Mercedes planning electric S-Class-sized sedan to compete with Tesla Model S

After Tesla launched the first luxury electric car with the Model S, it relatively quickly took over the mantle as the best-selling luxury sedan.

That didn’t sit well with Mercedes-Benz or Audi, the prior kings of the $80,000-plus luxury sedan world.

Both companies have now announced an onslaught of plug-in models. So far, Mercedes-Benz has stuck mostly to plug-in hybrids, including the 12-mile plug-in hybrid S560e, sold in California. (It also sold the barely remembered B-Class Electric Drive, and sells electric cars from Smart.)

CHECK OUT: Smart to go all-electric worldwide by 2020: Daimler CEO

Now the granddaddy of luxury automakers has announced its own fully electric luxury sedan, the EQ S, as reported by British car magazine Autocar.

Daimler CEO Dieter Zetsche reportedly revealed the EQ S at a presentation of Mercedes’ tiny A-Class in Croatia, according to Bloomberg.

The company says the EQ S will be a parallel model, similar in size and luxury to the S Class, but will not be based on the same architecture.

With a low, flat battery pack under the floor electric drivetrains are ill-suited to today’s sedan chassis, the company said. Instead, the EQ S will have a long wheelbase and short overhangs and a somewhat elevated body to accommodate the battery pack.

It is expected to cost around $90,000 to start, roughly in line with the Model S. As always with luxury automakers, buyers will be able to option the cars up to well beyond that.

Mercedes was less-than-specific on the time frame, but said the car could be expected as early as 2020, but in any case by 2022. We’d expect the U.S. to be on the latter end of that time frame.

READ THIS: Audi, BMW, Mercedes large electric luxury sedans to aim above Tesla Model S?

Worldwide, the EQ S is part of a 10-model push under Mercedes’s new EQ electric brand. The lineup is expected to include a mid-sized SUV, the EQ C, as well as a smaller, more affordable sedan—perhaps to compete with the Tesla Model 3—and an electric version of the A-Class to be sold outside the U.S.

Other luxury automakers, including Jaguar and Audi are also rumored to be developing electric sedans, although both companies have announced battery-powered SUVs as their first all-electric models. And Porsche is developing the Mission E sedan, similar in concept to its Panamera.

Whether these cars will garner the following that the Model S has developed is anyone’s guess. What is clear is that buyers will soon have more choices when it comes to electric luxury cars.

 

Spending Online

The Parade survey found that 78 percent of online shoppers made their first purchase within the last two years; more than half made five or more purchases within the last six months; four out of 10 have made purchases from five or more Web sites; and 34 percent have spent $500 (US$) or more online during the past six months.

Survey respondents cited a variety of reasons for shopping online, including the ability to shop during off-hours, saving time, avoiding trips to the store, being able to buy from non-local merchants, better prices, shopping without salesperson pressure and easier comparison shopping.

Sixty-one percent of online shoppers feel the Internet is safe and secure, the survey said.

What is keeping the remaining Internet users from making an online purchase? The survey found that 54 percent of non-shoppers prefer to see an item before buying it. More than 50 percent said they do not want to release personal information and 47 percent stated concerns about safety.

 

Baby Boomers Catch Up

The Parade Magazine survey, conducted by Greenfield Online, debunks the myth that the average online shopper is a young, tech-savvy male. In reality, most online shopping is done by baby boomers aged 35 to 54, with the average shopper being 42 years of age. Some 55 percent of shoppers are male, but according to the survey, the gender gap is narrowing at a rapid rate.

“Clearly, the Web is going mainstream, fast,” according to Lamar Graham, Parade Magazine’s technology editor. “The people who are spending the most money online are the same people who are spending the most money offline: baby boomers, solidly middle-class people in their 30s and 40s. Middle America is driving e-commerce, not some digital elite.”

Forrester predicts that by 2001, more than one-half of U.S. households will be online, more than one-third will have purchased online, and 10 percent will have banked or invested online.

 

Now that was a motor race… — peterwindsor.com

There was plenty to talk about after the Spanish Grand Prix, not the least of which was that first, amazing, win for Max Verstappen. When I predicted a few weeks ago on this site that Max would win a race in 2016 with the Red Bull A-team I certainly didn’t imagine that both Merc drivers […]

via Now that was a motor race… — peterwindsor.com

 

Get a Mobile Friendly Site

PRESS RELEASE

Issued: (05/13/2016)

Future-Proof Your Business Today– Get a Mobile Friendly Site

Projections of mobile search traffic suggest that there will be more people searching the web on mobile devices than on desktops by 2014. What’s more, mobile search growth isn’t expected to stop. Research also shows that consumers are now accessing the web from their mobiles at home too, partly due to the speed and ease-of-use of such devices.

Mobile friendly websites can benefit all businesses by driving significant additional sales and revenue. Research has found that web retailers could increase consumer engagement by 85% by having a mobile-friendly website. Fast growing mobile search traffic combined with the simplicity of mobile website navigation and design is therefore proving to be an explosive combo for businesses that implement mobile friendly websites into their marketing strategy.

Web Mobile Strategies is based on a mobile website creation platform that makes it easy to turn existing websites into mobile optimized sites. Just because a website can be viewed on a smartphone does not mean it is mobile-friendly. Unless you provide a mobile version, a potential customer visiting on a mobile device is left with a mess that’s hard to view and all but impossible to navigate.

One company has decided to solve that problem.

Web Mobile Strategies take everything that’s great about your current site and streamline it into a version any common mobile device can read. Their sites are compatible with most popular mobile devices, including iPhone, Android, Windows Mobile, and some Blackberry devices. They’ll even update your current mobile site if it’s proving less than successful.

By adding specific features such as, Click-to-Call, Maps & Directions and even an Open Table reservation feature for restaurants, Web Mobile Strategies really makes a difference and ensures that the websites they work on are competitive, no matter what the economic climate.

For more information, go to http://www.webmobilestrategies.com/

 

What are you doing to capture your mobile audience?

 Using an adaptive website design that performs well on desktops and mobile devices is becoming the trend more commonly known as “responsive” websites.

My recommendation for those that get a lot of mobile traffic (taxi companies, tow, locksmith, restaurants, etc) is to get a fully customized mobile site. The user experience will be better than a responsive site.

The issue with responsive sites is that, in most cases, you can’t control what is shown on mobile devices. All too often, what’s shown on the mobile device is an shrinked version of the desktop version to display on a smaller screen. The mobile site should be a “Readers Digest” version of the desktop site. Fewer pictures and enough text to give the mobile visitor enough information to give them a reason to do business with your company.

Lori M said:

So many people, me included use our smart phones DAILY to shop and do whatever we need to do. If you don’t have a mobile website I encourage you to get one.

 

6 Facebook Stats for 2012

 

Pinterest Infographic

 

Let’s get digital…with LEDs!

Let’s get digital…with LEDs!.

 

The biggest announcement Facebook didn’t make

Facebook redesigning!