Welcome to our first ever video podcast! While we've been publishing the CarExpert podcast as an audio podcast for some time, we wanted to change things up with a video podcast!
The video podcast is hosted by Sean Lander (one of our videographers) and our first episode features CarExpert founders Paul Maric and Alborz Fallah.
This week we talk about Tesla's record sales in Australia, the all-new Mercedes-Benz GLC and we tour the Carbon Revolution manufacturing facility in Geelong.
Mercedes-Benz GLC 300 review: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JUwk8bGMc2Q
Skip Ahead:
Intro 00:00
Carbon Revolution 01:42
Tesla tops the charts 10:23
Mercedes-Benz GLC 300 20:22
Outro 30:05
We review every new car on the market, bust car myths, cover the latest car tech and answer your burning questions.
Whether you need new car advice, purchase validation or simply love learning more about new cars and technology, we are your car experts.
Subscribe to Car Expert: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7DvMhvy3H7ntEgn9n3xQcQ?sub_confirmation=1
You'll find us dropping new video content three times a week. If you'd like to ask a question about one of our videos, simply leave us a comment. If you'd like to give us any feedback on our content, feel free to email us, or alternatively, hit us up on social media.
Finally, we want this channel to grow with your support and feedback. If there's anything you don't like or would like to see us change, we'd love to hear from you!
Follow us on social media to see what we're up to and to ask any questions!
CarExpert:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CarExpertAus
Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/CarExpertAus
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/carexpert.com.au
Paul Maric:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PaulMaric
Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/PaulMaric
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/PaulMaric
#tesla #mercedes #carbonrevolution
The video podcast is hosted by Sean Lander (one of our videographers) and our first episode features CarExpert founders Paul Maric and Alborz Fallah.
This week we talk about Tesla's record sales in Australia, the all-new Mercedes-Benz GLC and we tour the Carbon Revolution manufacturing facility in Geelong.
Mercedes-Benz GLC 300 review: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JUwk8bGMc2Q
Skip Ahead:
Intro 00:00
Carbon Revolution 01:42
Tesla tops the charts 10:23
Mercedes-Benz GLC 300 20:22
Outro 30:05
We review every new car on the market, bust car myths, cover the latest car tech and answer your burning questions.
Whether you need new car advice, purchase validation or simply love learning more about new cars and technology, we are your car experts.
Subscribe to Car Expert: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7DvMhvy3H7ntEgn9n3xQcQ?sub_confirmation=1
You'll find us dropping new video content three times a week. If you'd like to ask a question about one of our videos, simply leave us a comment. If you'd like to give us any feedback on our content, feel free to email us, or alternatively, hit us up on social media.
Finally, we want this channel to grow with your support and feedback. If there's anything you don't like or would like to see us change, we'd love to hear from you!
Follow us on social media to see what we're up to and to ask any questions!
CarExpert:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CarExpertAus
Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/CarExpertAus
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/carexpert.com.au
Paul Maric:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PaulMaric
Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/PaulMaric
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/PaulMaric
#tesla #mercedes #carbonrevolution
Category
🚗
MotorTranscript
00:00 G'day and welcome to the facelifted Car Expert podcast.
00:03 Now you may have noticed a couple of things have changed,
00:05 most notably your host, me.
00:07 I'm Sean Lander and if you don't recognize me,
00:09 you might have seen me before in the reflection
00:11 of a tow bar or a window.
00:12 I'm half of the video team that makes
00:14 the Car Expert videos on YouTube.
00:16 And myself, along with Igor,
00:18 who's doing all the filming today,
00:19 we'd like to welcome you to the brand new podcast.
00:21 The other big change is you'll note
00:22 that now we are a video podcast.
00:24 So if you'll listen to the podcast,
00:26 pause it, head over to YouTube and check it out there.
00:29 Give us a like, a subscribe, a comment, leave us a review.
00:33 But we're gonna get straight into it.
00:34 And today I've got the biggest guests
00:36 I could possibly get for our very first podcast,
00:38 my bosses, our bores, and Paul.
00:40 Welcome boys.
00:41 - Good to have you mate.
00:42 - Big just in terms of title, not in stature.
00:44 - Yes, well no.
00:46 - Well Tony's not here today.
00:47 (laughing)
00:49 - This is fun.
00:50 - Yeah, so welcome, welcome to our new podcast.
00:52 Paul, this must be different for you.
00:53 You're not hosting something new.
00:55 - Yes, yeah.
00:56 - It's not the center of attention.
00:57 - No, well look, we thought we'd try something
00:58 a little bit different.
00:59 You can still listen to this as an audio podcast
01:01 on the regular channels, but we thought we'd try some video.
01:04 We're gonna rotate guests and stuff like that.
01:06 So, but we're gonna try and make you static, so to speak.
01:09 - Yes, I'm just glad that we have an alternative
01:11 if you get hit by a bus now.
01:12 (laughing)
01:14 - Well, I have been doing a lot of like picking up his Raptor
01:17 and dropping it off to get repairs done.
01:19 So he's been grooming me to take his place.
01:21 - Oh, grooming him.
01:22 - Yes, grooming.
01:23 - Today that word's not as funny as it used to be.
01:27 (laughing)
01:29 - I think we should get stuck into it.
01:30 So this is gonna be a very relaxed sort of thing.
01:33 So we're just gonna chat a few topics
01:35 and we're open to any suggestions.
01:37 If you guys like what you hear,
01:38 if you guys have anything you want us to talk about,
01:39 just leave a comment and let us know,
01:41 but we'll get stuck into it.
01:42 Paul and Alborz, this week you guys ducked down to Geelong
01:45 and checked out a local manufacturer
01:46 called Carbon Revolution.
01:48 Alborz, do you wanna tell us a bit
01:49 about what they, or who they are?
01:50 - Yeah, look, we actually came across this business
01:53 pre-COVID, so 2019.
01:56 They make carbon fiber wheels
01:58 and they're probably the only company in the world
02:01 that actually can produce these carbon fiber wheels
02:03 to a standard that can be used properly
02:06 in a mass production facility.
02:07 And obviously they've improved substantially since then.
02:11 They've listed, and Paul and I are actually investors
02:13 in that business.
02:14 We've lost a lot of money in that business.
02:16 (laughing)
02:17 So their product is amazing,
02:19 but their financial record has not been fantastic.
02:23 But from a, like an Australian innovation perspective,
02:25 and we just went and saw the new Megaline
02:27 they've done there,
02:28 it is absolutely fascinating what they've done.
02:29 It's incredible.
02:30 - Yeah, so they've got some interesting stats.
02:32 So they were founded in 2007 in Geelong.
02:35 They've produced over 60,000 wheels
02:37 and they make wheels for--
02:38 - Which really isn't that much, by the way.
02:40 - No, but--
02:41 - Well, you divide it by four.
02:42 - Yeah. (laughing)
02:42 It's quite a few for a little company,
02:44 and especially for, they are carbon fiber wheels.
02:47 So they're quite hard to make, they're expensive to make,
02:50 but they make wheels for, I've got a list here,
02:52 the Shelby GT350, the Mustang Shelby GT350,
02:56 the Ferrari 488 Pista, the new Corvette Z06,
03:00 the new Range Rover Sport,
03:02 and they've got supply deals with Ferrari
03:04 and I think Renault Sport they make them for as well.
03:08 So they're not like--
03:08 - Doing for the new Mustang Dark Horse as well.
03:10 - Yeah, wow.
03:11 - And then there's, actually the biggest part
03:14 of their business soon will be,
03:15 and sorry if this sounds like a marketing pitch,
03:17 but I love this from an engineering standpoint,
03:20 because I'm an engineer.
03:21 - Civil engineer. (laughing)
03:23 - At best.
03:24 - I like what they've done here,
03:26 and when you actually get to tour the factory,
03:28 it is incredible how they take this yarn of carbon fiber
03:33 and then turn it into a wheel that can do 300 kilowatts.
03:36 - It literally comes as like a fabric.
03:38 - Yeah, right.
03:39 - Like it's the best way to describe it,
03:40 and somehow that goes from these like balls of carbon weave
03:45 into wheels through this whole process,
03:47 and sort of watching it,
03:48 they wouldn't let us take any photos or film it, of course,
03:51 but it's fascinating.
03:52 It takes a while to make a wheel,
03:53 like there's, how many hours, was it like 15 hours
03:56 or something, it was like a ridiculous amount of hours,
03:57 and that's gone way better than it used to be.
03:59 - Yeah, it used to be around 30 or 40 hours,
04:01 so through those production efficiencies
04:03 they've been able to bring it down.
04:05 The interesting thing is they're saying
04:06 a lot of their big business now
04:08 is gonna come from electric vehicles,
04:10 and not because of the reasons you think it's going to come,
04:14 it's actually at the upper end,
04:16 so where a vehicle in the States
04:18 has more and more features added into it,
04:20 and it's electric, it gets bumped into the next size class,
04:23 which means the manufacturer then gets penalties
04:26 for the carbon emissions of their vehicles,
04:28 and it offsets those by producing smaller electric vehicles,
04:32 but if you can reduce the weight
04:34 some of these larger vehicles,
04:35 it means you can bump them down a bracket,
04:37 and then still take advantage of having that weight saving,
04:41 less unsprung mass.
04:42 - And on some of these cars, like on a 22 inch wheel,
04:44 like replacing it alloys with carbon,
04:46 it's like 50 kilos of seat.
04:48 - Yeah, so I had a quick look onto their website last night,
04:51 they had one example, the new Ferrari 296 GTB,
04:54 if you have 20 inch carbon rear wheels all around,
04:57 they save 32 kilograms on that car,
04:59 and a car like that is all about weight saving,
05:01 so yeah, it makes total sense.
05:03 - Except Ferrari charges, I think, $65,000.
05:06 - Oh, is that all?
05:07 - So you know what's so funny is they build them in Geelong,
05:11 they send them to Italy, and then they put it on the car,
05:14 and then send it back to Australia if you buy one here.
05:16 And then also the raw material gets imported into Geelong,
05:20 they build the wheels, and the wheels go out, and then--
05:22 - Come back.
05:23 - Yeah, it was like when Holden used to manufacture
05:26 the V6 engines for Saabs, so you would do it in Elizabeth,
05:29 or Port Melbourne, wherever it was,
05:31 and then it would go to Sweden,
05:33 I think they were still manufacturing Saabs there,
05:35 then the Saabs would come back to Australia
05:37 with the engine in them.
05:38 - Australia Post works with the same methodology, I think.
05:40 - Well, yeah, send something from Melbourne to Geelong,
05:43 and it goes via Brisbane or Darwin.
05:45 - So this is interesting, I think the whole thing
05:48 with Carbon Rev is really interesting,
05:49 the fact that they actually got
05:51 a revolutionary manufacturing method here,
05:54 'cause traditionally-- - It's in the name.
05:55 - Yeah, it is funny, that.
05:57 Traditionally you'd manufacture a wheel
05:58 from a solid piece of aluminium,
06:00 and a jig would dig a hole through it,
06:02 and then you'd carve out a wheel,
06:03 but this is actually layering fabric over and over.
06:06 - Layers and layers and layers,
06:07 and then they're heating it, cooling it,
06:10 to produce the final product.
06:12 And then they, it was funny,
06:13 the example they had for the Z06,
06:16 you can buy the naked wheel,
06:18 which is just carbon fibre on the wheel,
06:21 or you can buy the painted one.
06:23 And Corvette charges more for the naked carbon weave,
06:28 but it costs more to produce the painted one.
06:30 - No, there's another way around,
06:30 the naked weave, you're right, sorry,
06:33 the naked weave was more expensive,
06:35 the one they painted was cheaper,
06:36 even though it cost more to make, you're right.
06:37 - Yeah, 'cause you gotta paint it.
06:38 - How does that work?
06:39 - Well, the reason was that they expected Carbon Rev
06:42 to have a lot of issues with the front facer,
06:45 so there would be imperfections in the weave,
06:46 so that way, they could just paint them
06:48 and still be a carbon wheel, but they're all perfect.
06:51 So they ended up selling a product
06:53 that they would charge less for,
06:55 that would cost more to make.
06:57 But if you think about it holistically,
07:01 carbon wheels make so much more sense.
07:04 Like they're actually super strong,
07:05 and everyone's really worried about damages and things,
07:07 and it's actually not like that.
07:07 They've got a front face on them
07:09 that is easily repairable,
07:11 and in fact, replaceable from my understanding.
07:13 And they're so strong that you have to really,
07:15 I have to give it to my wife to really screw it up, right?
07:18 - Or Tony.
07:19 - Or Tony, yes.
07:20 - I think Tony could really destroy his set.
07:22 - Yes, he has to, he has to be.
07:23 Although I am still the only person I believe
07:26 at Car Advice and Car Expert
07:27 that's damaged a carbon wheel.
07:29 Not their wheels, but that Brabham BT92.
07:32 - And by damaged, you mean disintegrated?
07:34 - Look, I avoided hitting a cyclist,
07:36 and in retrospect, maybe that wasn't such a great idea.
07:39 I think you go to jail for that these days.
07:42 - It was in France, so I don't know.
07:43 - Maybe it's less trouble.
07:44 - They've got a lot of issues at the moment.
07:45 - They might win a protest about it.
07:47 - Yeah.
07:48 (laughing)
07:49 - I cut this bit out, I think.
07:50 - Yes.
07:51 - So these guys are far from the only company in Australia
07:54 that are manufacturing automobile components.
07:58 Obviously in Brisbane, Volvo still makes trucks.
08:01 Packer make trucks.
08:02 I mean, there's a lot of that sort of stuff.
08:04 But since we've lost--
08:06 - Well, they've got the EV charging company in Brisbane.
08:08 - Yeah, true, it's the place to be.
08:10 - So unless you dislike traffic,
08:12 in which case you don't want to be in here.
08:15 But you know, since we stopped manufacturing Falcons
08:18 and Commodores, it seems that manufacturing
08:20 has actually boomed here to a degree.
08:21 - It has, but just based on what we've heard
08:25 from the carbon rev guys,
08:26 it is very hard to manufacture in Australia.
08:29 Wages are high, you've got unions, logistics are hard.
08:33 You know, Geelong is in the middle of nowhere globally,
08:36 and very south of nowhere.
08:38 So all of those aspects make manufacturing
08:40 in Australia hard,
08:41 and the government just doesn't support anyone.
08:43 Like they, okay, they might throw a bone away
08:46 every now and then,
08:47 but they just don't care
08:49 for really supporting manufacturing here,
08:51 which is incredibly disappointing in my opinion,
08:53 because we have some incredibly skilled people,
08:55 and we just don't get to use any of them.
08:58 - I mean, I know we see this when we go shoot
09:00 at our proving ground,
09:02 which used to be the old Holden Proving Ground,
09:03 and then the guys that work there,
09:04 you know, they've sort of just left to rot, unfortunately,
09:08 which is sad, because there's so much experience
09:10 and talent in those people.
09:11 - Is that still owned by VinFast?
09:13 - Yes, technically.
09:15 - Is VinFast still a thing?
09:16 - Yes, technically.
09:17 - Okay, just clarifying.
09:19 - We think.
09:20 - I still see the sign on the highway here in Melbourne
09:23 when you drive past.
09:24 - That's it.
09:25 - So I wonder what they do in that office.
09:27 - Oh no, well that's gone now.
09:28 That's shut down.
09:29 - Oh, that's gone.
09:30 - Yeah, right.
09:30 - Yeah, the sign's sitting for the lease to end.
09:32 - Oh.
09:33 - So David Beckham's not coming around.
09:35 - I don't, I think he forgot that he was associated
09:38 with them.
09:39 Actually, the story behind that is,
09:40 I think we were at the Paris Motor Show,
09:42 and all of a sudden, like no one was at the VinFast stand,
09:45 all of a sudden there was this enormous crowd,
09:47 and we're like, "What the hell's going on there?"
09:48 So we walked over, and then randomly,
09:51 David Beckham walks out, and he goes,
09:53 "Hey, I'm here with the new VinFast 7.
09:58 "Here it is."
09:59 And that was that, and then he walked off,
10:02 and I think the rumor was--
10:03 - I think it was like three million bucks
10:04 they paid him just to show up for like 20 minutes.
10:07 - Wow, just had a lot of money to spend.
10:09 - But hey, we still remember it.
10:10 - Yeah, there you go.
10:11 - I didn't know what VinFast was then.
10:13 - Do you know what it is now?
10:15 - No, but I knew that David Beckham was associated.
10:17 - Yeah, yeah.
10:18 Vietnamese cars, sort of, maybe.
10:21 We're not really sure.
10:22 We've never seen one, so.
10:24 But what we have seen is a massive change
10:26 in the sales charts, and this month's VFACS
10:28 actually brought kind of a surprise out of the woods
10:32 here, the Tesla Model Y became the second
10:35 highest selling car of the month,
10:36 outdoing the Ford Ranger.
10:38 To find out why, we're gonna switch over
10:41 to our Model Y correspondent, Paul.
10:43 - Oh, yes.
10:44 - I remember the Model Y.
10:45 Paul, can you tell us why?
10:46 - Look, well, I'll tell you something.
10:49 I am, I guess, the car whisperer.
10:53 Every car that I buy ends up becoming a top seller.
10:55 So there was the Ford Ranger,
10:57 then there's the Tesla Model Y.
10:59 What can I say?
11:00 The Ford Ranger is not the top seller.
11:02 - It was, very briefly.
11:04 - It's third.
11:05 I mean, but we shouldn't, you know,
11:06 we shouldn't joke too much about this Model Y thing,
11:08 because I've just, I've got some numbers here
11:10 of the cars that were sold.
11:12 The Tesla Model Y sold 5,560 cars in June,
11:17 which outdid all of the cars that Mitsubishi sold,
11:20 Volkswagen sold, Subaru sold, GWM sold.
11:23 So their one model outdid all of those cars,
11:26 which is absolutely phenomenal.
11:28 I mean, obviously supply shortages are dwindling
11:32 a little bit, it's not such a problem.
11:33 - Yeah, but also the price, man.
11:34 - They keep gutting the price,
11:35 and it's now so cheap to buy one,
11:37 especially if you're in Queensland.
11:39 You know, they need some incentive
11:41 for someone to move there,
11:41 but they're giving such big discounts.
11:45 - $6,000.
11:46 - Yeah, I mean, a base Model 3 now
11:48 is 55 grand drive away with the incentives.
11:51 I mean, that is a dirt cheap price.
11:54 A Model Y isn't much more expensive.
11:55 And if you discount the fact that it's electric,
11:57 it's actually good value for money as an SUV.
12:00 Throw in the fact that it's electric.
12:01 - Yeah, if you don't like any comfort features,
12:02 terrible ride, no head up display.
12:05 - Yeah, you bought one, didn't you, boss?
12:06 - I had one for a few days, yes.
12:09 (laughing)
12:09 - But you have to do it.
12:10 - It's actually, it's a point that Paul was making.
12:12 I bought mine for almost 80K.
12:14 And now I reckon that car would be high 60s, low 70s.
12:18 So it's dropped in price massively.
12:21 And I think it's actually a good buy now.
12:23 They can fix the suspension.
12:25 - Well, I bought one and then my wife,
12:27 who is not very fond of electric cars,
12:30 drove it on the first charge and then left it
12:32 when it ran out of charge.
12:33 And I had to explain to her
12:34 that it wasn't a disposable appliance,
12:36 that they can actually be recharged.
12:38 But we didn't actually ever recharge it.
12:39 I literally sold it and in the ad it said, "Never recharged."
12:42 I thought I was very proud of that.
12:43 It's like the people that have a convertible
12:44 that say, "Never driven in the rain."
12:45 I was like, "Never recharged."
12:46 - Yeah.
12:47 Did they come with a tow truck to pick it up?
12:49 - No, I managed to just get it to a charging station.
12:52 (laughing)
12:53 And then did the transfer
12:54 so I didn't have to pay for the electricity.
12:56 - Alvorz is Amish,
12:57 so he doesn't have electricity at his home.
12:58 (laughing)
12:59 - Yeah, he towed it with his horse.
13:00 - I don't have a charger at home.
13:02 I plugged it in and it was like 14 years later,
13:05 it was gonna recharge.
13:06 - See, this is the problem.
13:07 I've tried to explain to Alvorz
13:09 about the basics of electricity
13:11 and he goes, "I've got three-phase power."
13:12 I'm like, "Yes, but do you have a three-phase outlet?"
13:15 "No."
13:15 - I have a thing, a big white box thing.
13:17 Like, I don't know.
13:18 I don't know what that does.
13:19 But I plugged it in and nothing changed to a normal outlet.
13:22 So I was like, "Well, that was pointless."
13:24 - So--
13:25 - Anyway.
13:26 (laughing)
13:27 - This Tesla thing actually raises a good point
13:28 and they're not the only ones that are moving up the chart.
13:30 So BYD Auto 3 is the 17th highest selling car now.
13:33 17 might not seem like a lot,
13:35 but when there's a couple of hundred options of cars,
13:37 the fact that BYD's only car is 17,
13:40 they sold 1,530 units in June,
13:43 which is, that's the--
13:45 - I actually like that car.
13:46 - That's a good car.
13:47 - Yeah, I mean, it's not terrible.
13:49 Aside from the slight issue they had
13:50 where it was listening to people's conversations in the car.
13:53 - I don't think, Josh, you sound like a Fox News reporter.
13:57 - It was.
13:57 - It was.
13:58 - It was probably a software bug.
14:00 - Yeah, it was burnt by Optus quite badly.
14:02 So I guess he's living in fear a little bit.
14:05 - Yes.
14:05 - Software bug.
14:06 - It's just that line of code we added.
14:08 - It's like the time that Tesla did a software update
14:10 and turned off people's airbags for 24 hours
14:12 before someone noticed.
14:13 - Yeah.
14:14 - And no one talks about that.
14:15 You know?
14:16 And you know, like when I had my Model Y--
14:18 - That was a software bug.
14:18 - I had a software issue on my Model Y
14:21 that music wouldn't work or something was wrong.
14:23 And I posted about it on Instagram
14:24 and obviously some people from Tesla followed me.
14:26 They logged into my car and fixed it without asking.
14:28 - Did you try turning it off and on again?
14:30 Charging it maybe?
14:31 - And I was like, you know what, that's kind of weird.
14:32 The fact that they could just log in,
14:34 probably look at what I was listening to,
14:36 get all the logs, and then, you know,
14:38 like why would I trust them more than I trust BYD?
14:40 Like I think they're just as bad as each other
14:42 for that matter.
14:42 - This is an interesting thing,
14:44 'cause I know, Paul, you just had your Raptor in
14:46 getting some repairs done under warranty.
14:49 And you were able to see essentially
14:52 what they were doing on your phone,
14:53 but like they could,
14:54 the theory is they can log in remotely and do that,
14:56 which is, I guess, cause for concern.
14:58 It's not just Tesla that can do it.
15:00 - Elbows, we'll talk about it shortly, the GLC,
15:03 but he somehow managed to put the key in his jacket,
15:07 put it in the passenger seat, closed the door.
15:08 - Great jacket that I'm wearing.
15:10 - Yes, yes, that's right.
15:13 So he closed the door and the car locked itself
15:15 with the key inside.
15:17 And the only way he was able to get back in
15:18 was to get the PR manager to unlock the car remotely.
15:22 So it does actually serve a purpose,
15:24 but that doesn't always work,
15:25 'cause I managed to lock a key in a BMW at the airport,
15:27 and I called up their customer service,
15:29 and they couldn't open it remotely.
15:30 - Really? - Yeah.
15:31 - No reception?
15:32 - Well, no, they just refused to do it.
15:34 So they said I had to add it to the account.
15:36 I'm like, I can add it to the account,
15:37 but I need to read the code out on the infotainment,
15:39 which I can't access.
15:40 Unless I like smash the window, read the code out,
15:43 and go, oh, unlock it.
15:44 - And then get out.
15:45 (laughing)
15:45 - So, yeah.
15:46 - So I guess it's coming,
15:48 the ability for them to just log into your car
15:50 is becoming increasingly--
15:51 - That's already the case.
15:52 - Doesn't bother me, to be honest.
15:53 - It's already the case.
15:54 - Yeah.
15:54 - Bothers me a little bit.
15:56 - What have you got to hide?
15:57 - Nothing, but that's not the point.
15:59 It's that argument that people make around speeding.
16:01 They're like, oh, if you don't speed,
16:02 you won't get caught.
16:03 And it's like, yeah, that's not the point.
16:04 Like, you know what I mean?
16:05 - Yeah, but I prefer the convenience.
16:07 Like I prefer having--
16:08 - What, having people log into your car remotely
16:11 and see where you're going instead?
16:11 - Well, no, not that.
16:12 For me being able to log in.
16:14 And by virtue of me being able to log in,
16:15 other people are able to log in.
16:16 - It's the same reason that Apple
16:17 doesn't allow any backdoor access to their phones,
16:19 even for themselves,
16:20 because they figure if you put it into someone--
16:22 - Surely they have like a little app.
16:24 - I'm the Apple marketing department here.
16:25 - Yes, yes, it's called the notthebackdoor.exe.
16:29 (laughing)
16:30 - Oh, that's a PC thing.
16:31 I think it's on DMG.
16:32 - Yeah, DMG, whatever it is.
16:34 So yeah, but look, I think that that sales result
16:37 is incredible, but they are a little bit cheeky
16:39 with those sales numbers,
16:40 'cause what they do is they'll dump all the stock one day,
16:43 and it won't actually be representative
16:46 of three or four months of sales.
16:48 - And that's the thing.
16:48 So if we look at last year's, last month's results,
16:51 sorry, for May, they did 3,178.
16:53 So clearly there was an end of financial year push
16:55 from Tesla to get that number up a little bit.
16:58 And do you think that they are holding back on supply?
17:01 Do you think it's supply clearing?
17:03 - There's a new Model 3 imminent at some point
17:06 in the near future, right?
17:06 And then I imagine the Model Y follow next year.
17:09 So I probably got some stock they wanna get rid of.
17:12 - Well, then there's also cars coming,
17:13 'cause my dad ordered a Model 3,
17:15 and it was scheduled for delivery between June and August,
17:18 and he still hasn't heard anything.
17:21 - Really? - Yeah, there's a boat coming.
17:22 - You just walk in and grab one?
17:23 - Well, no, they have stacks of Model 3,
17:25 Model Y performance.
17:26 They're the cars no one's buying.
17:28 They have heaps of those in inventory,
17:29 but all the base models,
17:30 which are eligible for the incentives,
17:32 there's long waits on.
17:32 - Do you have a Model Y performance or a normal one?
17:35 - Me? - Yeah.
17:36 - Just a normal one. - Yeah, right.
17:37 - Yeah. - Okay.
17:38 - So yeah, I just think that that's gonna keep happening,
17:41 and the base ones will come in big shipments.
17:43 - You don't need the performance.
17:44 It doesn't make sense for a Model Y.
17:45 - We tested the performance,
17:47 and it was really not great.
17:48 - It had all the same problems as the base Model Y did.
17:51 - Yeah, it was rough.
17:52 - It just needs a head-up display.
17:53 - I know, that's all it needs.
17:54 - That's all it needs.
17:55 - Our actual car,
17:56 'cause I was gonna upgrade to the long range,
17:59 but our car, as a base Model Y,
18:01 has more than enough range for what we do,
18:03 and because it's an LFP battery,
18:05 I can charge it to 100% constantly,
18:08 which gives me, theoretically,
18:10 the similar range that I would get
18:11 in a performance charge to 90%.
18:14 So for me, it's just easier.
18:15 - In the same time, yeah.
18:16 - I can just plug it in
18:18 and never have to limit battery charge
18:20 and know that it doesn't degrade the battery.
18:22 So I don't see the point in upgrading,
18:25 and if I need to drive--
18:26 - I'm sure your wife loves driving a Model Y.
18:28 - She actually doesn't.
18:30 She hates the car, but anyway, it is what it is.
18:32 - Do you still have those stupid number plates?
18:34 - No. - Okay.
18:35 - I wasn't allowed to get those.
18:36 (laughing)
18:37 - Just on his Raptor this time around,
18:39 which you can check out on our YouTube channel.
18:41 - So can Tesla keep this up, do you think?
18:43 Or is this just a-- - Oh, absolutely.
18:45 They will sell nothing but threes and Ys.
18:47 No one buys a Model S and X globally,
18:49 and they never really did in Australia anyway
18:51 before they pulled the right-hand drive vehicles.
18:54 I don't think they'll sell very many Cybertrucks,
18:56 because-- - Oh, depending on the price,
18:59 I reckon they would.
18:59 - I don't think so, and I'll tell you why.
19:01 I think that the type of people who need a truck
19:05 don't buy electric trucks.
19:06 - Yeah, but the people that need a truck
19:07 are not gonna buy a Cybertruck.
19:09 - Yeah, but you'll have a handful of those
19:11 Tesla...
19:12 - Lovers.
19:14 - Yes, lovers, I was gonna use another word.
19:15 (laughing)
19:16 - Enthusiasts. - Yes, enthusiasts.
19:18 That we're going to buy them,
19:20 but I don't think it'll be a big seller.
19:22 It will be big, it's impractical,
19:25 it'll be expensive. - It won't pass
19:27 any safety requirements.
19:29 The pedestrian impact is gonna be a problem--
19:31 - They sell a TRX in Australia.
19:33 - Yeah, but this TRX isn't-- - I'd love to have one.
19:35 - That's actually the only Tesla I'd love to own.
19:36 It's a cool car.
19:37 - He thought the GWM Aura looked good.
19:39 - I think it looks great. - I know he likes an MG3
19:40 if he can get his hands on one.
19:42 - I like the MG4, I like the look of that too.
19:45 - Yeah, that looks good, but the Aura--
19:47 - The Aura looks awesome,
19:47 I just wish they called Aura Cat.
19:49 - No, no. - Or Good Cat,
19:50 or whatever weird names they got.
19:52 - No, just No Cat.
19:53 - Did you get that email from Specsavers the other day?
19:55 You wanted to go to another Tesla.
19:57 - Yes, clearly not, he's got that jacket on.
19:59 (laughing)
20:02 - But yeah, so if you are looking to buy a new car,
20:04 we actually have an amazing range of tools
20:07 on our very big website, carexpert.com.au
20:09 that can help you out.
20:10 If you wanna know more, just simply Google
20:12 Help Me Car Expert, and you'll see a lovely picture of Paul,
20:15 and he'll be able to help you out buying a new car,
20:17 connecting you to a dealer, getting a great deal on a Tesla,
20:21 if that's what you're after.
20:22 So we're gonna move on to our last topic of the day,
20:25 which is the car that we've been driving.
20:27 I think everyone's had a drive of it this week,
20:28 it's the GLC 300 from Mercedes-Benz.
20:31 If you look at it from a casual observer point,
20:36 it doesn't look like a new car,
20:37 it looks fundamentally the same as the old car,
20:39 but it is bigger, it has more power,
20:43 and a much larger price tag.
20:47 Would I be correct to say that?
20:47 - Well, yes.
20:50 It's larger, but not exponentially larger.
20:53 It's like-- - No, just 15 grand.
20:55 - No, no, I mean the size, the size.
20:56 - Oh, right, I was gonna say about the price tag.
20:57 - It's not like it's massively larger.
20:58 - I think it's 60 mil or something.
21:00 - Yeah, it's not like, it's mainly the storage is bigger,
21:03 like you get an extra 50 liters of storage,
21:06 plus if you put seats down, it's larger.
21:08 The look thing, I've started to get to the point where,
21:11 do you remember when Audi had this period,
21:13 which I don't think it's ever finished,
21:15 where all their cars looked the same?
21:16 - Like now?
21:17 - Yeah, it's been going on for like eight years.
21:19 - Well, I heard they announced a Q8 e-tron,
21:22 and I saw the picture of it,
21:24 I'm like, that's just an e-tron, isn't it?
21:26 I think they've just stopped bothering.
21:29 - But there was a time when, I think it's Gordon,
21:34 I've forgotten his last name,
21:35 the head designer for Mercedes.
21:36 I feel like his last name is Wagner,
21:37 but that's a bad word these days.
21:39 And he'd taken over design,
21:40 he was talking about how they've got
21:41 three design philosophies at Mercedes,
21:44 sports cars, SUVs, and other stuff.
21:47 I feel like that's not the case anymore,
21:48 they've got one design and everything,
21:50 except for the G-Wagon, some of the things
21:52 just tends to look a lot similar.
21:54 And that new GLC and C-Class,
21:56 like when they're behind you,
21:57 I don't think you can tell the difference,
21:58 but from the ride height.
21:59 - In the car park, it's very hard to tell a new GLC
22:02 from that one. - I mean, they look good,
22:03 but at the same time,
22:04 there's, you wanna have some distinctiveness
22:07 and everything's got like AMG line standard,
22:09 like everything's got the exhaust and side vents
22:12 and yeah, it's expensive too, as you said.
22:15 - Yeah, I think it's like 12, 15 grand more.
22:18 And I was actually thinking,
22:20 I know that you're gonna laugh at this,
22:22 but just recently we drove that XC60, the base model,
22:26 and that was brain's trust.
22:30 How much is the base XC60?
22:33 - [Man] The one we had was 80 grand drive away.
22:35 - There we go. - Right, 80 grand drive away.
22:36 - 80 grand drive away, that has 48 volt mild hybrid,
22:39 more or less a similar set of features.
22:42 And if it didn't, you just upgrade the features
22:44 if you need to.
22:45 But I didn't see the 20,000, $25,000 price difference.
22:50 Like I couldn't feel it.
22:52 - Really, you didn't notice the three pointed star
22:54 over the normal badge there.
22:56 Is that XC60 out of Sweden or China out of curiosity?
22:58 - I think they're out of China.
23:00 - Oh, okay. - China, yeah.
23:01 - So you're comparing a non-- - Oh, here we go.
23:04 - Where's the GLC built?
23:05 - I don't know, but it's not out of China.
23:06 - America, isn't it?
23:07 - Yeah. - I don't know if it is.
23:09 I don't know if it is.
23:10 I know the old ones were.
23:11 - South Africa.
23:12 - Oh, well, the main was we know by it from Amarok's
23:14 build quality is excellent.
23:15 - We're gonna have to have a look here.
23:17 (laughing)
23:19 - This is great.
23:20 So while we're checking this information out,
23:21 so a couple of things about the GLC 300,
23:24 there's only one spec.
23:25 It is only the 300 currently.
23:26 There might be a sporty one down the line.
23:28 - There will definitely be a 63 and a 43.
23:32 - Right, but as it stands, you only get the one spec,
23:34 which is the 300.
23:36 It comes with a two-liter four-cylinder turbo,
23:38 190 kilowatts, 400 newton-meters,
23:40 but it does have a 48-volt mild hybrid system,
23:42 which gives you a 200 newton-meter boost in torque.
23:45 Can you explain how that works?
23:47 How a tiny little battery system can give that much boost?
23:50 - So it uses what's called an integrated starter generator,
23:54 and the way that works is as opposed to an electric motor
23:58 that sits like on a wheel or something like that,
24:02 this is basically within that driveline,
24:04 and the way that it works is you have a small battery.
24:08 Every time you brake or slow down, it charges that battery,
24:11 and that battery is able to supply additional torque
24:13 to the driveline to give it that boost,
24:15 but in addition to that,
24:17 an integrated starter generator
24:18 also makes the stop-start sequence seamless,
24:21 and it allows the system to switch off at low speeds
24:23 and then switch back on--
24:25 - I was gonna say, that was actually one of my
24:26 very few complaints with the car,
24:27 was the start-stop system wasn't very good.
24:29 - Oh, really? I loved it.
24:30 - No, it took too long to restart.
24:32 - What do you mean too long?
24:33 - Like at the lights yesterday in Melbourne,
24:35 where I was screaming at the traffic,
24:36 every time they would move, it would like,
24:39 when I lift off the brake to go for the accelerator,
24:40 it would take like a second and a half to get going again.
24:43 - No, but it's already running.
24:44 You just don't feel it's running.
24:44 - Well, it wasn't moving when I was accelerating,
24:46 so it can't be running that far.
24:47 - You do drive like a taxi driver, just on, off.
24:51 - I mean, I drove it about 200 k's
24:53 to our proving ground there,
24:53 and back you drove it around the proving ground,
24:55 and I didn't notice that.
24:56 - That's 'cause you guys weren't stopping at a red light
24:58 in peak hour traffic.
24:59 - There are red lights.
25:00 We did have to travel through some of Melbourne.
25:03 - By the way, Melbourne traffic, it is the worst.
25:05 - Yeah, let's not go into that one.
25:06 That's a whole other podcast.
25:08 - It's almost as bad as Brisbane traffic.
25:09 - It is not even comparable.
25:11 - Just a very quick side story.
25:13 When Albers tried to pick me up from Brisbane,
25:15 it took him about 45 minutes to move a kilometer.
25:17 - That's because you booked the only hotel
25:19 that was in like, literally like traffic land.
25:22 - And where are we?
25:24 - Yeah, but-
25:25 - I tried to drive across the city at 5 p.m.
25:27 - Yeah, and I got there at seven.
25:29 - That always goes well.
25:30 - Anyway, Victoria is a cluster,
25:33 but Brisbane is-
25:34 - All hell, Dan.
25:35 - The GLC does have some redeeming features though,
25:37 doesn't it?
25:38 So it actually-
25:39 - Oh, it's actually a great car.
25:40 - It handles really well.
25:41 It's got massive, like, really big wide tires.
25:43 - Big old treads.
25:43 - Like, it's a properly sporty little car.
25:45 - Yeah, well, big car, I should say.
25:46 - I thought it was great.
25:47 Like, that's the thing.
25:48 The only thing I didn't love was the price.
25:50 I just thought it was a little expensive,
25:51 but I thought the vehicle itself was nice.
25:53 - Yeah, I think it's worth pointing out
25:54 that it's only got one option.
25:56 So everything else is standard,
25:57 which is very unlike Mercedes.
25:59 You know, they were talking about how, like,
26:01 it's the first time it's got, like, heated seat standard,
26:02 which I think is ridiculous
26:03 that a car that expensive wouldn't have them standard,
26:05 but I think what they're trying to do
26:06 is remove complexity from the model range
26:08 where they've got, like, fewer cars
26:10 that are easier to maintain, easier to sell,
26:12 and you don't have to make too many decisions.
26:13 - And that option pack isn't entirely necessary.
26:15 - No, you don't need it.
26:16 - You could take all those digital headlights,
26:17 acoustic glass.
26:19 - A better sound system.
26:20 - Sound system and a couple of other sorts of pieces.
26:21 - Well, it had a better active safety system.
26:25 That was the only thing that--
26:25 - Oh, actually, the self-steering thing,
26:26 which I thought didn't really work that well anyway.
26:28 - So I would have liked to have seen that separated,
26:30 but I think they're just keeping the complexity low.
26:32 - Well, let's see.
26:33 Scott, did we get a country?
26:35 - Yeah, Germany.
26:36 - Ah, well, so-- - Oh, there you go.
26:38 - Well, 25 grand.
26:39 - What were we saying before?
26:40 The difficulty of producing in Australia,
26:43 'cause high cost of labor, better quality,
26:45 therefore, compared to China, wouldn't work.
26:47 So your $80,000 Volvo from China
26:51 compared to a German-made Mercedes.
26:53 - You watch, in six months, I'll switch it to China.
26:56 It'll be coming out of the same factory.
26:58 - I don't think so.
26:59 I really don't think so.
27:00 - One thing the GLC did have a big leg up over the Volvo
27:04 was the infotainment system.
27:05 So if you ignore the copious amounts
27:07 of piano black in there, the new screen--
27:09 - I love piano black. - It's curved.
27:11 It's really responsive.
27:12 It's got-- - Who is this guy?
27:13 I love piano black.
27:14 - Is your wife? - It's a lossy.
27:16 - Yes, for eight seconds after you leave the dealership--
27:19 - Wash your hands.
27:19 - You look at it and then it scratches.
27:21 - Yesterday, when we went to culinary, this fat mofo
27:24 was sitting there at Hungry Jack's,
27:26 stuffing his face with this double whopper.
27:27 - I tried to take you to a nice restaurant.
27:28 - And then he gets back into the car and he's just like,
27:31 I'm just like, well, this is why piano black
27:32 doesn't work for you.
27:33 If you were born in Geelong
27:34 and you eat Hungry Jack's in Geelong, that's what happens.
27:36 - Did you order a burger with or without a bun?
27:38 - I didn't order a burger.
27:39 I was very good.
27:40 I had a coffee and it was horrendous.
27:42 - From Hungry Jack's.
27:43 - Sean, just ask him what he had for breakfast yesterday.
27:45 - What did you have for breakfast this day?
27:46 - Look, I was hungry and I had a Carl's Jr.
27:49 - There it is.
27:50 (laughing)
27:51 - Which is more sophisticated than Hungry Jack's.
27:53 - Carl's is the picture of health.
27:55 They're replacing Jenny Craig, are you?
27:58 - Yeah.
27:59 (laughing)
28:00 - But the infotainment system in the GLC is quite good.
28:03 - Well, the new zero layer setup is good,
28:04 but you can still switch to the old MBUX style setup.
28:07 - Oh, can you?
28:08 - Yeah.
28:09 - Oh, I didn't know that.
28:10 - Watch our video, review chat.
28:11 - So this new one is similar to what we see
28:14 in the super screens in the EQS, I believe.
28:17 - Hyper screen.
28:18 - Hyper screen, sorry, my mistake.
28:20 But it is, it's really big.
28:21 It's a fantastic screen to look at.
28:23 The camera quality is actually pretty good.
28:24 - Functionality was a little annoying.
28:26 Like getting into CarPlay, you could dive through menus.
28:29 The other thing we discussed yesterday,
28:30 we pulled up at the traffic lights
28:31 and it's got the traffic light view.
28:33 I'm like, yes, I can say that out the windscreen
28:35 that I'm currently looking at.
28:36 - I think that's made for when you have AR running.
28:41 - Yes.
28:42 - So if you were projecting your,
28:44 your like where you're supposed to go,
28:46 you would put the arrows on there.
28:47 So if you had Nav running on its default system,
28:50 not CarPlay on its default system,
28:51 you would put the arrows on there.
28:53 - Ah, yes, yes.
28:54 - It kind of works, but I mean,
28:55 you'd be crazy to use its own Nav when you've got CarPlay.
28:58 - Yeah.
28:59 - Like, I mean, any car these days, as good as,
29:00 I don't even know why they bother with infotainment system.
29:02 Just give me a dumb terminal I can plug my phone in
29:04 'cause your thing is crap.
29:05 Doesn't matter.
29:06 - Exceptions to the rule with Google Maps.
29:09 That tends to be pretty good.
29:10 - Yeah, but I want Waze on the Tesla.
29:11 - Yes.
29:12 - That was another reason why I didn't like my Model Y
29:13 is I couldn't get Waze to work.
29:14 - Yeah, it definitely--
29:15 - Why doesn't it have CarPlay?
29:16 - I know, that's 100% stupid.
29:18 - It's just Elon versus the world.
29:20 - Yep.
29:21 - Yeah.
29:22 - Maybe we'll have a fight with Tim Cook as well.
29:23 - I would watch that.
29:24 - Or Tim Apple.
29:25 - Tim Apple.
29:26 - Is what he's saying.
29:27 - Did you watch that video of him waving the flag at F1?
29:29 - Oh, yes.
29:30 - Oh.
29:31 - That was quite tragic.
29:31 - I actually thought I'm gonna go to Android after that.
29:32 That was the most embarrassing thing.
29:33 - That's what are you doing?
29:34 - It was almost as bad as one of the Williams systems.
29:36 - It was like they'd hired a robot to wave the flag.
29:39 He had no--
29:40 - How did he not practice waving the flag?
29:41 - Why not just have some emotion on your face?
29:44 Like, "Hey!"
29:45 Or, it was just like.
29:46 - Well, to be fair, the most arm strength
29:47 he's ever had to use is going like that.
29:49 So I think waving a flag was too much for him.
29:51 - At Apple.
29:52 - Yeah.
29:52 (laughing)
29:53 - But yes, if you wanna see or learn more about the GLC 300,
29:56 you can head to the CarXpert YouTube channel,
29:58 or if you're already there watching it,
30:00 we'll put a link in the description for you to check out.
30:02 Now guys, before we wrap up today,
30:04 is there any other final thoughts you might have?
30:06 Anything you wanna leave us with?
30:07 Any words of wisdom?
30:09 - Well, for anyone watching, shoot us a note,
30:12 contact, no, what's our thing?
30:14 Podcast.
30:15 - Your other podcast.
30:16 (laughing)
30:17 - Podcast@carexpert.com.au.
30:20 Please get in touch.
30:21 Make sure you leave us a rating for this as well.
30:23 And let us know your feedback too.
30:24 We wanna know what everyone thinks about this format,
30:26 what we can change, what we can improve,
30:28 because, yeah, we're here for the peeps.
30:32 We wanna make it as good as we possibly can.
30:34 So trying this new format will hopefully, you know.
30:36 - And if you wanna try something else,
30:38 try Carl's Junior Burgers.
30:39 - Pretty good.
30:40 - Yeah.
30:41 (laughing)
30:42 - And not sponsored, but if you wanna sponsor us,
30:44 Carl's, we're happy to take your money.
30:46 Anyway, boys.
30:47 - Just not your burgers.
30:47 - No.
30:48 (laughing)
30:49 Chips are good.
30:50 Our boss, Paul, thank you for joining us this week
30:51 on the CarXpert Podcast.
30:53 And we'll see you all next week.