Well, when this baby faced guy presented the EQS in 2022 on Jay Leno’s show - replete arms on hips and red shoes …… we all just *knew*.
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Electric car impact on fuel availabilty and pricing in future(?)
- Thread starter JC220
- Start date
Mercedes-Benz shares fall nearly 6% as profit falls; CFO bemoans 'brutal' EV pricing
The German carmaker said it had faced intense price competition, particularly in electric vehicles.
Mercedes-Benz shares were sharply lower Thursday after the German carmaker reported a decline in profit and revenue as challenges from electrical vehicle competition to supply chains.
Frankfurt-listed shares were down 5.8% at 10:56 a.m. London time (5:56 a.m. ET), putting the stock on course for its worst day since May 4, according to LSEG data.
The company said it had faced a “subdued market environment marked by intense price competition,” particularly in EVs.
On an analyst call regarding the results, Chief Financial Officer Harald Wilhelm described the EV market as a “pretty brutal space,” Reuters reported. It comes as some traditional automakers sell EVs for less than regular combustion-engine cars — despite higher production costs.
“I can hardly imagine the current status quo is fully sustainable for everybody,” Wilhelm said, according to the news agency
maw
Maybe Mercedes should go Toyota’s route and stick w/ highbreds instead of full on EVs.
How many enthusiasts do you think want EVs? I’d say none but a highbred might be acceptable.
INOP, only the true tree huggers really want EVs and only ultra rich people are willing to spend their money on Mercedes EVs because they can and probably purchase new cars every year anyway so they have no worries about maintaining them.
lol
How many enthusiasts do you think want EVs? I’d say none but a highbred might be acceptable.
INOP, only the true tree huggers really want EVs and only ultra rich people are willing to spend their money on Mercedes EVs because they can and probably purchase new cars every year anyway so they have no worries about maintaining them.
lol
The EQS just looks terrible. I saw one in traffic the other day and while MB is blaming all of this on the fact that it's an EV.....it just looks like shit! The nose is this huge swath of plastic and no MB grille. The proportions are so weird, it's so tall and frumpy from the back. Other companies have managed to make EVs look good, MB needs to put more effort to do the same and actually build the brand towards this.
This is also coupled with the fact that the Germans are horrendous at software and UI - nearly as bad as some Japanese cars (try using the Lexus mousepad UI that they finallllly fixed and means I can now buy an LC500). Tesla's aren't perfect in this regard but they're waaaaay better. You don't need a key once you've paired your phone, it automatically pairs Bluetooth, and the nav can easily route you to chargers. There's a lane here for MB to build an EV that matches this with the changes people are screaming for - things like some physical buttons for HVAC, stereo, and other common functions, along with better styling integration of the iPad (and their atrocious 'Hyperscreen' that no one asked for). Wrap that in a nice shape that harkens back to S classes of yore but with some fresh interpretations of the theme, perhaps even leveraging the packaging wins you can get with an EV. I've seen a fair amount of Lucid Air's (Lucids Air?) around recently and while I don't love everything about it at least actually looks unique and well executed - it has an elegance like a beautiful French car. It's so frustrating because the S class is ripe for electrification, it suits the character of a smooth, silent, gentle cruiser that wafts you about the city and country in elegance and comfort. The EQS styling communicates none of that.
I got to ride around in one, its..it's... bubbly
This should be interesting. Listed by East Coast Dean (aka "Wob"). One year old and no window sticker?
bringatrailer.com
2022 Mercedes-AMG EQS Sedan
Bid for the chance to own a 2022 Mercedes-AMG EQS Sedan at auction with Bring a Trailer, the home of the best vintage and classic cars online. Lot #126,872.
Its to blend in as the eqs really sticks out when you see them in person. the interior is very nice/mercedes
No one well off will own this car past warranty, they'll just hop into the newest one
From today's Wall Street Journal:
www.wsj.com
Tesla vs. Toyota Is the New Hot Battle in Cars
Elon Musk’s vision for an electric-vehicle future is being challenged by Toyota and its re-energized hybrid plans.
www.wsj.com
US House Republicans seek to halt Biden EV regulations
US House Republicans seek to halt Biden EV regulations
maw
US House Republicans seek to halt Biden EV regulations
maw
I love clean air and less pollution. However,
“Representative Frank Pallone, the top Democrat on the Energy and Commerce Committee, said Wednesday Republicans were trying to "legislate away years of innovation in cleaner transportation to put polluters over people."”
This choice of words is absurd and smacks of ideological BS. No one is saying “Yeah moar pollution - boo people!”
… however I’ve come to detest politicians for the reasons @gerryvz and @Jlaa mention. Generally speaking they’re the C Team, at best. The bombastic word choices lead me to question what the debates are really about, and why we continue to let private interests fund them inside the government. Ban lobbying, and then let’s see what are the real issues.
maw
For the politicians, I think the "debates" are really about "turning out the super-duper-ideological extremes of the base to vote for me" as opposed to "I want to represent as many Americans as possible by being in the middle." Hence ... those bombastic word choices.
The most unfortunate thing is that I don't see this situation changing anytime soon.....likely within the rest of my lifetime.
Personally I do not believe that 80% of our Congress and other government leaders are intellectually that smart, in terms of having a high IQ that drives the ability to actually think logically and do their job. There are some who are indeed wicked smart, but the mean IQ of your average Congressperson is pretty damned low.
You couple that with the inability to fire most government workers, as well as not having term limits (and a seeming glut of Congresspeople who are in their late 60s, 70s and 80s), and you have a situation that is continually exacerbated.
Why the F are all of these geriatric 70 and 80-something senators and representatives still in Congress? Why are they afraid of retiring?
Personally I do not believe that 80% of our Congress and other government leaders are intellectually that smart, in terms of having a high IQ that drives the ability to actually think logically and do their job. There are some who are indeed wicked smart, but the mean IQ of your average Congressperson is pretty damned low.
You couple that with the inability to fire most government workers, as well as not having term limits (and a seeming glut of Congresspeople who are in their late 60s, 70s and 80s), and you have a situation that is continually exacerbated.
Why the F are all of these geriatric 70 and 80-something senators and representatives still in Congress? Why are they afraid of retiring?
Ideologues don't need much help, but I hear you. I'm cynical. I think it's more about drawing ideological money than ideological votes. Either way, the middle (both in terms of ideology and income) gets left out.
maw
A large segment of them is compromised by acts committed to get there as well as stay there. This is not my opinion. I have spent two decades reading to understand how we have come to arrive where we are presently. A good book that outlines what our congress people do, or don't do, throughout the year is "ship of fools" by Tucker Carlson. It has nothing to do with liberal or conservative. Most of their time is spent trying to get reelected or vacationing.
Even the framers of the constitution didn't want any real loss of control, or they would have written in term limits.
Even the framers of the constitution didn't want any real loss of control, or they would have written in term limits.
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The thing is, that they get a government pension + excellent health care. Seem to be great perks even for a retiree. Better than most ordinary folks get. We shouldn't have senators dying in office, or politicians falling down up the stairs to their government jet, or brain-freezing at the podium for minutes at a time.
Seriously, we can do better than this. You have to blame somewhat the voters who keep voting these people into office, but there is sure a lot of money behind their efforts to stay elected that you have to blame as well.
Seriously, we can do better than this. You have to blame somewhat the voters who keep voting these people into office, but there is sure a lot of money behind their efforts to stay elected that you have to blame as well.
This is not just in government unfortunately. Boomers are sitting pretty in roles in the private sector well into their 70's keeping the younger generation out of these roles. Can't say I blame them, they won the generational lottery and were promised the world from birth, and for the most part they got it, so why not, right?
Yes. Technically I'm a boomer and fully aware of the "generational lottery". The vast majority of my peers do not understand the good fortune they were born into and lack any humility or knowledge of such. It was my generation that bred the narcissism that prevails today. The next generation took the ball and ran.
Ford cuts planned 2024 production of electric F-150 Lightning in half
It marks a major reversal after Ford significantly increased plant capacity for the Lightning EV in 2023.
"Half" is a lot... and while we're slightly on the topic, this is another company that has had trouble ushering mature workers out the door to make way for younger talent... It's an industry I avoided like the plague career wise, but I have a lot of friends who didn't and are waiting for the guy / gal ahead of them to finally leave.
maw
Indeed assembly line workers back in the day made a fortune with essentially no post secondary education. Another Boomer anomaly. If I sound a tad bitter maybe it's because I am haha...These were of course heavily unionized and thus protected jobs. Much is being made of the "wealth transfer" that is happening from Boomers to their kids but then I read that flush with cash Boomers are once again jumping back into the housing market scooping up property at full ask. Rinse repeat I tell ya, must be nice...
I have much sympathy for the people in the younger age brackets. What you describe was indeed an anomaly of the times. But many boomers, as well as those behind us, are now going broke and living off credit cards as they assumed wrongly that the anomaly would go on forever. The people flush with cash are the company owners that offshored their business leaving your generation with limited opportunities. It seems you understand that the economic boom was an anomaly and that puts you ahead of many. There will not likely be a "rinse and repeat" for quite some time.
There IS a great demand for contractors of every type here in the US and the careers pay very well.
There IS a great demand for contractors of every type here in the US and the careers pay very well.
I think it will yield same result because of AC in hot weathers.
1000% agreed. Compare it with the i4 built on the CLAR architecture. Who wants a bulbous spaceship???
Wow! That is just insane... one of those charges only got 87 miles?
That's horribleAs long as parts continue to be available for the W124, that's what I'm going to be driving. I'm obsessed with the platform of course (
) but that aside, I can get 300-350 miles of in town driving on a tank of diesel with the 300D (before the reserve light turns on). I haven't been fortunate enough to own a 500E/E500 (yet), but I'm sure they can get some decent guaranteed miles too. Having the estimate jump that much, yikes.People are already voting with their wallet - so many of these EVs sitting on the lot. I still love Mercedes-Benz, but it really feels like they've lost their way. I don't think there's a single model they have available now on mbusa.com where it's like "WOW - I'd love one of those"
True... however, most people need to drive their car year-round, not just in mild ambient temps.
Petrol engines also have reduced economy in sub-freezing temps, but it's only a few percent loss.
Brian, your 87 300D should be getting closer to 400 miles before the reserve light comes on, unless you are filling with ~1/4 tank remaining?
The .034 typically gets ±20mpg around town (300-330 miles when reserve light illuminates), and it can get 25+ on a long freeway trip.
The .036 averages 16-18mpg in town and 20-22 freeway but the larger 90L tank helps range, so it still gets 300-330 miles in town before the reserve light triggers.
What bugs me about the above story is that, like most news we are shown, only half the story is told to scare the uneducated.
The government need to butt out of this EV push.
Like the COVID vaccine, if EVs are so great, why aren't people lining up to be injected or buy an EV?
Americans don't like to be told what to put into their bodies, or what to drive.
Government needs to leave us alone to make our own decisions.
Like the COVID vaccine, if EVs are so great, why aren't people lining up to be injected or buy an EV?
Americans don't like to be told what to put into their bodies, or what to drive.
Government needs to leave us alone to make our own decisions.
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Here we go…
Tesla lowers range estimates as U.S. regulators tighten vehicle-test rules
https://www.reuters.com/business/au...lators-tighten-vehicle-test-rules-2024-01-09/
“See what had happened was…”
maw
Tesla lowers range estimates as U.S. regulators tighten vehicle-test rules
https://www.reuters.com/business/au...lators-tighten-vehicle-test-rules-2024-01-09/
“See what had happened was…”
maw
The bottom line with EVs, is that for anything other than urban/suburban type everyday driving, they are just not ready for prime time.
I cannot imagine the stress that I'd face with regard to having to carefully plan out say, a driving trip from Maryland to Florida. Last week on holiday I drove from the Miami Airport all the way to Key West. Going there (massive traffic) was a 4.5 hour drive. Coming back was 3-3.5 hours. I can't imagine dealing with the range anxiety and having to scramble to find a charging station somewhere in the Keys before arriving at Key West. Maybe in Marathon?
For comparison, we were given a Genesis sedan with a turbo V-6 for the trip to Key West. While not an MB (or a Lexus for that matter), it was a decent enough car. For 300+ miles of driving, we only used 13 gallons of gas. We made it from MIA to Key West and back again, with 50+ miles of gas range to spare.
If you go to Key West for a vacation, I highly recommend this hotel, where we stayed. Excellent Marriott (Autograph Collection) boutique hotel accommodations, right off of Duval St., rooftop bar, excellent indoor bar, the works. It's not cheap, but it was worth it.
www.marriott.com
I cannot imagine the stress that I'd face with regard to having to carefully plan out say, a driving trip from Maryland to Florida. Last week on holiday I drove from the Miami Airport all the way to Key West. Going there (massive traffic) was a 4.5 hour drive. Coming back was 3-3.5 hours. I can't imagine dealing with the range anxiety and having to scramble to find a charging station somewhere in the Keys before arriving at Key West. Maybe in Marathon?
For comparison, we were given a Genesis sedan with a turbo V-6 for the trip to Key West. While not an MB (or a Lexus for that matter), it was a decent enough car. For 300+ miles of driving, we only used 13 gallons of gas. We made it from MIA to Key West and back again, with 50+ miles of gas range to spare.
If you go to Key West for a vacation, I highly recommend this hotel, where we stayed. Excellent Marriott (Autograph Collection) boutique hotel accommodations, right off of Duval St., rooftop bar, excellent indoor bar, the works. It's not cheap, but it was worth it.
Luxury Key West Hotel | The Saint Hotel Key West
Visit the Saint Hotel Key West, Autograph Collection for a uniquely-luxurious vacation. Our hotel In Key West Florida offers modern amenities and an infinity pool.
www.marriott.com
That’s a good bucket list drive. I did it top down in the ///M. Not sure I need to do it again though. Maybe.
And of course I agree with the conclusion that these are best for commuter applications right now. But that is a significant lot of current usage, so would be helpful.
maw
And of course I agree with the conclusion that these are best for commuter applications right now. But that is a significant lot of current usage, so would be helpful.
maw
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@gerryvz,
I hope you visited Hemingway’s home. You being a lot younger than me probably did stop at his favorite bar.
Did you see Truman’s Little White House or the Treasure Museum. Those have been our favorite sites in Key West. Our Hotel was the Celebrity Silhouette cruise ship for a day visit on our way to New Orleans for an overnight stop for the Jazz Festival. Since I grew up in NOLA we passed on the festival rented a car and saw the sights dined in great restaurants and visited old friends.
I drove a part of Key West but gave up after a few hours down. We had lunch at a great restaurant and stopped at a few sites. We didn’t make it to Marathon. I wanted to see KoKoMo but found out it didn’t exist except in my favorite Beach Boys tune.We saw the hotel supposedly used in Bogart’s Key Largo.
Anyway Key West is a great place to visit. I’m sure what ever you did there you had a great time.
I hope you visited Hemingway’s home. You being a lot younger than me probably did stop at his favorite bar.
Did you see Truman’s Little White House or the Treasure Museum. Those have been our favorite sites in Key West. Our Hotel was the Celebrity Silhouette cruise ship for a day visit on our way to New Orleans for an overnight stop for the Jazz Festival. Since I grew up in NOLA we passed on the festival rented a car and saw the sights dined in great restaurants and visited old friends. I drove a part of Key West but gave up after a few hours down. We had lunch at a great restaurant and stopped at a few sites. We didn’t make it to Marathon. I wanted to see KoKoMo but found out it didn’t exist except in my favorite Beach Boys tune.
We saw the hotel supposedly used in Bogart’s Key Largo.Anyway Key West is a great place to visit. I’m sure what ever you did there you had a great time.
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Would you agree that for most people, that type of usage accounts for 80% or more of their driving activities?
Not necessarily / it depends. However, I'm not (personally) willing to make that compromise. I want all of my vehicles to be able to go full range.
If I want transport for local trips / errands, I hop on my motorcycle. It gets 50-60 MPG on a 3.8-gallon tank. The fill-ups break my bank, as you can imagine......
Well, most likely those of us on this board or any auto related board for that matter are NOT most people. I still say that for the average consumer, an EV makes a great deal of sense. And not because it saves money, it’s because it’s just more convenient and hassle free for daily commuting and errands.
The average consumer doesn't have a usable garage. And if they do, unless it's a newer house, they probably don't have 50 or 60 amps of unused juice of their 100 or 200 amp service panel.
Over 30% of Americans live in an MDU.
70% of Americans live where it snows.
Public chargers are slow. And expensive.
Coastal elites believe that EVs are ready for mainstream America. Mainstream America doesn't want them.
Sorry, but no.
Over 30% of Americans live in an MDU.
70% of Americans live where it snows.
Public chargers are slow. And expensive.
Coastal elites believe that EVs are ready for mainstream America. Mainstream America doesn't want them.
Sorry, but no.
Fair enough, Ace. Range estimates, especially with Tesla are seriously over stated but those that have them still seem to like the cars...seemingly because the positives mostly outweigh the range issue. I haven't seen a mass sell off of Teslas or any other brand and prices haven't tanked. (yet???) Like you said, it's mostly newbs that question range, long time EV owners know how to work around that shortcoming.
re: charging infrastructure. The best chargers are from Tesla, all others basically suck. That's changing as just about all auto manufacturers and third party providers will be switching to Tesla's connector, called NACS now. Over the next several years we will see a vast improvement in both the number of available chargers and their reliability.
@Glen I'm with you. Most driving miles are urban, short, and increasingly from garage to charger. Sure, that's not rural America. But rural America is not where the miles are driven, even if it is where the opposition resides.
Being purely utilitarian, EVs for the urban folks who drive the miles and have attached garages (or work where there's an attached garage) these things work, and the fact that they work is good for all. The battery and charging tech will quickly scale. There's no real science to that, just money.
And money in America is ubiquitous... we literally make it up as we go. As the same people who resist EVs will demonstrate when they complain about the US national debt and growing deficit. They can't have it both ways. If there's too much money being printed, a lot of it will help scale EV tech.
None of this is for me, mind you. I don't have daily driving requirements and like most men I like to burn shit -- fireplace, BBQ, gasoline, doesn't really matter. You say "fire" and I'm generally game. I'm a cave man that way.
And so I realize it's only the cave man in me that makes me resist EVs.
maw
Being purely utilitarian, EVs for the urban folks who drive the miles and have attached garages (or work where there's an attached garage) these things work, and the fact that they work is good for all. The battery and charging tech will quickly scale. There's no real science to that, just money.
And money in America is ubiquitous... we literally make it up as we go. As the same people who resist EVs will demonstrate when they complain about the US national debt and growing deficit. They can't have it both ways. If there's too much money being printed, a lot of it will help scale EV tech.
None of this is for me, mind you. I don't have daily driving requirements and like most men I like to burn shit -- fireplace, BBQ, gasoline, doesn't really matter. You say "fire" and I'm generally game. I'm a cave man that way.
And so I realize it's only the cave man in me that makes me resist EVs.
maw
I think many of you are radically underestimating how much non-urban/suburban use of vehicles is out there, not to mention petroleum in general.
Think about all of the farm, rural, industrial, logistical use of gas and diesel across the country. For transporting goods. For harvesting crops. For bring crops to market. For manufacturing goods. For making plastics, medicines, and tons of other products.
Petroleum ain’t going away. And I can and will tell you, and we are already seeing it: for now, EVs have largely reached a point of saturation — especially among coast-dwellers where there is some charging infrastructure — and people are resisting buying them.
I think many people are actually open to EVs. It much of the resistance comes from the government increasingly mandating them and trying to shove them down peoples’ throats. People don’t take kindly to that and will resist that.
States that are mandating EV sales percentages for next decade are already having to back off. Even California is going to face this reality soon enough with its EV sales mandate and electric truck mandate. People are going to resist and then just ignore it.
You think your average I-5 long distance trucker, or your farmer in Fresno, or your average local yokel in Bakersfield is going to go out and buy an expensive EV? Nope, they are going to keep their ICE vehicle investments going as long as possible.
The biggest issue I see is that these mandates and laws and wishful thinking and “urban/suburban 80% of driving” use cases are all done by people who live where there is infrastructure. LA, OC, SFO, Portland, Seattle, Denver, NYC, DC, Chicago, Boston. But most people don’t have that luxury.
@Glen, driving an EV from San Diego County up I-5 to Seattle for a vacation would be a very different and much less stressful exercise than driving an EV up to say, Montana to visit the @gsxr or to Birmingham AL to visit Klink. Just sayin’
We have to think of the ENTIRE population, not just folks who live in or near large population centers. I don’t think enough people take that into consideration.
Think about all of the farm, rural, industrial, logistical use of gas and diesel across the country. For transporting goods. For harvesting crops. For bring crops to market. For manufacturing goods. For making plastics, medicines, and tons of other products.
Petroleum ain’t going away. And I can and will tell you, and we are already seeing it: for now, EVs have largely reached a point of saturation — especially among coast-dwellers where there is some charging infrastructure — and people are resisting buying them.
I think many people are actually open to EVs. It much of the resistance comes from the government increasingly mandating them and trying to shove them down peoples’ throats. People don’t take kindly to that and will resist that.
States that are mandating EV sales percentages for next decade are already having to back off. Even California is going to face this reality soon enough with its EV sales mandate and electric truck mandate. People are going to resist and then just ignore it.
You think your average I-5 long distance trucker, or your farmer in Fresno, or your average local yokel in Bakersfield is going to go out and buy an expensive EV? Nope, they are going to keep their ICE vehicle investments going as long as possible.
The biggest issue I see is that these mandates and laws and wishful thinking and “urban/suburban 80% of driving” use cases are all done by people who live where there is infrastructure. LA, OC, SFO, Portland, Seattle, Denver, NYC, DC, Chicago, Boston. But most people don’t have that luxury.
@Glen, driving an EV from San Diego County up I-5 to Seattle for a vacation would be a very different and much less stressful exercise than driving an EV up to say, Montana to visit the @gsxr or to Birmingham AL to visit Klink. Just sayin’
We have to think of the ENTIRE population, not just folks who live in or near large population centers. I don’t think enough people take that into consideration.
Completely setting aside how the energy to manufacture and recharge EVs is generated. Let's just pretend that we were able to do it all with solar and other sustainable sources. How do the cars get to customers? How are the parts delivered?
The vehicle comes off the line at the manufacturer (Tesla, GM, etc). Likely it's loaded on a car carrier and pulled by a diesel tractor trailer. The global parts network is delivering using petroleum based products too (by land, by air, by sea - just like the 3 points in the Mercedes-Benz star).
If petroleum based products continue to see the wide use they do (even if it's behind the scenes to the consumer), I doubt the infrastructure is going away for them. EVs are already providing a great alternative for people wanting them in larger metropolitan areas and the infrastructure can coexist with petrol.
The used car market is another great example of why EVs face adoption challenges. Depending on where you live in the US, you can hop on Craigslist and find a running driving ICE car or truck for $1,500 USD or so. I've bought a running driving W126 for as cheap as $300 before. It'll need work - but you can get from A to B. There's simply no comparable to this for EV.
The farm and rural examples are important too. Just like how global and nationwide delivery (of the vehicles themselves and parts) rely on petrol, places outside of metro areas do too.
I often visit rural Mexico as my family has a ranch there. It puts a lot of things in perspective. Not everybody even has electricity for their house. Petrol (via Pemex, etc) is basically the only fuel source for vehicles. People that can't afford a car or truck have a scooter, which gets terrific mileage. Not related to cars - but something a lot of people living in the USA might not know... Many folks in Mexico (at least the rural parts) have a giant water tank (or tanks) on top of their house called a "Rotoplas". It's hard enough to get basic infrastructure needs like municipal water met in the countryside (this is why you don't drink the water in Mexico lol; it's likely coming from that tank sitting on the roof). If you don't have a spring to tap into for refilling your Rotoplas, you have someone come in a diesel truck w/ a water tank to pump water into them when it's low.
The vehicle comes off the line at the manufacturer (Tesla, GM, etc). Likely it's loaded on a car carrier and pulled by a diesel tractor trailer. The global parts network is delivering using petroleum based products too (by land, by air, by sea - just like the 3 points in the Mercedes-Benz star).
If petroleum based products continue to see the wide use they do (even if it's behind the scenes to the consumer), I doubt the infrastructure is going away for them. EVs are already providing a great alternative for people wanting them in larger metropolitan areas and the infrastructure can coexist with petrol.
The used car market is another great example of why EVs face adoption challenges. Depending on where you live in the US, you can hop on Craigslist and find a running driving ICE car or truck for $1,500 USD or so. I've bought a running driving W126 for as cheap as $300 before. It'll need work - but you can get from A to B. There's simply no comparable to this for EV.
The farm and rural examples are important too. Just like how global and nationwide delivery (of the vehicles themselves and parts) rely on petrol, places outside of metro areas do too.
I often visit rural Mexico as my family has a ranch there. It puts a lot of things in perspective. Not everybody even has electricity for their house. Petrol (via Pemex, etc) is basically the only fuel source for vehicles. People that can't afford a car or truck have a scooter, which gets terrific mileage. Not related to cars - but something a lot of people living in the USA might not know... Many folks in Mexico (at least the rural parts) have a giant water tank (or tanks) on top of their house called a "Rotoplas". It's hard enough to get basic infrastructure needs like municipal water met in the countryside (this is why you don't drink the water in Mexico lol; it's likely coming from that tank sitting on the roof). If you don't have a spring to tap into for refilling your Rotoplas, you have someone come in a diesel truck w/ a water tank to pump water into them when it's low.
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