According to the 4/06 Automobile magazine, "...Mercedes plans to roll out its hybrids from the top down, starting with the S-, ML- R- and GL-classes in 2009..."
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<B>Greg</B> Lake Oswego, Oregon, USA
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<B>2006 ML350</b> - Pewter/Charcoal Alcantara/Aluminum; Packages: Comfort, Lighting, Entertainment, Appearance, Airmatic, Sunroof; Options: Nav, Sirius, hitch, heated seats, power liftgate, roof rack; Mods: ML500 skid plates, ML63 20" wheels.
<B>2001 BMW M3 Coupe</B> (5/01 prod.) - Titanium/Cinnamon w/ many mods.
According to the 4/06 Automobile magazine, "...Mercedes plans to roll out its hybrids from the top down, starting with the S-, ML- R- and GL-classes in 2009..."
Let's hope it's true this time as MB hybrid plans change frequently. Autoweek reported this last week:
"Also look for a hybrid GL using a gasoline/electric drive system mating a 3.5-liter, 272-hp V6 with two 34-hp electric motors located within the gearbox housing for what engineers say provides V8 levels of performance (though this is unlikely before the end of 2007)."
PS. The first DaimlerChrysler vehicle with this type of P1/2 hybrid will probably be the 2008 Dodge Durango.
Reports say that hybrid are not worth it because:
1) cost 25-30% more
2) takes you 21.5 years to pay back from gas savings
3) depreciates faster than other models
4) environment hazard to dispose the battery
Consumer Reports' Shenhar says. While the Honda Civic hybrid gets 36 miles per gallon and the 2003 Prius gets 41 miles per gallon (Consumer Reports hasn't tested the 2004 model yet), a regular Toyota Echo with a manual transmission gets 38 miles per gallon. It's also considerably cheaper, starting at around $10,000.
Reports say that hybrid are not worth it because:
1) cost 25-30% more
2) takes you 21.5 years to pay back from gas savings
3) depreciates faster than other models
4) environment hazard to dispose the battery
Consumer Reports' Shenhar says. While the Honda Civic hybrid gets 36 miles per gallon and the 2003 Prius gets 41 miles per gallon (Consumer Reports hasn't tested the 2004 model yet), a regular Toyota Echo with a manual transmission gets 38 miles per gallon. It's also considerably cheaper, starting at around $10,000.
You raise good points. The next step is Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicles which have the potential to reduce the fuel costs even further. DaimlerChrysler supplies the Sprinter PHEV for the test program. More info is here:
Regardless of the merits of hybrid systems, it's amazing to me how far behind Lexus that MB is to jump on the bandwagon...Toyota/Lexus is printing money with its hybrid vehicles while others scramble to ramp up production...
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'06 ML350 Iridium/Black, Appearance, Comfort, Lighting, Entertainment, DVD Nav., Sunroof, Air Susp., IPod Integ., Sirius, 3-Zone, Power tailgate, Rear side airbags.
Regardless of the merits of hybrid systems, it's amazing to me how far behind Lexus that MB is to jump on the bandwagon...Toyota/Lexus is printing money with its hybrid vehicles while others scramble to ramp up production...
"Printing Money", huh? Do you actually have any figures on profit on these vehicles? I would encourage you to look at the difference between revenue on these vehicles and the profit they turn. You may be surprised to learn that Toyota/Lexus makes very little on each hybrid unit sold, not to mention the massive R&D cost that goes into their development.
Each market/technology has it's leader innovators, niche innovators, and followers and these positions change as the market evolves and matures. MB will certainly be an innovator in this market, but they have (I think wisely) chosen to enter the market with a more mature technology with the market itself is more mature.
There was an interesting article in last month's Fortune magazine regarding the development issues Toyota faced with the Prius. Here's a snippet:
Quote:
The two biggest decisions TMS had to make were how many cars to order and how much to charge, the latter causing friction between California and Japan. Under the Toyota system, the U.S. sales group buys cars from the parent company at a negotiated price, then resells them to dealers. Japan wanted the Prius to sell for more than $20,000, putting it in Camry territory. But the Americans saw a car about the size of the smaller Corolla and produced research showing that buyers would balk at paying that much. A compromise was reached when TMS cut the dealer margin on the car from 14% to 10% so that it could pay Japan more and still make a decent profit. Since the Prius was expected to account for less than 1% of their total sales, dealers didn't complain. The car went on sale with a base price of $19,995. Japan lost money on the first batch -- not unusual for a small car.
That was for the first iteration in 2000. I'm not sure how it applies to today's version.
As with every new technology, there are advocates and skeptics. I still remember the first attempt BMW made to enter this segment. I believe it ended up in flames (literally).
Regardless of the merits of hybrid systems, it's amazing to me how far behind Lexus that MB is to jump on the bandwagon...Toyota/Lexus is printing money with its hybrid vehicles while others scramble to ramp up production...
"Printing Money", huh? Do you actually have any figures on profit on these vehicles? I would encourage you to look at the difference between revenue on these vehicles and the profit they turn. You may be surprised to learn that Toyota/Lexus makes very little on each hybrid unit sold, not to mention the massive R&D cost that goes into their development.
I would be interested in seeing the profit figures myself, but I would not be surprised to see that they are getting a return on their R&D investment, given that Toyota's hybrids are selling above sticker and flying off the lots.
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