Cars etc
Electric cars are here to stay, whether we’d like them or not. Personally, I have nothing against them, other than so few are on the market that there isn’t yet the opportunity to truly express yourself through what car you choose. I think in the UK at least, cars have somehow managed to become part of the identity of many people, so I can understand resistance to having (more or or less 10 “serious options” to pick from). Yes I know, first world problems and all – but still, here are some light hearted thoughts on a few electric cars.
Jaguar Type 00 (they should have called it the Jaguar LGBT Type)
Recently I was at a Christmas party, where the topic of this new Jaguar came up. Somebody said that car manufacturers should stick to what they know best, and stay out of linking cars to identity. I decided to interject, as it’s simply not true. Cars have always aimed themselves at specific audiences. Most car brands insinuate that if you’re a certain type of man, this is the car you will drive. And so I think the problem with this car was not tying it to identity, or the design (which personally I really like – the shape is an almost identical copy of the Rolls Royce Wraith. The colour is a distraction also, as you wouldn’t have to order it in pink). The problem is very simple: The audience they’re aiming this car at doesn’t drive and doesn’t spend on luxury cars and even if they did, it’s not a big enough demographic to carry an entire car brand. Although this car is only at concept stage, I would love to see it built. Certainly it’s something interesting, and I do love big cars.
Mercedes EQS
You get these new electric Mercedes sometimes on Uber. I am a fully paid up member of the Mercedes fan club, I am such a fan of the brand and everything they do. The SL for me is one of the best cars ever made, Mercedes is one of those manufacturers that has something for everyone, so it pains me to say: This is a very disappointing car (sorry if you have one, it’s never to late to do the right thing and send it back; I’ll help you pick a better one). One of the main issues is that Mercedes always deliver when it comes to aesthetic, cool cars. This is no such specimen. The front is boring (when it comes to cars, boring is far worse than ugly), the back is even worse and inside does not have anything near the same premium feel as the petrol SL. Send it to the gallows.
BMW i7
In contrast, I never had anything good to say about BMW. But this new electric i7 car is really really nice. First of all, it doesn’t look like an electric car. Electric cars are like “non alcoholic cocktails” – if you’re really have to make that compromise, ideally you don’t want anyone to know. So I think BMW did a great job in making this car undetectable as an electric. For some reason, a lot of manufacturers don’t put a grill on the front of their electric models, and the result is a less attractive front of the car. If you compare this BMW to the Mercedes above, the front of the BMW still looks like a car, whereas the front of the Mercedes is shaped like a sex toy (DISCLAIMER: I have nothing against big expensive sex toys: in fact, I occasionally identify as one). Also, it is by far one of the nicest cars inside – it is so plush back there. Much (muuuch) nicer than the Mercedes equivalent. I don’t know much about how important this car is for BMW, but I would imagine this is going to sell very well. Big fan of this one.