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My grandfather had an '82 Olds 98 Regency Brougham sedan, Light Redwood Metallic body with Autumn Red vinyl roof, and the Redwood velour interior (looking at the sales brochure). Couldn't get situated between the seat belts; stayed pressed up against the door, only one cheek on the seat, face against the glass.

And again, the Maybach is vaporware while the Hummer is actually real at this point and will be far more off-road capable than that gussied up Benz. Again, apples to off road oranges. And regarding the Maybach concept EV, Lincoln called. They want their 2015 MKX back. While I am sure the interior will be pure luxury (better be for its price), that exterior is derivative s*** and not even the biggest Benz fanboy will convince me otherwise.

^that's just someones photoshop daydreaming. I suspect the Charger will be unchanged for some time until a replacement is announced. No changes for 2022 that I've read.

Happy Labor Day to Everyone here. May it be a safe, healthy and relaxing day off for you and your loved ones.

Bunch of first tomorrow….son’s first day at a new school- and the first day at my new Job. Going to be a busy day! Also working on getting the cars ready for winter. I say that knowing we have a chance for bad storms tomorrow. At least two of my rides are an oil change from being done…..

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand... we're back to determining 'competitors' by overall length. Spinning those Golden Oldies!!

I have been told that I can be fairly random.

Ever notice how close the two words 'velour' and 'Velcro' are? ? ? I have to be able to move, and those seats grip you like sandpaper. I almost can't believe they built cars like this.

Thinking about @balthazar ... ... not really. - - - - - (saw this the other day)

Had to go down to a customer's house today - they got minor water intrusion Friday. They're away, I've been emptying dehumidifiers, was vacuuming, etc, hoping the circa 1400 SF of basement carpet can stay. They live in a huge house (6200 SF) at the end of a street, woods all around (except 1 house across the street). Tons of boulders in the area, and within their semi-circular drive, they have some low areas and some monster boulders, nice & rounded/irregular. I had pitched an idea last year (kinda jokingly) about creating a water feature there, with water spilling over/down the largest rock, and making a lined pond at the base, with a wooden bridge spanning it. Walking paths, planted beds, could be really cool. So the weather is so gorgeous today, my schedule wasn't pressing, and I was walking around the front yard/boulders, sometimes waving my hands at imaginary vistas, daydreaming in the breezy silence. Then I remembered they have a Ring doorbell, watching me spacing out.

Sounds like a (insert medical condition here) medication.

Ya gotta wonder what the eff people in the middle ages were thinking with the original art work here... This is brilliant... Creative comic... Believe in yourself...

Dodge has been lucky enough that from Fiat's ownership they have been left alone to manage their (limited) portfolio as how they see fit. Marchionne was at least smart enough to acknowledge that Dodge's engineers, marketing people and designers knew what American people wanted from this brand and let them free to allow Dodge to become what it is today in 2021. Dodge folk grew the Hemi into a 2nd iteration Superbee, Scat Pack, Hellcat, Demon, Red Eye with 392s and supercharged 6.2s. The SRT brand also grew with Fiat. Fiat allowed Dodge to do this. Fiat did not stifle Dodge the way Daimler did. I think Stellantis will allow this way to continue on. SRT engineers have been given the task to introduce and lead Dodge into the EV era and are welcomed to evolve Dodge and the SRT brand into EV 'muscle cars'. Not only that, SRT engineers have a bigger role to play within Stellantis itself! https://www.autoweek.com/news/sports-cars/a36135002/heres-whats-really-going-on-at-srt/ https://www.motortrend.com/news/stellantis-srt-future/ Although the title is misleading...it says that Stellantis disbands the SRT team. Its far from disbanding it. The first link, Kuniskis expalins that because battery packs and KW/H and the various platforms that Stellantis will be giving Dodge, the SRT team, working with the other Stellantis engieering teams will have to work closely together with the base cars to accomplish SRT things with the SRT cars for Dodge so its logical that the SRT engineers will work side to side with the other engineers to ensure that the SRT cars will be able to be engineered properly as SRT cars. If what Kuniskis says is true, Stellantis shows that they have deep respect for SRT engineers and Dodge in general. If its false, then SRT engineers are just absorbed into Stellantis for the greater good of the multi-branded corporation and Dodge will lose its carefully crafted identity they had built the last 12-13-14 years.

Hopefully Stellantis doesn't F' up a next gen- Dodge buyers are traditionalists, it's what the brand centered on. Too far a leap sideways and there goes the customer base.

Yeah...so. With the arrival of the new Mercedes EV things, its safe to say....that...Mercedes EVs will NOT destroy Tesla. (Because they are ugly things. They look more dated than Tesla's vehicles..) Thread back on topic BTW.

Why on Earth did Daimler design all these BE mercedes' as giant, fat, pregnant guppies?? The EQE is a huge slug! You have hopeful photochoppers designing things all aggressive and slick, then Daimler drops this sort of rotten egg on the market :

First off, pointless comparison as the EQE is identical in size to the Tesla Model S. That is the Model S competitor, Tesla doesn’t have an EQS competitor, maybe they should build a full size luxury car, although they have other more urgent needs. Mercedes does have catch up to do, but they are on a mission. They released 3 new EV’s today (GLB, EQS AMG, and EQE) and near production ready concept electric G-wagen and Maybach SUV. 5 new EV’s in one day, plus a promise of EQE and EQS SUVs for next year. They are coming for Tesla. A Maybach is way more money than a Hummer, also that Hummer interior isn’t that nice. Where I think GM could do well is doing a midsize suv that is off road focused and EV that takes inspiration from the Hummer, but it half the cost and they can sell Chevy and GMC versions. So when you have people interested in a Hummer but don’t have $100k or don’t want a vehicle that big they have an easy transition to a sale.

@David There is always room for one more. Make it four. The more the merrier. Greece. Italy. And now we are off to Germany. Oktoberfest is just around the corner!!! Literally!!! We could stay long enough after Oktoberfest to actually ski here!

I have a question: what EV should Tesla worry about the most? The expensive ones from Mercedes or BMW? Or a truly affordable EV for under $25K?

I had bookmarked a few things after this post and looking for info on these small displacement Pontiac V8s. First, I found this. A very cool 1982 Pontiac Grand Prix Brougham for sale up in Canada. Check out the full exhibit of photos. It's a Brougham that has manual windows and no A/C. I guess they wanted the interior but not the typical Brougham options. It can be hot and dry on the inland Canadian prairie. It says 4.4 V8, but we know it would be a 4.3. https://www.adrenalinmotors.ca/vehicles/776/1982-pontiac-grand-prix-brougham Then I pulled up an article on "the forgotten V8" - the 265. The article and the many comments said a lot about this engine and small V8s in that era. It's all fairly interesting ... at least to me. https://www.curbsideclassic.com/blog/the-almost-forgotten-engine-1980-1981-pontiac-265-cid-4-3l-v8-why-did-they-bother/ The article claims to have the ONLY photo on the internet of this engine ... super clean engine bay, nice layout with the distributor in the back, and an expected smaller air cleaner assembly. First, the effort was part CAFE and part marketing. The CAFE gain might have been 1 mpg, but that moves the dial in the right direction. The marketing is that people who didn't want to give up a V8 could have a V8, save "some" gas. Buick was going to move buyers to a V6 (the 231) and some folks didn't want that. Note that 3 divisions of GM had a "baby V8," with Pontiac coming in last, chronologically, with this smaller engine (after Olds and Chevy). Buick was focused on the 231 V6 and did not bother with making a smaller V8. (I think Buick including "even firing" on the 231 at its reintroduction would have gotten them more buyers, seeing how well this engine sold later.) However, in their line up, Buick offered the 260 in some cars (Skylarks) and the 265 in others (Regal, Century, and possibly the smaller, less trimmed out full-sizes). This undertaking would not have been a Cadillac thing ... they didn't make one, either. People say some interesting things in the comments. In one post by a guy named Larry, he said that the smaller Pontiac V8, specifically the 301, was better than Chevy's 305, and it was a political thing inside GM because the Chevy one was cheaper to build. I'll buy both of those claims. Most said that the small V8s were extremely durable - "smooth as butter" - if less power than what's typical in a V8 was acceptable. But the acceleration off the line in everyday driving was fine. It's that they petered out toward the top end. This Pontiac "baby V8" actually made a whopping 10 hp more than the one by Olds and Chevy! We've had one of these small V8s in the family and it was the Olds 260. Our neighbors also had an Olds 260. "Smooth as butter" definitely applies. And, @balthazar I do like it because it's serviceable and durable, as you say. None of these engines bring home the bacon when it comes to some of the steep grades a person might encounter in the West. However, the torque output of a "baby V8" is superior to that of a GM inline 6 or V6 of that era, having been in cars with both of those climbing up the Grapevine (~ 500 ft. to 4,100 ft.) What might have been so appealing about these engines is their quiet operation when accelerating, being revved while in park, or when idling because less cubic inches probably had a different breathing set-up than a 5.7 liter type powerplant. People did mention that these small V8s were still too much for the plagued THM 200, and did better with a larger transmission behind them. Also, I'm thinking the drivability would have been even better if these were outfitted with rudimentary TBI instead of a carburetor, with 10 or 20 more hp. But, over 10 years later, one could have their cake and eat it, too. The '94 to '96 only Chevy 4.3 V8 with TBI made 200 horses and they last and last.

All the Germans will have big line ups of EV's, Genesis is going all EV too. So question will become can Tesla keep up with introducing new product, new models, new body styles, new interiors, etc. The Model S has had basically 2 mid-cycle refreshes in nearly 10 years, nothing done with the Model 3 since launch. The Germans usually do an all new model every 7 years with a refresh halfway through. Look at how slow Tesla is to get new product out now, I don't think they'll be able to keep up with how often the competition can pump out new models.

Awesome! @smk4565 We agree on something...that Mercedes and its EVs will NOT destroy Tesla. Thread once again back on track!

I think the exterior is pretty meh, they missed on the exterior as the E-class and S-class look far better than the electric cars, why would I pay more for an uglier car? Interior of the EQE looks awesome, they nailed that. Problem is they are designing these EV's by wind tunnel, they need to sacrifice 10 miles of range in the name of styling.

@trinacriabob I wanna know how in the world did you dredge up her name and memory all of a sudden like that? I hadnt heard a peep of her since her 1990s racist incidents. I had long since forgotten she existed until you brought her up. LOL

Haha. Good one. Much like when I was once looking at a map of Mexico and saw the city Merida. Now, I don't know if Merida is a nice, safe place ... or it's not. However, a quick scramble of the letters makes it "mierda." Got it. On those seats, with all the pleats, moving around could be challenging. They look more suited to a parlor in a chateau in France. But I think a French chateau would keep it classier, with a "c." However, regular Brougham seating on my Cutlass Supreme was easy to move around on and provided the most comfort on long road trips than any car I've owned. That horizontal bolster landing near the shoulders - right above the pillow type part of the seat - also helped.

"Taking Stellantis is not without side effects. Depending on the specific dosage, you may have increased interest in off roading, drag racing, or street racing. Please see your doctor if you have experience any of these side effects while taking Stellantis.."

Anything I say about the lady will get me permanantly banned by Drew so....Fried Chicken. I had Popeyes Fried Chicken for lunch. side of mashed potatoes, side of Mac and Cheese. 5 piece Tenders, spicy. Although Hot Chicken Takeover is a locally owned fried chicken place with much better food. Drew, thanks for not banning me for my thought crimes against this woman. Regards, Christopher/Horse/Stang/Proud Ranger Owner.... Funny, I just ate at a new mediteranian restauraunt and thought of you.

Totally agree, I doubt we will see any real big change other than minor tweaks as they let the ICE version just run out as all the R&D are focused on an electric Charger and Challenger to rip up the planet. I wonder if any of the concepts they had done in the past will show up in future or it it will be a clean sheet design. Clearly they have some functional awd concepts that we will see soon. Makes me think they have gone old school on the design.

Worse, all the EQE proves on the outside, is that Benz is perfectly capable of designing a slightly uglier Toyota Corolla. The front fender panels are an utter disaster as well but hey, the "best or nothing" lol! First off. You are wrong. Publications sure have no problem comparing the EQS to the Model S. https://www.motortrend.com/news/2022-mercedes-benz-eqs-vs-tesla-model-s-specs/ https://www.forbes.com/sites/jamesmorris/2021/04/16/can-mercedess-eqs-really-challenge-teslas-model-s/?sh=395aaafd78db Care to explain why even Mercedes Blog is comparing the two? https://mercedesblog.com/first-comparison-mercedes-eqs-vs-tesla-model-s/ And let me correct one sentence for you. You said, "5 new EV’s in one day, plus a promise of EQE and EQS SUVs for next year." They did not release five new EVs in day. They merely announced, or promised, five new EVs. Stop the pointless hyperbole and hype already.

Being it's the same base photograph, seems safe to say it's an artist's guess. A bit over-the-top for me, and I agree on the front end.

Interesting read if you want to read or you can watch a video. Refreshed Tesla Model S Vs Mercedes-Benz EQS: Comparison (insideevs.com) So based on @smk4565 thoughts about being the world leader in Luxury auto's, then how does one explain that the real BEV Luxury company based on price is Tesla with 79% market share at this point in 2021 globally. https://electrek.co/2021/08/24/tesla-leads-ev-sales-double-us/ Mercedes is clearly playing catch up, clearly following and clearly not the leading luxury maker. Based on Prices, the upcoming Hummer by GMC Truck and SUV could make them the ultimate luxury maker of BEV considering price point puts them on par with Maybach trim packages. So GM becomes the leading Luxury maker then since both the Truck and SUV are sold out for the next 2 years. That is one thing we HAVE NOT SEEN with the EQS.

I am inviting myself as I always wanted to visit those places as a tourist and not on business. Looks Awesome!

This table is waiting for us TC Bob! Any Island, Greece! We could feast on any Greek food we choose, whether it be lamb or grilled octopus and fried calamari. We take in the sun and the beach and respect our internet friendship! Yamas! PS: The following year, we could visit Italia Any Place, Italia!!! Salute!

Random thoughts for this Saturday: 1. I am almost disgusted by how many people in my area do NOT recycle. All those boxes for their endless Amazon Prime packages are in the trash instead of the recycle bin. 2. I like Greek festivals, and ethnic festivals in general. I just picked up a lamb gyro along with desserts (1 baklava and 1 galatapoureko). When you go to these festivals, the a la carte pricing can add up. I wish they offered combo dishes. But then, there's no sales tax, tipping is optional, and it goes to support the efforts of small non-profit organizations that mean a lot to their members, so I roll with it.

A klass act, with a "k" Now that I have your attention ...

It is. But they're still competitive and still siblings. And one can still be better and play in the same price tiers (again: competition). Why is GMC competing with Chevrolet? Every brand should compete with every other brand, irregardless of the parent company. Imagine if GM executives had said 'We have the GTO, so it's a 'hard no' to the 442, the GS400 and the SS396." Again- it comes right back to you contention; more models, more revenue, more profit, right? Or...... let's have a conversation about cutting MB's SUV line down to a 'more proper' 3 or 4 models.

Publications compared EQS and Tesla Model S, because for a month or 2 the EQS was the only EV Mercedes. Tesla Model S dimensions: 196" L x 77" W x 57" H wheelbase 116.5" base price $69,000 Now which of these 2 cars is closer to the Model S: EQS dimensions: 207" L x 83.6" W x 60" H wheelbase 126.4". est base price $124,000 EQE dimensions: 196.6" L x 77" W x 59" H wheelbase 122.9" est base price $65,000 EQS AMG, EQE, EQB all released in production trim, on sale in 2022. EQG and Maybach EQ-SUV concept shown, but those are 90% of the way to production, those are 2023 models with the standard EQS SUV and EQE SUV, and AMG version of the EQE, supposed to be a Maybach EQS also. By the end of calendar year 2023 Mercedes will have more EV's than Tesla. They might not outsell Tesla, but they are going to have more models.