absolutely getting one of the incredible sport wagons we don’t get here. As obvious of an answer as the M3 Touring is I honestly don’t think I’d need THAT much power every day and I have a hard time reconciling buying a daily with city fuel economy in the teens in 2023. I believe Europe gets an M340i Touring as well and that would absolutely be my choice.
The mild hybrid/B58 combo offers more power than you’ll ever need and returns 4 cylinder fuel economy. So that would be my choice. If unavailable then I’d probably go with an S4 Avant for the same reasons, although Audi’s turbo V6 is far from a B58. It’s smooth as all get out but the Bimmer motor returns much better fuel economy and sounds better to boot.
But the MH in my 21 X7 X40i only raises its overall MPG by 1-3, not exactly life changing. Their MH only takes most of the accessories of the engine belt and electrifies them, directly not increasing the power, only indirectly taking load off the engine.
I don’t know what the future is of the PHEV “e” BMWs, feel like they are dead stateside and even worldwide are abandoning them. Though all the next gen M’s might be PHEVs.
Focus ST diesel wagon for me.
There isn’t a single, solitary PHEV Lexus..
Hmm.. there is the Nx450h+. They should make a lexus version of the Prius Prime, it would sell.. i guess..?
VW should just make their regular cars electric and call it a day. Maybe the new electric GTI (that I haven’ read about yet) is a step in that direction. Make an electric Jetta that looks just like a normal Jetta and is about the same price. I think automakers need to realize that they don’t need to completely reinvent their lineups, they just need to electrify them. I don’t need or want to feel like I’m driving a computer that has some weird future-y lifestyle vibes. It can just be a normal ol’ car that is electric, it’s fine.
As one of your aforementioned VW diehards, I 100% agree with you. They have really dropped the ball in the US. And I know I’ve bitched about it on here before but I will again. VW used to be a slightly more premium, but attainable brand. You got something a bit nicer than a Toyota or a Ford or whatever. Now…I mean, the GTI/GLI/R are cool and all, but they have nothing to offer the average consumer. The Jetta is bloated and dinged for a cheap feeling interior and not being as fun to drive as previous iterations. They offer three SUV/CUVs and they look identical apart from size, and I wouldn’t recommend one unless you could just get a screaming deal on it. The ID.4 is one of the most boring looking cars on the planet. The new Bus…well, they’re going to sell it eventually I suppose. And the Aerton…do they even still sell that here? I wonder why they even bothered. I see Rivians all the time but couldn’t tell you the last time I saw an Aerton.
I think there was some concern at VW about getting too close to Audi territory and since then they’ve cheapened their products considerably.
How much is it worth to you to own a car not built by slave labor and/or underpaid, overworked employees, with questionable build quality, and a guarantee that shortcuts were taken in the design?
…And which, despite Chinese propaganda, have an alarming tendency to burst into flames due to aforementioned sketchy quality and shortcuts? Chinese EVs are cheap for a reason, don’t praise them for their low price.
You know your first paragraph kinda sounds like you are talking about Ford….
Ford factory workers have a standard 40-hour work week with paid overtime. In China, most factories work on a 9-9-6 schedule – 9 AM to 9 PM, six days per week, on an average $5.51 hourly salary – assuming they are paid and there are no shenanigans, which is by no means a guarantee. Ford factory workers are paid between $16-33 per hour. In Mexico, Ford factory workers are paid about $8.25 per hour working 8 hours per day.
This isn’t me trying to make Ford look good, but Ford is an American company that has to abide by American and Mexican laws to keep things somewhat reasonable. You can debate about whether Mexican workers are paid fairly, but they are paid. And either way, I would much rather buy a Ford than anything Chinese. I would buy a lot of other things before I buy a Ford, but I trust Ford a lot more than I trust China nonetheless. Toyota>Ford>European cars>China.
Communism! The Workers’ Paradise!
Look, you have to struggle today so that your descendants 6 generations from now can live in perfect Communism. And if that doesn’t happen 6 generations from now, then they’ll just have to keep struggling because you didn’t work hard enough
Sounds a lot like capitalism in that regard.
Thanks grandpappy for killing all those Reds in the war, but we still have to sell your house to finance your end of life care. Your grandkids will have nothing left from you but memories.
Not really true, especially when you take suppliers, who make a large chunk of a vehicle, into account. Many places are working 10-12 hours a day 6-7 days a week with no overtime. Plus $16/hour is a poverty wage these days. A few generations ago a factory worker could buy a house, go on vacation, have a pension, and send their kids to college. These days most have to work multiple jobs just to make ends meet. And they are MORE productive than their grandparents who earned several times the salarys of today.
A few generations ago a US worker/Detroit had unfettered access to the EU market because it was all bombed to crap. It’s not that world anymore, and I sincerely hope we’re not there again. The 50’s were an aberration.
I like your word choice for “bombed to”. Many, including me, would have gone with shit or hell.
This is the newer gentler loudog. Besides, save the curse words for something important like commenting on the lack of manual transmissions (Our fault, tho.)
Shortcuts in design?… They don’t do the design!
The engineering designs have been copied from foreign firms, and then simplified and produced at a lower specification to save cost.
End result is the same as you say.
The EV mandates that came after the TDI Cheat Box scandal definitely are behind the EV efforts from regular automakers.
If I were in Europe buying a car, I’d do what I’ll do here: buy used. It’s a risk, but I already know there are exactly zero new cars that rack me. And plenty of older European rides do. So many great choices…can’t decide on just one. If the budget ever allows, I’ll probably pick one of the older VW Golf variants (GTI, R32, R, etc.).
As one who has enjoyed NASCAR racing since before Jeff Gordon was born, I have to say that their current TV broadcasts are horrible. I understand that they are trying to appeal to demographics that I don’t fit in, but all the hype, B.S. and NASCAR-approved story lines — they produce the broadcasts that Fox and NBC show — leave me cold. I want to watch racin’, not drama, Kit Cars fobbed off as Toyotas, Ford, and Chevies, and wrecks. The culture of both NASCAR and the networks is in dire need of major changes.
I need a backstory to make a decision! There is so many different types of Europeans! Maybe I’m a finicky French Fiddlemaker, then I’d get a Fiat Panda Cross. Or a pasta producer in the Piedmount, then a Fiat Panda Cross. Or a charming Czech chess champion, then just a Fiat Panda. Or a bastard British banker, then a Jaaaaggg XJ12.
Rawlinson getting paid that much while the company flounders really pisses me off. I believe in their product, and think they have the potential to do great things, but the stock is up a grand total of 2% this year, and down 57% over the last 12 months. How is this justified? Also, the company is failing to sell their cars, they have successfully made cars, which is great, but the demand is weak, so how is this ok? Salaries like that can sink a company, and I expect that to be the case here. I think best case scenario for Lucid at this point is that they get bought out by a bigger company who keeps making their products but can streamline production and lower prices. Hell, GM or someone could even keep selling them as Lucids, just be part of the brand portfolio and use the tech in cheaper cars. But I am far less confident now than I used to be that Lucid will succeed.
I might be misunderstanding, but as I read the article, only $7 million of his compensation was actual pay, the rest was stock gains (I assume options?).
You’re correct (I think), but because the company was “doing well,” he was given $32M worth in stock, despite the fact that from all outward appearances, the company is struggling greatly.
I frimly believe the CEOs need to get paid AFTER their plans are fulfilled. If their plans fail, they don’t get paid, if their plans do work, they get paid the big bucks. They have a great five year plan! Great, wait until AFTER that five year plan plays out to see if it works or not. The way it is now, they get the big bucks EVEN WHEN THEIR PLANS FAIL.
Signed – victim of HP due to Fiorina’s “leadership”
I very much like this idea, but boards will do everything in their control to make sure that the CEO does NOT get his payout, as it would be their fiduciary obligation to do so.
Some blend between the two ideas would be okay to me.
In theory that’s how it should work, but since corporate boards are full of CEOs from other companies, they’re happy to give away stock options and absurd pay packages because their board of CEOs will give them the same in return.
Good point, CEO nepotism at its finest.
I used to be addicted to watching Nascar, everybody knew not to ask me to do anything on Daytona weekend. The rest of the season I would watch the races live or tape them if I was busy (usually mowing the lawn) and then do my best to avoid hearing who won the race for a few days until I could watch the tape. I cut the cord back in 2001 so the days when all the races were on Fox then on NBC it was good, but then they started moving more and more races off of their OTA channels onto their cable channels. I’d try to watch them online but that was a miserable experience back then. Eventually it got so bad that more than half the season was unavailable to me and I eventually gave up.
That was almost a decade ago and now I’m so out of touch on who the drivers even are that I rarely bother. I was flipping through the channels a few weeks ago and caught a roadrace in Chicago of all places in the rain! It’s exciting to see Nascar incorporate more right turns in their line-up but not enough for me to try and get back into it.
I feel for baseball fans dealing with blackouts so whatever NASCAR does with their TV rights they need to make sure the races are available to all their viewers or they’ll lose the ones they have. Keep them OTA or offer streaming as a backup option. And if you stream, make sure the commentators are still included. The raw feed sounds great but half an hour in you miss hearing DW or Jr or even Jeff Gordon telling you why the ## car is pitting again.
Would you join me in becoming an Xfinity fan in 2025 when all the races are on the CW?
Is CW OTA? I’m a Winston Cup fan for life. I even have a pic to prove it, standing in a Winston tent holding a replica Cup trophy at Daytona, where they nicely gave me a free carton on exit….. ah the good old days. The only acceptable alternative name for the series is just call it the “Cup”.
Technically, yes, depending on your market. In Houston they’re OTA but they’re also the weakest of the channels where I live so I guess the answer is “barely“.
CW is OTA in some markets.
Is it only Xfinity series moving to CW? What about the cup series? Anyways, if all the races actually are on CW and not pushed off to one of their “sister” channels on cable, then maybe. (Not sure if CW actually has any cable only channels like Fox and NBC do.) But what if I join back in and get all invested in the series again only to have the rights moved again next year? This is what Nascar needs to sort out.
But like I said, it’s been years so all the drivers I used to know and follow are retired now. The only two I seem to know anymore are the Busch brothers and I heard Kurt is retiring. I still like Kyle though, he’s the closest thing we have to an Earnhardt on the track anymore.
The Germans have been building all sorts of excellent affordable cars forever, so I have no doubt they can compete in affordable EVs if they choose. But just like all those downmarket gems they currently produce, none of them will be sold here because they don’t care about that part of the US market any longer. They’ll push to compete with Tesla (and China) in Europe and other parts of the world where they sell cheaper rides, but we’ll never see them.
If China continues on its political isolation and antagonization of the west, their cars will not be a threat in the US or Europe long term. China is also facing extreme economic pressures right now and an impending population bomb which will affect it’s manufacturing ability. Also, what China promises is often far from what it delivers. I think we will need to wait and see, but everyone has been saying China was going to dominate the car market for years, and it has not happened yet.
“If you’re in Europe, what did you buy?”
I’ve never been to Europe but I did once buy a car there based on nothing more than this photo and a brief description, then had it shipped to me. Does that count?
https://live.staticflickr.com/1458/26018582300_ea68889f4c_c.jpg
I’m using it as a parts car, so maybe it shouldn’t count.
I actually saw one last Friday over at the local tyre shop ! Didn’t know what it was and found out. It had been bought by a local car addict who also has a burger restaurant in an old Saab garage … fascinating microcar! Which engine is in yours ?
That’s delightful! Where was this? I’d be interested in seeing whether there are any photos of it out there.
Both of mine have the 125cc engine. It’s not clear that KV/KVS was entirely consistent in this but the Mini 1 and Mini 2 have the larger engine whereas the Gad’Jet has the 50cc engine in the same body (although there are earlier and later versions of the body as well, along with a wagon). The Gad’Jet also lacks the marque’s otherwise distinctive grindstone-capstan drive and is instead entirely conventional. Well, relatively conventional:
https://live.staticflickr.com/2858/12958224795_4ea779ca23_o.jpg
Hi Mike, that was in Haasrode, Belgium. The KVS came out of France but was for sale in Belgium. I dug up my old Flickr account for the photos, hope the link to the album works: https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjATKzv.
Thanks! This is the nicer of my two:
https://www.motortrend.com/news/1980-kv-mini-1-design-analysis/
thanks, learnt a lot more about these now ! The friction wheels are amazing.
The Reds game that was only on Apple TV+ made me irrationally angry that I had to sign up for a free trial to watch it. The broadcast was also terrible, but not nearly as bad as having to pay money to watch the 24 hours of Daytona on Peacock and having to sit through the same 5 commercials again and again and again. If I have to pay for your subscription to watch a thing there had better not be any ads, because then all I feel like is that I’m paying money to watch commercials.
Don’t even get me started on Motor Trend getting exclusive rights to broadcast the 24 Hours of Le Mans in America, they can get fucked.
LOL, yeah paying for a sub and then getting ads sucks, on Paramount+ the unskippable ads of the latest episodes of some other stuff on the network, Surely NASCAR will screw up the whole thing, is CW and OTA network, if not then its already a bad idea? The 24 LM pissed me off until I found constant live streams on YT.
Traditional TV & streaming are massively screwed up and the old school networks are bleeding money plus can’t retain subscribers, their solution raise the price. Can’t imagine the outrageous price greedy NASCAR is gonna charge for streaming, and you know its still gonna be loaded with ads. The Xfinity pass of the hour during the Ford stage 1 brought to you by Verizon with our lead Valvoline analyst sipping on a Coke while downing some Viagra.
We’re going non-stop coverage by putting the race in a small window in the upper right hand corner on mute while there’s a 10 minute commercial break and when we come back it’ll be for the last lap of the first stage when we’ll take another break while you go grab yourself an ice cold and refreshing Coke Zero Sugar, Coke Zero Sugar try it now with a nice hot slice of Papa John’s Cheeseburger Pizza available for a limited time.
Yes, that sort of shit is the worst.
Overall I kind of like Peacock, it’s nice to have a hub for your favorite racing series, but they need to do better on the actual race coverage. I watch a lot of IndyCar there, but if you watch on Peacock you don’t even get the picture in picture during commercials. If you are watching a big race like Daytona or the Indy 500, the relentless assault of commercials makes it borderline unwatchable. I love the uninterrupted race coverage of F1 on ESPN, thanks Mother’s Polish and Wax!
This will shock some people I suspect, but if I lived in Europe (again), I’d probably buy a Tesla Model S.
Crazy to think about, but it honestly makes sense.
-Between gas, displacement taxes, etc Europe is extremely unfriendly toward the type of cars and trucks I like to drive anyways. To register even my 10 year old Viper in Belgium is more than 5000 euros annually, and if a new one were somehow sold, it would be 13,000 to register and 10,000 annually.
-Europe is geographically small enough that 350 miles of range is probably enough if you live fairly centrally, especially because….
-Far fewer extremes of heat and cold mean range is more reliable.
-There are limited opportunities to buy American-made cars in Europe and I like to support the home team, even when away.
You feeling ok today? or was this account hacked?
Since he’s clearly been kidnapped we have to scour the post to figure out where he’s being held…
I’m not anti-EV.
I’m extremely anti-EV mandate, and I’m utterly unwilling to buy one that doesn’t meet my requirement to be capable of road tripping in the US Midwest or to replace the towing/hauling I do with my truck.
If I lived in Europe, my road trips would be much shorter, would be done in much better weather, and I presumably wouldn’t own acres and a barn and project cars and need a truck like I do now.
All that said, I lived in Europe when I was younger, and while it has many wonderful places to visit, it is not a place I’d ever want to live again.
If I had to buy a car in Europe, it would be a Lotus Elise, assuming I didn’t need room for additional passengers or storage beyond its carrying capacity.
I predict the Chinese will not only beat ze Germans’ offerings in terms of purchase price when it comes to the electric car market, but will greatly beat them in reliability and reparability. The entire market is China’s for the taking because the other manufacturers did not focus on affordable long-range vehicles and also made their offerings with planned obsolescence in mind.
A lot of folks accuse automakers of planned obsolescence, but the reality is it’s almost always “engineered to last through the warranty for the lowest possible cost” instead of “engineered to fail after the warranty.” Huge difference in intent.
The CLA concept is styled after the face of a Mercedes executive who was told they have to green light cheaper EVs.
Given Europe doesn’t get the V6 in the G70 Shooting Brake, I’d have to go M3 Touring. Current BMW design issues aside, it will likely be the last true ICE only performance long roof with a stick, and if that isn’t special, I don’t know that is.
The M3 Touring isn’t available with a manual.
Well now I’m just disappointed all over again, thanks BMW