balthazar

I have no idea what BMW or mercedes stands for. I want to say 'luxury' but their respective dives into cheap FWD appliances shatters that definition.

^ Unsupportable supposition ($12/hr).

If daimler considers it healthy’, why dump 15,000 employees? And you forget dieselgate costs, which are still ongoing. Further, mercedes have higher annual maintenance & repair costs than any other brand, with translates to ever-higher warranty costs by the company.

They cleaned this up in TWELVE HOURS?? 25 derailed & tangled cars also spilling into the roadway below? What has happened to work crews in recent years?

That's pretty much your only option, apart from cutting/welding. My '04 is rusting there, tho it has factory flares and the rust hasn't come out from behind them yet. I don't mind really, as it has 197,000 miles on it.

Don't forget- they're also letting go of 15,000 employees to cut costs. Those cut costs are sure to show up in the next refreshes. The problem is, it's incredibly dated. They're still sticking with the early 2000's ML design language. They need to get competitive in design because it's mad stale.

Buyers see horsepower numbers- they don't race these. Power sells, mercedes is behind the times. For $76K, it should have a lot more base HP. Escalade V is coming, it will take the "segment leader" SUV and elevate it even more. I think mercedes should make a GLS designed in this millenium, with the powertrain from the cancelled AMG One, and advertise it as the most powerful Daimler vehicle ever. Even if it isn't any good.

Would be awesome just like that, with a CT6-V powertrain.

The bulk of gls sales are probably the cheapest 362 HP version, pretty far down from 420. GLS should start at 500 HP, and offer a 700 HP version. Their power ratings are behind the times. The Escalade 'V' is rumored to have over 600 HP, and it's coming. But what I want to see is how quickly the MB/BMW/Audi triplets copy the Escalade interior.

Wait.... now you’re NOT talking about sales??

Ahhh; you were only talking about the SALES leader. Meh- who cares about that; no one who buys a given SUV in Septermber-March either knows or cares how the sales numbers may be ticking up.

^ Doesn't post much there, but he checks in seemingly once a day. I hardly ever post on my own page - don't think it's even once/mnth.

I'll take that bet- how much?

^ LOL: you said BMW was the large SUV segment leader! Hahahahahaha!

Just asked her: she said it operates on full electric at very slow crawl speeds: in & out of garage, or stop-n-go in city traffic. Not often. EDIT :: Just read that her car is among a bunch of toyoters up for a recall to replace the entire engine. "Toyoter - a billion recalled and still counting!"

Yet it comes up the uphill driveway, turn the 90-degrees to enter the garage, stops as the door finishes going up, engine stops. Then it rolls forward under what is obviously electric-only power (no engine noise). Seems a strange system.

One of my current cutomers has a toyoter highlander hybrid. I've been able to observe it a handful of times, either starting & leaving the garage, or coming up the driveway and entering the garage. It draws MORE attention to it via the cacophony of noises it makes than if it were either IC or BE; the electric/drivetrain whines as it creeps, there's some sort of brief mechanical noise (solenoids?) right before the starter kicks in and the IC engine starts. And that powertrain whine is quite loud. I guess; I could not find online if/how much it is rated to go on pure B power. Maybe it doesn't work that way, and just uses the B in very limited conditions rather than in steady intervals. Not that toyoters are known to be either refined or quiet...

Kinda humorous; Jag should have ZERO issue suppling batts for the US market- they’re only selling 217 i-paces a month. ? I note that EV makers are more commonly stating GLOBAL sales vs. the individual market the report is being issued in. #bolsterthenumbers

^ You've made your opinion on the SIlverado abundantly clear (in case you were wondering).

Undoubtedly talking about their access to a pool of trucks, not that they had that many on one lot.

It turns my head (toward it, not away). Tho the Ram is the 'soft / safe' design, I still rank the Silverado 1500 above the F-150 (not that the F-150 is bad). It's got a 'bulldog' look to it; not beautiful per say, but tough. Some folk love their bulldogs and find them immensely cute. The tundra & titan are just generic & old-looking; the titan looks every bit of 20 yrs old. Unappealing vanilla.

Quaint.