BMW i

[stopcrazypp]

Maybe "principled" has the wrong connotation. My intent was to express that in some cases it's intentional to do the minimum for compliance purposes and to artificially fail "the EV attempt" by making them undesirable vehicles in the marketplace. In many cases that's purely financial, while in other cases it might be philosophical or political, etc.

That's essentially what the automakers did last round back in the EV1 days and there's rumblings that they will attempt to do the same this time around (they are writing letters to legislature to try to block the ZEV mandate). The difference this time is that the success of Tesla sticks out like a sore thumb (if a brand new startup is able to sell a very expensive EV at 20k per year, it becomes tough for a major automaker to claim somehow that the demand isn't there to sell a couple thousand per year). We also have at least one serious major automaker (Nissan; BMW also looks to be serious with the i3, although both are part of the two lobbying groups that are trying to end the ZEV mandate).

 

[brianman]

The difference this time is that the success of Tesla sticks out like a sore thumb (if a brand new startup is able to sell a very expensive EV at 20k per year, it becomes tough for a major automaker to claim somehow that the demand isn't there to sell a couple thousand per year).

Yup. "Existence proof" is a hell of a counterargument for "You can't."

 

[tommolog]

Recent video of the i3 driving along the Autobahn:

 

[ipdamages]

Recent video of the i3 driving along the Autobahn:

Driving over 150 km/hr with such little distance between cars seems dangerous, though I appreciate that they are driving in Germany - and not in Southern California. But still, that would make for a costly oopsie. Don't those other drivers know how expensive that car was to build!?

 

[tommolog]

Driving over 150 km/hr with such little distance between cars seems dangerous, though I appreciate that they are driving in Germany - and not in Southern California. But still, that would make for a costly oopsie. Don't those other drivers know how expensive that car was to build!?

Agreed, but having driven many times in Germany I would feel much more confident doing it there than here. They are MUCH more conscientious drivers there. Also, other than some monitoring equipment they may have hooked up to it, the car really isn't expensive. Pre-production i3's like this are rolling off the assembly line every day now as they are fine tuning the assembly process; they actually have hundreds of cars like this.

 

[JRP3]

Taking a little shot at Tesla batteries with the laptop comment?

 

[TonyWilliams]

Taking a little shot at Tesla batteries with the laptop comment?

I don't think so... it's telling Joe SixPack that these batteries are better than the ones that fail in your laptop and cell phone.

 

[tommolog]

I agree with Tony, I definitely don't think there was any intention of a veiled shot at Tesla. That video is actually one of ten in a video series just released by BMW. I am actually the primary character in one of them (video #6). the series is called "Driving the Next Movement" Here is a link to the series:

YouTube

 

[TESLAficionado]

off topic: the SLS electric drive is not a simple conversion to an EV (ICE, gas-tank out & battery, eEngine in). The body and the interior are almost the same, but the chassis is a complete different animal. IMO the chassis is a very important part of the car. Thats why I would never buy a overpriced Audi A3, A4 or VW Up, Golf, Passat etc. if you can get the same tech by SEAT or Skoda for much less.

on topic: I think the look of the i3 is great, only the thin wheels are bothering me... they don't fit the rest of the car if you look at it from the front or the back. Anyway I will test drive it for sure once it is available.

 

[JRP3]

The narrow wheels and tires are probably a crucial part to getting advertised range. Put a set of those on a Model S and see how far you go, it would be an interesting experiment.

 

[Raffy.Roma]

The narrow wheels and tires are probably a crucial part to getting advertised range. Put a set of those on a Model S and see how far you go, it would be an interesting experiment.

I don't think it would be safe to put narrow wheels on a car so big as Model S. I think 19 inches wheels are ok for Model S.

 

[JRP3]

It's not the wheel diameter, it's the width, but yes such narrow tires on a heavy car would not be a great idea.

 

[WarpedOne]

It's not the width, it's not the diameter, it's contact patch surface. A narrow tire with bigger diameter can have exact same size contact patch than a smaller and wider tire. Air resistance doesn't care about diameter, it cares about tire width so range is bigger with narrower tires.265s on MSP+ are big energy eaters. They are there because ~250 mile range is still not short and 3000Nm/wheel demands some rubber not to slip.Official Model S tires have diameter between 70,3 and 71,9cm (MSP+ rears). One could try 235/50R19 (e.g. Pirreli P Zerro) that have similar diameter to MSP+ rears and are narrower from stock or even 225/55R18 that have similar diameter to stock MS 19" tires.

 

[tommolog]

(mod note - posts on potential Roadster performance upgrades went HERE) - thanks tommolog for bringing discussion back to the BMW i)

I'll try to swing this back on topic
The video that someone posted here a few days ago is actually one of a series of ten short videos BMW made called "Driving the Next Movement" about their EV program. I am in video #6 which is called "Driving Range" Take a look, they are pretty interesting:

YouTube

 

[Adm]

As always, you're a great ambassador for EV's and BMW.

 

[tommolog]

As always, you're a great ambassador for EV's and BMW.

Thank you. BTW I had a few hours with a friends Model S 85kW last week; what a great car. I'm going to be doing a review on BMWBLOG later this week, I'll post the link here once it's up.

 

[Soflason]

Tom just read it in full, great stuff -- BMWBlog publishes a near-rave review of the Model S:
BMWBLOG Test Drive: Tesla Model S

 

[nikwest]

Recently you can spot quite some i3 test cars here in Munich. A couple of days ago even charging next to me. Unfortunately the interior was completely covered.

 

[brianman]

What a nice "story in picture" of "good, appealing" presentation vs. "OMG, I lost my lunch" presentation.

 

[emchoch]

Best tesla car BMW i8 Concept The most progressive sportscar

:crying:

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