BMW puts stupid slow chargers in stupid locations to match their stupid EVs

[SabrToothSqrl]

BMW puts 100 EV charging stations at US parks, starting with most ironic one ever

Deal with it.

Now aren't you glad you own a Tesla .

I seriously believe all companies (other than the chosen one) are actively doing their BEST to show the public how bad EVs and charging can be. It honestly feels like a really bad joke.

Or the people doing the tech are all 200 year old men who look at their cell phone, every time it rings, like it's some foreign alien object, they are seeing for the first time, while everyone around them cringes and is just thinking "turn it on vibrate you jackass". While the 200 year old squints, and tilts this alien gizmo in hopes to make the noise stop, or ponders the meaning of life so long that they miss the call!

Hey, I see that new flat screen 4K or 1080 TV at Best Buy. I know it's only $200 more than this CRT I found on craigslist. But dammit, I'm gonna go install about 100 CRTs... because... FightTheFuture?

 

[ecarfan]

Wow. 7.2kW AC Level 2 chargers. As the article rightly points out, those are essentially useless unless except at locations where you will be staying over 6 or 8 hours.

Yet another example of an old school car company going for EV PR points instead of creating something that is actually useful.

BMW: Fight the Future.

 

[NikeWings]

The guys in the video crack me up trying to justify the drip drip drip.......

 

[TexasEV]

Why does this surprise anyone? It's not like BMW or other legacy companies actually want people to buy their EVs rather than their ICE cars. They only want people to buy their EVs rather than someone else's EVs.

 

[SageBrush]

Is the destination charger for two hours enough juice to make it back to the DC network ? If so, then far from ideal but a lot better than nothing.

 

[SabrToothSqrl]

Is the destination charger for two hours enough juice to make it back to the DC network ? If so, then far from ideal but a lot better than nothing.

That's... the problem, I think. Nothing is.. nothing... but when you make something sub-par, people associate everything in that category with that system...

So.. BMW makes a goofy looking overpriced EV... better than nothing? No, it's worse. Much worse. People will think all EVs have to look like rejects from the play-doh factory... and thus not think EVs are thing...

When have a slow computer... do you hate all computers or just that one? People put things in categories. It's normal. What I hate to see is things like this that are an actual detriment to improving systems. Think about all the time and money spent on this. Now, what if that was used to build just FIVE super charger sites? Which do you think will see more cars? Which will charge more cars? Which will put out more power, thus reducing reliance on gasoline? So.. I'd like to say 'at least they are trying'... but long term it's really a bad thing...

 

[Petra]

BMW puts 100 EV charging stations at US parks, starting with most ironic one ever

Deal with it.

Now aren't you glad you own a Tesla .

I seriously believe all companies (other than the chosen one) are actively doing their BEST to show the public how bad EVs and charging can be. It honestly feels like a really bad joke.

Or the people doing the tech are all 200 year old men who look at their cell phone, every time it rings, like it's some foreign alien object, they are seeing for the first time, while everyone around them cringes and is just thinking "turn it on vibrate you jackass". While the 200 year old squints, and tilts this alien gizmo in hopes to make the noise stop, or ponders the meaning of life so long that they miss the call!

Hey, I see that new flat screen 4K or 1080 TV at Best Buy. I know it's only $200 more than this CRT I found on craigslist. But dammit, I'm gonna go install about 100 CRTs... because... FightTheFuture?

You get a heart-click for the thread title alone

 

[SageBrush]

So.. BMW makes a goofy looking overpriced EV... better than nothing? No, it's worse. Much worse. People will think all EVs have to look like rejects from the play-doh factory... and thus not think EVs are thing...

Here is a fact you should come to grips with: the world is full of opinions about aesthetics that differ from yours. Denigrating other aesthetics serves no useful purpose other than your pettiness and I wish you would stop. Can you really not appreciate the irony of embracing a Tesla that 99.99% of the world's car buying marketplace cannot afford while dinging BMW for a presumed minority utility ?

I live in a small town in the middle of no-where. My home is the only place an EV passing through can charge locally other than RV parks that typically require adaters. Should I take it off plug-share because it is a measly L2 charger that does meet your demands for SC or nothing ? Should the RV parks refuse admission to EVs to comply with your view of the only and perfect EV world ?

 

[McRat]

DCFC = ~25x more than commercial L2 stations. Most parks do not have commercial power substations nearby either.

50 miles for free in 2 hours? Nice.

 

[SabrToothSqrl]

Here is a fact you should come to grips with: the world is full of opinions about aesthetics that differ from yours. Denigrating other aesthetics serves no useful purpose other than your pettiness and I wish you would stop. Can you really not appreciate the irony of embracing a Tesla that 99.99% of the world's car buying marketplace cannot afford while dinging BMW for a presumed minority utility ?

I live in a small town in the middle of no-where. My home is the only place an EV passing through can charge locally other than RV parks that typically require adapters. Should I take it off plug-share because it is a measly L2 charger that does meet your demands for SC or nothing ? Should the RV parks refuse admission to EVs to comply with your view of the only and perfect EV world ?

I concede; any charger is better than no charger to someone in need.


Yes, Tesla's currently available models are a cost prohibitive price... so was the first gas car. And TVs. And VHS players. And cell phones. And Walkmans. And Computers. And Refrigerators... And the first of anything... so.. I don't buy any argument that cost is an issue... I wasn't around to laugh at the horseless carriage and it's $4,000 price tag (or $200,000 in today's money)... but someone was. And that someone might have bought one after a few years...

 

[McRat]

I concede; any charger is better than no charger ...

You could have just stopped there. If 25mph isn't fast enough charging for you, stay on the freeways.

 

[jelloslug]

Even the DC fast chargers that BMW supplies are super slow at 24 kw. When I had my i3 I tried the one at the BMW Performance Center and the one at the BMW factory across the street and for a fast charger they were painfully slow.

 

[TexasEV]

DCFC = ~25x more than commercial L2 stations. Most parks do not have commercial power substations nearby either.

Isn't BMW selling a 25kW DC charging station for $6500? That's not good enough for a highway, but it's perfect for a destination of an hour or two. If they're going to donate something to promote EVs, why not donate something that makes EVs seem practical? 30A charging wouldn't even give 25miles/hr at 208V commercial power.

 

[McRat]

Isn't BMW selling a 25kW DC charging station for $6500? That's not good enough for a highway, but it's perfect for a destination of an hour or two. If they're going to donate something to promote EVs, why not donate something that makes EVs seem practical? 30A charging wouldn't even give 25miles/hr at 208V commercial power.

Not sure that would change anything. You can read above that people complain about 25kW DCFC.

Understandably, there is a recurrent post in every DCFC thread on this site, that it's "Tesla Supercharger or Nothing". While that makes perfect sense for some EV owners in the USA, it makes no sense to the majority.

But realistically, since Tesla has Superchargers everywhere, only the 80-120mi EVs need these destination chargers to begin with, and some cars do not have DCFC (VW, Fiat, GM, Nissan, Etc). L2 charging is something every EV today supports.

I do get a kick out of the "I'm going to drive a long distance to go see a park, then hang out for only 1 hr crowd". Google Earth will do that for you.

 

[jelloslug]

Not sure that would change anything. You can read above that people complain about 25kW DCFC.

Understandably, there is a recurrent post in every DCFC thread on this site, that it's "Tesla Supercharger or Nothing". While that makes perfect sense for some EV owners in the USA, it makes no sense to the majority.

But realistically, since Tesla has Superchargers everywhere, only the 80-120mi EVs need these destination chargers to begin with, and some cars do not have DCFC (VW, Fiat, GM, Nissan, Etc). L2 charging is something every EV today supports.

I do get a kick out of the "I'm going to drive a long distance to go see a park, then hang out for only 1 hr crowd". Google Earth will do that for you.

The whole point of DC fast chargers is that they are fast. While 24 kw is faster than 7.2 kw, it's still not a feasible unit for trips of any real distance. It's not even a real solution for the people that require public charging.

 

[Ardie]

Nobody seems to be looking at the harsh glare of the bottom line.

L2 charging stations are cheap.
DCFC charging stations are not.

L2 needs only 240 volt, 50 amp circuits.
DCFC needs 480 volt, 120 amp circuits.

You can install about four of the L2 charging stations for the price of one DCFC charging station.
And DCFC is not yet a common standard. Its still fighting it out with CHADeMo.

So why risk it?

-- Ardie
Be thankful they aren't considering "hair dryer" 120v 20A charging sites.

 

[TexasEV]

The whole point of DC fast chargers is that they are fast. While 24 kw is faster than 7.2 kw, it's still not a feasible unit for trips of any real distance. It's not even a real solution for the people that require public charging.

I agree it's not feasible on the highway for trips. It's very feasible for a destination where people stay a few hours (such as the Thomas Edison museum we're talking about).

By the way I looked at the video of the announcement on electrek.co and the BMW person answering the question said the i3 fully charges to 100% on the unit in question (30A) in 2-3 hours. The BMW web site says it takes 3:30. Either way, that's more a testament to the smallness of the i3 battery than to the speed of the charging.

 

[roguenode]

I do get a kick out of the "I'm going to drive a long distance to go see a park, then hang out for only 1 hr crowd". Google Earth will do that for you.

How about the "I'm going to drive a long distance to go see a park and will need to charge to get back. I hope they have a SC or level 3, otherwise, if I'm not the first person there with an EV I could be screwed crowd"? That's essentially the current situation with the level 2 charging in/around RMNP, depending on where you travelled from.

 

[McRat]

How about the "I'm going to drive a long distance to go see a park and will need to charge to get back. I hope they have a SC or level 3, otherwise, if I'm not the first person there with an EV I could be screwed crowd"? That's essentially the current situation with the level 2 charging in/around RMNP, depending on where you travelled from.

Well, if the park is more than 60 miles from another charger, they should not have bothered with the installs. Most EVs in the US are 80-120 mi EPA range. 3 hours in a park isn't exactly a prison sentence.

Like I said, this is Tesla site. No concern is shown for the 200,000 short range BEVs that are not Teslas.

BMW does not share the Tesla Only image of EV support. The fact folk rag on them for doing a good deed for other kinds of EVs is baffling but understandable.

 

[roguenode]

Well, if the park is more than 60 miles from another charger, they should not have bothered with the installs. Most EVs in the US are 80-120 mi EPA range. 3 hours in a park isn't exactly a prison sentence.

Like I said, this is Tesla site. No concern is shown for the 200,000 short range BEVs that are not Teslas.

BMW does not share the Tesla Only image of EV support. The fact folk rag on them for doing a good deed for other kinds of EVs is baffling but understandable.

It's less, but elevation gain and winter conditions have huge affects to all EV range in this area. The point remains. Unless you install a quantity of level 2 chargers, it's not very smart to assume a the charger will be available. The amount of time you intend to be at the park is irrelevant unless you plan on spending that time waiting what could be hours at the charging station for it to be available.