BMW i3 - Why this little EV has big potential

I think what you stated re: engaging at 30 or 40% doesn't apply to the US version of the i3.

From My Nissan Leaf Forum • View topic - Official BMW i3 thread. That poster happens to be the guy I know w/the ActiveE w/massive downtime so far and he and a few other folks test drove the i3 in LA (I was seeing reports from him and other folks that we know).

 

I agree. Everyone moans about paying insurance until their house burns down or they run a kid over.

Whenever there's a flood or disaster the local tv always interviews the 'poor' sad person who's lost everything because they didn't have insurance. If you can't afford insurance, you can't afford NOT to have it.

 

....making the 4 grand premium for an REx even harder to justify. I wonder if the US spec version can be modded to Euro spec.


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Apparently the US version is priced to take advantage of the Government incentives to pad the wallet of the manufacturers.

A few years, ago, the government offered a rebate on "hail resistant" roof shingles.

I looked into replacing my hail damaged roof with them. They were three times more expensive than the regular premium shingles and still twice expensive with the rebate.

I no longer believe in government rebate programs. They help only the manufacturers and vendors.

 

Just like Toyota have done here with the way overpriced PIP!

The UK version is priced well and we get a £5,000 incentive ($8,200!) off the price. Thankfully BMW UK are playing fair.

 

...anyone seen any i3's out in the local town by now?


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They're not available for sale in the US yet. They're supposed to arrive in 2Q 2014 in the US.

The ones that are around are possibly part of the DriveNow fleet, owned by a particular celeb (see BMW i3 - Page 53) or part of a test drive fleet/owned by BMW.

 

This?
Actress Anne Hathaway Is NOT The First 2014 BMW i3 Owner In The U.S.

 

Yeah... I don't know all the details as I'd only seen the headlines and don't really care. I just know it's not available to the US general public until 2Q 2014.

IIRC, there's at least 1 i3 at BMW Group : Innovation Network : BMW Group Technology Office Mountain View, from some Facebook posts.

BTW, for those that do care (not sure if I posted this before), there are sometimes useful posts at Facebook and Facebook, including by Electronaut #1.

 

2nd QTR availability, so that should be around spring time? But then again, I also heard that there's a long wait list, and first batch reserved for current eActive drivers... I think the Chevy Volt & Nissan Leaf started the same way, then tapered off steeply over the following year, then massive rebates/ incentives.
Wondering if the i3 will follow the same pattern.

GT-N7000 ?

 

I'm keeping an eye out. We have a big BMW dealership in my town and I recon they'll be getting one if they haven't got one already.

 

Since taking this out for a test drive back in Nov., I've been looking more & more into EVs. Battery longevity is my biggest concern. And it seems that time contributes as much to degradation as miles driven. So, if the standard warranty on EV battery these days are 8 yrs/ 100,000 miles (150,000 supposedly in CA), even if you only average say 5,000 miles a year, after 8 or 10 years are you looking at a SOC of perhaps 70 percent life left? Which would be kind of depressing for a car that only has about 50,000 miles on the odometer.


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A few people on this thread have made the very valid point that an electric car is still only viable if you've got another car as well for long journeys.

I was in the doctor's waiting room the other day, and I picked up an old issue of the Australian edition of Top Gear magazine that came out before the i3 was launched. It said that, in Australia, the purchase price (which I think was A$ 50,000+) would include 7 days' use each year (for the lifetime of the i3) of a 1-series for times that you need to make longer journeys. That strikes me as a great - if partial - solution to the problem. 14 days might be better, but I do think it's a good idea.

 

"Hello, is that Enterprise. I'd like to hire a car for a week. How much? Ok, can I have a smaller one. Sure, ok, here's my card number. "

The savings in petrol alone pay for the car hire more than enough.

 

Yes, I think it's the convenience of knowing you can just grab one from your local dealer, though, and of course that you can have a BMW rather than some sort of pleb car. I suspect it'll have a big "my normal car is an i3" decal all over it too.

And, if you're my Dad, it saves you the time and effort of having to point out to Europcar that you did not roll the hire car and you are not paying for a new roof.

 

Fiat is offering a similar deal with their 500E here, that is California.

While you would still need access to another car, in the US most families already have two. BEVs don't have to work for 100% of the people to have an eventual impact.

 

We don't have the 500E here. There's just the i3 (soon), the iMIEV (if you're a trillionaire and very small) and the Leaf. Oh, and I've seen one Tesla.

But yes, you're right: if they're suitable for some people, that's great. As long as those people get green electricity. I remember reading that in Victoria (the state Melbourne is in), electric cars actually have higher CO2 and particulate emissions than petrol cars, because most of the power comes from brown coal.

 

But the benefit there is that the pollution is not belched into your face as you walk along the street. Anyhow, I thought Oz had loads of solar pv, or at least a lot of householders do. That would really make sense for you guys.

 

Most of the US doesn't get the 500E either. The only models that can be had without ordering from the west coat are; Tesla, Leaf, Focus EV, and the iMiEV, which is one of the cheapest here. The Fit EV and Smart ED are also available in more than two states, but limited at this time.

But it easier to handle emissions at central, stationary location than in thousands to millions of mobile ones. An EV bought today has the potential to get cleaner as the grid does. A petrol or diesel is just going to get dirtier as the emission components wear, and the easier the get and refine petroleum runs low.