“Different world, that Europe.”

Metric uses Kelvin, not Celsius. Kelvin is logical as 0 degrees Kelvin is the absolute lowest possible temperature. Celsius is simply Kelvin + 273.15 degrees.

I think the US simply needs a hard cut to leap into the 20th and 21st century. Get rid of the legacy units entirely in schools and teach metric only. Mandate dual signs and whatnot for a decade or two so the olds can adjust, and then drop the legacy units entirely.

Celsius is not part of the metric system though. It is simply used by roughly everyone minus the Americans (F) and within science (Kelvin, which is C based).

I see the word (continent) ‘Europe’ used a lot in the article, but isn’t it really just comparing Germany to the US?

Exactly! The need for range drops quickly if you can recharge quickly. Like high single digits quickly. I’d be okay with ‘limited’ range if I can add another 200 miles in 5-10 minutes.

“any vehicle over 3000 lbs gets taxed at 300%.”

Yes, but the Model S is ancient and the Honda E just utterly uncompetitive compared to similarly priced EV competition. And as such they are both ‘bad’ from a 2022 market perspective.

It might be my European perspective. VW in Europe is like Toyota in the US, but without the reliability.

Please do note you replied to something that was written 8 years ago :)

It’s a VW. Being excellent at being mediocre has been their unique selling point for decades.

That Honda E would also get my vote. There are far superior electric competitors out there, for less money. The Honda only works as a second (or third) car, and only in large cities. It’s like it’s intended as a fashion accessory only.

Infrastructure that makes a profit? Odd. That's like a profitable fire department.

Are you saying they are both excellent, or both dull as dishwater? 

That’s marketing for you.

I guess there is a type of crossover enthusiast that sees and feels all the differences. I, however, recently mistook a picture of a Maserati crossover for a Ford Puma (EUDM compact crossover) with a body kit. I wasn’t even ashamed.

Well, the X-Class was a work vehicle. So, it was sold along side other work vehicles. It kind of made sense. People shopping for a new E-Class or crossover equivalent don’t want to see their pricey and fancy new image booster parked next to a Sprinter or pickup truck. That’s bad for the image.

Exactly. There is no demand for this in Europe; from a European perspective it would be like a Lincoln version of the Transit. I doubt there is any demand in China. That leaves North America.

The service interval of my now 22 year old car is 30k km (19k miles) or every 2 years, whatever comes first. According to the manual. It is completely normal to have to refill a bit of oil with intervals that long. Which is also mentioned in the manual.

my loathing for grownups riding bikes in driving lanes like this is some third world village.