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Mercedes-Benz EQC vs. Jaguar I-Pace vs. Tesla Model X: How they compare on paper

The Mercedes-Benz EQ line is officially alive and kicking, with the reveal of the EQC electric crossover. It joins a segment that, while still in its infancy, seems ready to take off. Mercedes lists as the EQC's competitors the Jaguar I-Pace, The Audi E-Tron Quattro and the BMW iX3. While we've seen all of these, at least in concept or pre-production form, only one — the Jag — has actually been launched in production form. We've seen a concept and subsequent spy shots of the iX3, and the Audi EV will get its official specs publicized later this month. One electric SUV Mercedes didn't specifically call out was the Tesla Model X. As such, we've decided to compare on paper the Mercedes-Benz EQC 400, the Jaguar I-Pace S and the Tesla Model X 75D: All three are dual-motor EVs, though the Tesla is the longest and tallest. The EQC has the most power, but it and the Model X's 4.9-second 0-60 times fall short of the I-Pace. It also has the lowest top speed and electric driving range. (Mercedes sent us an updated range figure, but it's using the generous and largely outdated NEDC cycle; we're still waiting on an EPA rating.) We'll be interested to see how much the Mercedes weighs. Mercedes hasn't divulged the price of the EQC yet, but we imagine it'll fall pretty near to the $70,000 mark. As for Audi, we'll revisit this comparison after those details are made available on September 17. If you're interested in some other EV comparisons, we have a couple others that we published to compare the I-Pace to premium Teslas, as well as against other less-expensive EVs. If you want to learn more about these EVs, and compare them with other cars, be sure to check out our Car Finder and comparison tools. Related Video: Featured Gallery Mercedes-Benz EQC 400 EV Crossover View 28 Photos Green Jaguar Mercedes-Benz Tesla Crossover SUV Electric Luxury Comparison jaguar i-pace mercedes-benz eqc

Aston Martin CEO Andy Palmer to leave in favor of AMG chief Tobias Moers

Aston Martin Chief Executive Andy Palmer is leaving the business as part of a management shake-up and will be replaced by Tobias Moers, CEO of Mercedes-AMG, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters on Sunday. The luxury carmaker said in an emailed statement that it is reviewing its management team but declined to comment on Palmer's fate. Palmer and Germany's Daimler, which owns a 5% stake in Aston Martin and supplies the carmaker with Mercedes-AMG engines, also declined to comment. The Financial Times newspaper had reported earlier that the Aston Martin chief was going to leave as part of a shake-up of its leadership, with an official announcement expected on Tuesday. Palmer had not been informed of the upcoming announcement, the newspaper reported. Aston Martin, famed for being fictional secret agent James Bond's car of choice, has seen its share price plummet since floating in October 2018. The 107-year old British luxury carmaker earlier this month posted a deep first-quarter loss after sales dropped by almost a third due to the impact of the novel coronavirus outbreak. The company has been banking on its sport utility vehicle to drive sales in a new segment, and said production was on track. In January, dire conditions forced the company to bring in Canadian billionaire Lawrence Stroll who bought a roughly 20% stake for nearly 200 million pounds ($263 million), as the ailing carmaker sought to raise funds. The coronavirus pandemic and shutdowns caused by it have hit demand and forced factories around the world to suspend production, negatively impacting many industries, including car manufacturers. "We were obviously fairly significantly hit by COVID-19, starting with China in January but more clearly in what we saw as it came across towards Europe and the United States," Palmer told Reuters earlier in May. Related Video:

Buy a V8 Mercedes-Maybach, or splurge for a V12? Oh to have such problems

There's a certain air that surrounds the Maybach badge, and it's not just the scent being pumped out by the ionizer in the car's glovebox. It's the cream of the crop when it comes to German luxury. These cars are filled with an acre's worth of wood and a herd's worth of cows, ensuring your fingers rarely touch materials as pedestrian as plastic. It's as quiet, as smooth, and as imposing as you think it would be. Though the latest model from Mercedes-Maybach, the S550, might have swapped in a V8 and all-wheel drive in place of the V12 at the heart of the S600, no other amenities have been lost in translation. The car's size gives it a certain presence. Staring at the profile shows a wheelbase that spans two counties, necessitating a microphone and speaker setup simply so that the driver can converse with the passenger – and a Maybach will almost always have a passenger. No one buys a Maybach to drive. You buy a Maybach to be driven. No means of transport short of business-class airline seating offers this much space. Sit back, recline the seat, roll up the shades and enjoy your $167,125 cocoon. But you know all of that already. What you really want to know is if $25,000 - the V12-powered S600 starts at $192,225 - is worth it to gain an extra four cylinders, 74 horsepower, and 96 lb-ft of torque. On paper, no, it's not. The two cars have identical performance numbers, and the S550 benefits from Mercedes' 4Matic all-wheel-drive system. Even with all-wheel drive, the S550 weighs less than the nose-heavy S600. Fuel economy is, as expected, superior in the S550. It's rated at 16 city, 24 highway and 19 combined as opposed to 13 city, 21 highway, and 16 combined. Visually, the two cars are identical save for a few badges. The V12 badge on the S600 is replaced with a 4Matic badge on the S550, and that's where things start to get murky. When you're spending six figures on a car, decisions become more emotional than practical. $25,000 is a lot of money, but there's a bigger difference between $25,000 and $50,000 than there is between $167,000 and $192,000. As stated, you don't buy these cars to drive. Performance needs to be merely adequate. A smooth, torquey V12 is likely preferable to a hairy-chested V8, refined as it may be. These cars will never touch redline, lest the passengers spill their champagne. Plus, that V12 badge is worth its weight in country club memberships. Driving an S550 is fine until an owner shows up at an event behind an S600.