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Heavyweight.
Thanks to Autoweek, we now know that the new MB G-Wagon will tip the scales at 6801 pounds. Peter's initial guess at 7500 pounds missed by a tad, but not so fast: Buyers of any vehicle over $200,000 are going to be pretty demanding, and in the case of EVs, that includes range. It would be wise to wait for the inevitable boost to the initial 116-kWh battery pack until we really know just how heavy this thing is.
TS
Austin, Texas
Too harsh.
I'm probably your only reader who would ask this, but is it possible you were a little harsh in your assessment of "the politicians" as completely unfamiliar with reality? Could it be that they just really want to do something (or at least be seen as doing something) about climate change, and the only options that actually had a chance of passing (and wouldn't get them immediately booted from office) were crude and unrealistic? Obviously, there are a plethora of politicians who genuinely don't have a clue, but I'm much more inclined to blame our horribly dysfunctional political system than the people who actually care about reducing emissions as quickly as possible trying to do something--anything--to speed up the process. I've long believed that the most efficient and realistic way to incentivize a move toward more efficient, lower emission vehicles is to increase gas taxes. As we all know, however, this just won't fly in the good ol' USA, leaving only piss-poor alternatives, like imposing arbitrary minimums and deadlines on automakers or throwing would-be EV buyers a few grand. When it comes down to it, I think the politicians knew 2030 was more than a tad ambitious (if not outright unrealistic) but as with any moonshot, they still believed that things would move faster than not having a deadline. All that said, I do think many, including politicians, seriously overestimated the speed at which the charging infrastructure would develop, and as you rightly point out, EVs cannot become mainstream if people cannot charge them.
Dan Manes
San Diego, California
Thanks to Autoweek, we now know that the new MB G-Wagon will tip the scales at 6801 pounds. Peter's initial guess at 7500 pounds missed by a tad, but not so fast: Buyers of any vehicle over $200,000 are going to be pretty demanding, and in the case of EVs, that includes range. It would be wise to wait for the inevitable boost to the initial 116-kWh battery pack until we really know just how heavy this thing is.
TS
Austin, Texas
Too harsh.
I'm probably your only reader who would ask this, but is it possible you were a little harsh in your assessment of "the politicians" as completely unfamiliar with reality? Could it be that they just really want to do something (or at least be seen as doing something) about climate change, and the only options that actually had a chance of passing (and wouldn't get them immediately booted from office) were crude and unrealistic? Obviously, there are a plethora of politicians who genuinely don't have a clue, but I'm much more inclined to blame our horribly dysfunctional political system than the people who actually care about reducing emissions as quickly as possible trying to do something--anything--to speed up the process. I've long believed that the most efficient and realistic way to incentivize a move toward more efficient, lower emission vehicles is to increase gas taxes. As we all know, however, this just won't fly in the good ol' USA, leaving only piss-poor alternatives, like imposing arbitrary minimums and deadlines on automakers or throwing would-be EV buyers a few grand. When it comes down to it, I think the politicians knew 2030 was more than a tad ambitious (if not outright unrealistic) but as with any moonshot, they still believed that things would move faster than not having a deadline. All that said, I do think many, including politicians, seriously overestimated the speed at which the charging infrastructure would develop, and as you rightly point out, EVs cannot become mainstream if people cannot charge them.
Dan Manes
San Diego, California
Worth it.
As a nod to SW Michigan’s connection to auto racing, AJ Foyt’s fourth Indy 500 victory was sponsored by Jim Gilmore Enterprises owned by Jim Gilmore Jr. of Kalamazoo, MI. Jim Gilmore Jr. was the nephew of Donald and Genevieve Gilmore, founders of the Gilmore Car Museum in Hickory Corners, MI near Kalamazoo. This is an outstanding car museum and is worthy of a visit.
RLT
As a nod to SW Michigan’s connection to auto racing, AJ Foyt’s fourth Indy 500 victory was sponsored by Jim Gilmore Enterprises owned by Jim Gilmore Jr. of Kalamazoo, MI. Jim Gilmore Jr. was the nephew of Donald and Genevieve Gilmore, founders of the Gilmore Car Museum in Hickory Corners, MI near Kalamazoo. This is an outstanding car museum and is worthy of a visit.
RLT
South Haven, Michigan
Great coverage of A.J.Foyt, but...
Could you have made it a complete tribute by giving us just one or two shots of him on dirt....in a midget or sprint car up against the cushion and throwing dirt all over anyone who dared getting anywhere close to him ?
Again, thanks for all you do to weekly showcase the greatest cars and drivers who formed our wonderful world of internal combustion craziness... and it would help assuage at least a little of the EV worrying that we are all dealing with.
Allan J. Knepper
Pewaukee, Wisconsin
Great coverage of A.J.Foyt, but...
Could you have made it a complete tribute by giving us just one or two shots of him on dirt....in a midget or sprint car up against the cushion and throwing dirt all over anyone who dared getting anywhere close to him ?
Again, thanks for all you do to weekly showcase the greatest cars and drivers who formed our wonderful world of internal combustion craziness... and it would help assuage at least a little of the EV worrying that we are all dealing with.
Allan J. Knepper
Pewaukee, Wisconsin