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I think Distronic Plus is a bad name for the tech, "Distronic" is too close to "Distressed".
It's obvious why the car companies making the most noise about EVs are mostly European luxury car makers. They have been hit the hardest by Tesla's success so far. They see if Tesla can succeed in making a cheaper car, even if it never catches on in the general market (which I think it will), the luxury car makers will see their bread and butter cars pushed out of the market.
The car makers who are much more focused on the mainstream market like the US Big 3, and Japanese makers have taken more of a wait and see attitude about whether Tesla can pull off the 3 or not. They are all working on EV tech, but they are making less noise about it and I suspect it's a much lower priority at those companies.
The exception being VW. Ironically the diesel scandal might end up saving the company in the long run. They were embarrassed enough from that scandal they are putting more into EV development than any other mainstream car maker and they will have their own GigaFactory be the early 2020s. They will be about 3-4 years too late to avoid taking a hit from the Model 3 tsunami, but they will be 3-4 years ahead of everyone else in getting serious about making enough batteries.
It's obvious why the car companies making the most noise about EVs are mostly European luxury car makers. They have been hit the hardest by Tesla's success so far. They see if Tesla can succeed in making a cheaper car, even if it never catches on in the general market (which I think it will), the luxury car makers will see their bread and butter cars pushed out of the market.
The car makers who are much more focused on the mainstream market like the US Big 3, and Japanese makers have taken more of a wait and see attitude about whether Tesla can pull off the 3 or not. They are all working on EV tech, but they are making less noise about it and I suspect it's a much lower priority at those companies.
The exception being VW. Ironically the diesel scandal might end up saving the company in the long run. They were embarrassed enough from that scandal they are putting more into EV development than any other mainstream car maker and they will have their own GigaFactory be the early 2020s. They will be about 3-4 years too late to avoid taking a hit from the Model 3 tsunami, but they will be 3-4 years ahead of everyone else in getting serious about making enough batteries.
Chopr147
Active Member
Distronic. Say it in a sentence please 
It really is a dumb name if people have to look up the meaning. And then I get "do you mean histrionic"
Distronic is NOT in the dictionary!
And Tesla gets heat for calling it Autopilot?
It really is a dumb name if people have to look up the meaning. And then I get "do you mean histrionic"
Distronic is NOT in the dictionary!
And Tesla gets heat for calling it Autopilot?
September sales are now in:
I think the takeaway here is the same as it was last month. The S class is getting killed. But, note that the BMW 7 Series is the star performer in the list excluding the Model S, which has the highest YOY sales increase.
I think the takeaway here is the same as it was last month. The S class is getting killed. But, note that the BMW 7 Series is the star performer in the list excluding the Model S, which has the highest YOY sales increase.
Not surprising to see that the Model S continues to crush the competition. I don't follow what BMW does with the 7-series, but what explains their increase in sales? Did that Model have a major update in the past year?
Yes, the 7 series was completely redesigned for 2016. And, boy, did it need it. I just rode to the airport in a 2015 elongated 7 series that the car service was using. The interior wasn't even close to my outgoing 2013 Jag XJL. It did have considerably more back seat room than the MS and was reasonably smooth but it felt ponderous and I was starting to get car sick by the time i got to the airport.
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Chopr147
Active Member
October numbers are in. The Insideevs provided number of 925 does seem low. Another site I follow shows Tesla having sold 4,100 cars in October. Gotta love Tesla hiding all their cards from the other poker players, while going "all in" every hand
somnambule
Member
I love my MS and won't trade it for anything else under $500k, but I can't help wondering if this comparison still makes sense. After the federal tax credit, the Model S now starts at $58,500. That's closer to the E-class or 5-series base price ($52,150 and $50,200, respectively) than the S-class or 7-series ($96,600 and $81,500). And, unlike the last time Tesla offered an S 60 (even an S 40), the 60 seems to make up a big chunk of the sales now.
bkp_duke
Well-Known Member
Frankly, I live where there are loads of "luxury vehicles" and they all look old timey to me. And it doesn't matter what car I park near, my Tesla gets all the attention. People just don't care about your new Range Rover, Mercedes or whatever but the Tesla is a showboat...and I'm sure that's an important aspect of owning a luxury vehicle.
I think the strength of Tesla sales vs the competition are people drawn into the niche who would otherwise never buy a car in that market niche. I think a survey of Model S owners a few years back found over half had never owned a car worth more than $60K. I'm one of them, I went from a 24 year old Buick I bought new for $21K in 1992 to an S90D.
When I was shopping, I never even considered any other car on that list. I was looking at cars in the $30K-$40K range and not finding what I was looking for. Nothing else in the $100K range had what I was looking for either.
I drive what I want and whether others approve or not is inconsequential. I caught a lot of flak for buying a Buick at age 26, and people thought I was weird to drive it the entire time I owned it. People are much more approving now, but their approval means as little to me as people's disapproval of my last car. Approval is generally easier to deal with, but where it counts it's not that important to me.
Are these stats US only or worldwide?
Why not include the BMW 5-Series, which is probably the BMW model that competes most directly with the S and outsells the S in the US 2 to 1 (and probably by greater margins worldwide)? 5-series sales have trended down the last two years since the previous version ended this year. Will be interesting to see if the new model takes off next year.
Personally, I think Teslas are mostly attractive to EV car buyers rather than luxury car buyers who aren't necessarily shopping for an EV. I'm not convinced that Model S owners are made up mostly of previous BMW or Mercedes drivers, despite the fact that I am one myself.
Why not include the BMW 5-Series, which is probably the BMW model that competes most directly with the S and outsells the S in the US 2 to 1 (and probably by greater margins worldwide)? 5-series sales have trended down the last two years since the previous version ended this year. Will be interesting to see if the new model takes off next year.
Personally, I think Teslas are mostly attractive to EV car buyers rather than luxury car buyers who aren't necessarily shopping for an EV. I'm not convinced that Model S owners are made up mostly of previous BMW or Mercedes drivers, despite the fact that I am one myself.
Wow...you went from a 26 yr old Buick to a 90D....(and I thought I made a leap going from a Chevy Sonic to a MS60). That's awesome!
Interesting and I definitely fit that demographic but I think going forward there will be more "luxury car buyers" purchasing Teslas once they discover their current vehicle is out of date and doesn't carry the prestige it once had.
When I was getting ready for delivery they asked if I was doing a trade in and I told them they wouldn't want my old car and I'd sell it myself. I told her that I was probably one of the biggest value jumps in a car they had seen. She told me that she had someone move from a 1989 Toyota Corolla to a Model S, but I was up there in the value difference.
There's a part of me that is sad to part with the Buick, but I'm never really going to want to drive it again. The seats on the Buick are nicer, but that's really the only plus it has over the Model S. The Model S carries more, is more energy efficient, performs better, the tech is a quarter century newer (the Buick has a cassette player and no CD player!), and it's more reliable just because it's newer if nothing else (the Buick was amazingly reliable, but it's getting old).
somnambule
Member
Pure speculation here but it could be one or more of:
1. More factory capacity going to the Model X compared to last year
2. More capacity going to foreign markets (I assume the data above is for US only)
3. People are waiting for the next set of end-of-quarter sales/discounts, given the precedent set in Q3
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