Tesla-Powered Mercedes B Class - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

charmalu · #1 04-30-2014, 02:14 AM

The Tesla-Powered Mercedes B-Class Is Coming To The U.S. Before Europe

This doesn`t exactly have a long cruising range for the price tag if I read it correctly.

Charlie

tjts1 · #2 04-30-2014, 08:45 AM

For most Americans using grid electricity this car costs less than 5c per mile to fuel. I wish my diesel could do that.

Graham · #3 04-30-2014, 09:48 AM

These electric cars seem to have a very limited market. Maybe as a shopping car or for very short commutes to work?

Having a car that will barely make a round trip from one side of a large city to the other doesn't make a lot of sense for a car costing as much as these will.

But perhaps they are a step in the right direction.

pawoSD · #4 04-30-2014, 09:52 AM

Sweet looking ride, I'd buy one if I had cash to burn...85 miles is about 3-4x what my wife and I drive in a day....she drives about 10 miles total and I drive about 14-20.

However....driving around in my 190d creation....I can't say my fuel costs are exactly worth mentioning. I am getting about 28mpg in the city on diesel....so barely $1.25 a day.....and she gets about 20.5mpg on premium in the C240 wagon....so under $2 a day....payback would be a LONG time.

jay_bob · #5 04-30-2014, 10:18 AM

Research the "emergency responder manual" for any of the electric/hybrid cars out there. It is sobering.

Here is one for a comparable car, the Nissan Leaf
http://www.nissan-techinfo.com/refgh0v/og/FRG/2011-Nissan-LEAF-FRG.pdf

No thanks, I will take my tank of fuel (gas or diesel) any day compared to that.

charmalu · #6 04-30-2014, 10:48 AM

I get more miles out of my Electric Shaver battery than this car will do.

We are leaving for Portland, Or. in the morning. There would have to be charging stations every 50 miles or so along the way, and the trip would have to be planned out very precise. No taking any side trips to look at things along the way. And Heaven forbid your GPS takes you on a wrong road out in the middle of no-where.

We are taking the 240D, and we can get over 600 miles on one charge.

Charlie

uberwasser · #7 04-30-2014, 11:04 AM

99% of the time I drive less than 20 miles a day.

I can rent a car for the 1% of the time.

The majority of people I know drive like this too.

vstech · #8 04-30-2014, 12:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tjts1

For most Americans using grid electricity this car costs less than 5c per mile to fuel. I wish my diesel could do that.

... 50.00 per tank is about what I use in my 190... 500ish miles... that's less than 5cents per mile...

eatont9999 · #9 04-30-2014, 12:38 PM

A: What kind of person buying a new MB is concerned about fuel economy?

B: Where am I supposed to go, in TEXAS, in less than 85 miles? I almost drive that much in one day just to get to and from work and go to lunch.

jay_bob · #10 04-30-2014, 01:12 PM

That is the other deal breaker for me on electric.

The amount of energy you transfer (in raw BTUs/MJ/your unit of choice) in the time it takes to fill your tank is equivalent to a decent fraction of the output of a power plant (1/15th IIRC).

Until they figure out how to achieve that level of energy transfer in that length of time with a battery, electric will not be able to compete on distance travel.

DieselPaul · #11 04-30-2014, 01:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by eatont9999

A: What kind of person buying a new MB is concerned about fuel economy?

B: Where am I supposed to go, in TEXAS, in less than 85 miles? I almost drive that much in one day just to get to and from work and go to lunch.

One concerned about the environment?

I understand there is a huge discussion about how green electric cars really are, but this stuff does sell. Electric cars are en vogue and are fashionable. Trying to word this and not sound like an idiot (I hate when people say, 'I know wealthy people', but here goes, some of my wealthier friend's wives demanded to get prius' because they saw them as important status symbols of caring about the environment. Same with Tesla's, the same guys have gone out and bought Model S's because they feel like they are saving the world and they think people around them think they are saving the world.

That is not a comment on whether or not electric cars save the environment, but that is a big part of why they sell for $50,000-$100,000. If Leonardo DiCaprio has one, you've got to have one too!

That being said if people buy expensive hybrids and expensive electic cars, the technology improves, the production process improves, the product gets greener and cheaper. I'm not rushing out to drop $80k on a Model S, but I look forward to the improvements they make to the next model.

I drive 7 miles to my office, the entire 270 loop around Columbus is not 100 miles. I would consider an electric car, but my problem is I live in the Victorian neighborhood downtown and most of the houses (mine included) do not have a garage, and I have first come first serve permitted street parking. So I either park in front of my house or a block away. Sort of makes it hard for me to charge an EV every night. The warehouse where I store my cars is 15 miles away from my house, so that's not a solution either.

That B is a little... to put it politely, not my style. If there was an electic E or C wagon, I'd be game.