USA-1

Eh, you're Canadian we can't take you guys seriously 🤔😄

Blink Network, one of the largest EVSE networks in the country that's owned by Car Charging Group, Inc. out of Miami Beach, FL is based right here in Phoenix, there's an over saturation of charging stations and many don't get used, but there's plenty of support and infrastructure for EV's here. Ecotality/Blink Network that went bankrupt in 2013 was purchased by CCGI for $3.3M in the same year. Ecotality was one of the original EVSE manufacturer/networks that teamed up with ChargePoint and AeroVironment on the U.S. DOE EVSE project officially named "The EV Project" that was part of the AR&R Act of 2009 with a huge $99.9M investment by the DOE to get a Level 2 and Level 3 charging station infrastructure installed in 7 states that makes up 15,000 units. I was just at the grocery store that has two operational Blink units and no cars were charging, and they hardly ever are anymore, but several ICE vehicles in the parking lot. So there's plenty of support here just no real public interest, yes I see a Model S and Model 3 here and there and a Bolt once in a while, but just no real wide spread interest. Part of the problem with the lack of interest is the Summer heat here in the beautiful Sonoran Desert that wears heavy on the batteries which also quickly kills the EV range. That will always be an issue here as well as in the super cold Winters of the Midwest and far NE of the U.S. A standard car battery that lasts 5 or 6 years in the NW only lasts about 3 years here in the Sonoran and the Li ion batteries feel it and get pretty hot when charging or discharging, hence the reason for on-board liquid cooling systems in the EV's, but sometimes it's just not enough or cheap models like the new Nissan Leaf still doesn't have liquid cooling for the batteries, which is absurd. All of this is why I say the ICE will live on for at least another 25 or 30 years and maybe even longer depending on consumers, if they sell the auto industry will build them. EVSE companies are kind of like the Solar Industry, very dependent on the U.S. government or private investment groups to try to make it. It's hard to make any real revenue on the network fees to even cover the electricity usage on the EVSE, we used to barely break even on the network fees even after we put together new contracts for the network after the Blink bankruptcy and subsequent purchase in 2013. There are several solar panels on houses everywhere here, but somehow the solar companies seem to end up bankrupt, Solyndra comes to mind. I'm just glad I got out when I did I know people who are still there and nothing has changed, they were designing a new commercial charging station that was shelved years ago and all of the EVSE companies still struggle to gain private funding.

That doesn't mean they don't compare or compete with Cadillac, that was the whole point of the Mercedes/Cadillac discussion with ccap41. Like Drew stated GM has the whole portfolio that Cadillac doesn't need, so one particular brand like Mercedes will look overloaded with more models. MB does have cheaper models like GM as well.

It's because people bitched about the V Series being too aggressive or having too much hp (is there such a thing?) so they added the V Blackwing as the top V version to keep the V Series nomenclature. Blackwing is a perfect performance version name harking back to the black merlettes on the Cadillac crest, great idea really. You can't really say Mercedes isn't all over the place right now either man, far too many models and they know they need to cut several and are in the process of doing so.

Yeah V-Sport was a fill-in for those who couldn't handle the real horsepower of an actual V-Series. Now V-Sport is V-Series and V-Series Blackwing is the high performance version.

Oh I know the German marques build solid, good quality cars with a pretty good fit and finish, but they do compare well to Cadillac. My parents had a couple of different BMW 540i's back in the day that I helped them pick out and they are great cars, but they choose Cadillac now for their also solid build and excellent fit and finish with the CTS and Escalade and they're a long standing American company where the big money on a purchase stays here at home. Escalade V would be awesome and one of my buddies at Earnhardt Caddy tells me it's in the works with a 500+ hp TTV8.

The ATS Coupe looked badass too. I think it comes down to marketing or lack there of and the perception of having a three point star or a crest that once had black merlettes on the grille. Speaking of that I can't wait for the Blackwing CT6-V to start rolling out next month, gonna be a beast. I have a house in N Phx bordering N Scottsdale near Tatum Blvd. and you do see them of course, but not as many as you'd think, was my point.

I have to say I missed this forum where car guys from all over the country be it AZ, MO, NJ, OH, PA, WA and others can can voice our opinions on what we love...CARS. Couldn't have done this 20 or 25 years ago!

Cadillac had the ATS Coupe just last year before it was replaced by the CT4 and a coupe is on the way for either the CT4 or CT5. I hardly ever see a convertible Mercedes even here in Phoenix and you can still see the hardtop gaps to know it's a conv. so that's another one of their (too many models) they need to cancel as it doesn't sell and wagons don't sell well here at all although the second gen. CTS Wagon was pretty sweet in V Series form.

You said they don't compare, which they definitely do. Both are long standing luxury marques, both build sedans and coupes with standard and performance versions and SUV's/CUV's although nothing Mercedes builds can touch the Escalade and probably never will. Lets check the Recall list for both as well. So tell me what edge you think Mercedes has on Cadillac, I'm intrigued.

Have you driven a newer Cadillac? I have owned a 2013 CTS Coupe that I bought in 2015 and it was a great car that was quick and handled very well and definitely compared to a Mercedes at the time. 2008 was a huge jump in quality and performance for Cadillac with the second gen. CTS then CTS-V in 2009 and 2014 and newer Cadillac's are on par or better in some ways than Mercedes. Mercedes is another manf. resting on their laurels, the quality and reliability has taken a big hit. I have a neighbor who is a mechanic for a local MB dealer and he says they are buried back in the shop with recalls and other repairs. MB QC dept. is scrambling at the moment. Now to compare a Lincoln to a Mercedes? Yes, you're right Mercedes whoops them.

Have you driven a newer Cadillac? I have owned a 2013 CTS Coupe that I bought in 2015 and it was a great car that was quick and handled very well and definitely compared to a Mercedes at the time. 2008 was a huge jump in quality and performance for Cadillac with the second gen. CTS then CTS-V in 2009 and 2014 and newer Cadillac's are on par or better in some ways than Mercedes. Mercedes is another manf. resting on their laurels, the quality and reliability has taken a big hit. I have a neighbor who is a mechanic for a local MB dealer and he says they are buried back in the shop with recalls and other repairs. MB QC dept. is scrambling at the moment. Now to compare a Lincoln to a Mercedes? Yes, you're right Mercedes whoops them.

"Can you smell what The Rock is cooking?!!!"

@dfelt Also, the Chevy Cruze and the Volt were built on the same platform so comparing the time from ICE to EV with Horse and Buggy to ICE is not even close to the same.

I've worked directly in the EVSE industry just 4 years ago and the industry thought that we would be much further in on the EV. Industry analyst's and the auto manufacturers predicted 10+% by 2020 and we are only just over 2% of cars out there being EV's as of the end of 2018 with it really hatching in 2011 with the Volt and Leaf. ICE vehicles will be around well into the foreseeable future. I know baby boomers like my parents, aunts and uncles are not ready for them to go away and move to an EV.

I just got a good laugh out of you comparing the change from Horse and Buggy to ICE and ICE to EV, that's a stretch man. Like I stated above I've worked right in the middle of the EV and EVSE industry just 4 years ago and talked directly with consumers and companies about EV charging stations. It has taken MUCH longer for the industry to move from ICE to full EV's than industry analysts or the auto manufacturers thought. In 2015 they were saying that more than 10% of the cars out there would be EV by 2020 and as of 2018 it's only just over 2%. Battery tech has made great strides, but for consumers to grasp the change we definitely still have a lot of catching up to do with regards to charging times and we still need a lot more EVSE infrastructure to go in to handle the EV cars that will be out there. I actually had a Volt to drive as a company car and it had pretty impressive performance and I really liked the EREV setup over the pure EV like the Leafs we also had. If you're low on a charge you just went to the gas station to fill up the 9 gal tank and you were on your way with 250 instant miles of driving in less than 5 min. if on a trip or even on the way home. The best scenario for the most range was, if on the Hwy/Fwy Hold mode ran the I4 gas engine that would spin the generator to run the traction motors or if in the city Tour or Sport mode would run the motors with just the batteries, when at Hwy speed the batteries would deplete rather quickly so the gas engine had the better range than the batteries, I was averaging 51 mpg combined when I gave it back. I wish GM would have stuck with the Voltec platform as an option it really is the best of both worlds, but they never marketed the Volt very well at all. The Bolt has pretty good range for the money, but it's too small for people like me (6'3") but still better looking than the fugly Prius.

Exactly right. I know for a fact that GM (as well as other manufacturers I would hope) always has more range left in the packs, but electronically limits it to either have more available in new MY vehicles to woo the consumer or to release more in a specific vehicle as other battery cells start to die. So there's no new cost in it for them, the consumer already paid for it when they bought the car. Same story for ICE vehicles of course.

Battery costs have already come down from even just 5 years ago with latest tech. in the chemical compositions, so it really comes down to the precious metals in the Li-ion cells and traction motors. Cadillac has already announced back in January that they will have an EV flagship SUV on the new GM BEV3 architecture within the next 3 or 4 years , but they know the cash cow ICE models like Escalade sell too well to walk away entirely anytime soon. The future of the automobile will be very interesting for sure.

New GM commercial possibly? That's definitely DT Seattle! I grew up in rural Oregon that's now wine country.

Insanity apparently still running rampant at Daimler Benz. I think there's going to be a solid place for the ICE far into the future, at least 25 or 30 years, running alongside with the EV of course. I've worked in the EVSE industry for Blink here in AZ and it's been a very slow adoption for the masses. Battery tech. is getting better and charge times are down, but the harder you slam the batteries with high power like a Level 3 station or a very high amperage Level 2, it dramatically reduces the battery life and causes a lot of heat that needs to be controlled to protect the batteries. ICE in the U.S. are very clean running now days and if there's any glitch in the catalyst the OBD-II throws a code and lights up your dash so it's pretty well controlled.

Sounds like GM has plans for their own dedicated EV plant or possible battery plant with Lordstown since the deal with Workhorse fell through or was never really close.

I'll go to my local junk yard to see.

Before Rivian is really even established? Will the Normal, IL plant have enough capacity? Maybe Ford will lease them an old car plant since their cars are all gone or on the way out. Part of new agreement between them maybe? Electric truck for a manf. plant.

It's a Kia you guys, they don't hold up. They always steal styling inside and out from other makes and models. Mini Escalade or old SRX wagon look and Cadillac vertical taillights, really Kia? Some Audi and BMW cues here and there as well. I agree with others, ugly on the road and not going to age well.

Slacker UAW union workers is what has happened, no pride in workmanship even though generously paid by GM.