BMW introducing electric car

[JOHNNIE36]

Just hearing on Fox News that BMW will be introducing a new electric vehicle. Radio earlier said it would have a range of 100 miles and recharge in 3 hours. Saw a picture of it and it looks small. Also has a gasoline engine as a standby electric charging system. More details to come.

 

[samclem]

Looks like some sort of shrunk-down Pontiac Aztec. BMW--what's wrong with you?

But the idea of a range-extending gasoline engine is a good one.

 

[braumeister]

Elon Musk must be quaking in his boots.

 

[Chuckanut]

Elon Musk must be quaking in his boots.

IIRC, part of Tesla's recent profits came from consulting fees from major car makers including BMW and Toyota.

 

[clifp]

IIRC, part of Tesla's recent profits came from consulting fees from major car makers including BMW and Toyota.

I think Tesla had all the folks they wouldn't hire give BMW advice on the design. That I3 she sure is a beauty. I'm going right down to the BMW dealer and seeing if they'll swap my Tesla for one.

 

[NW-Bound]

I don't care if it's ugly. If it costs $25K and has a range of 500 mi, sign me up!

 

[MichaelB]

I don't care if it's ugly. If it costs $25K and has a range of 500 mi, sign me up!

The only way $25K belongs in the same sentence as BMW is right before the words "down payment".

 

[NW-Bound]

If the public reception of this car is the same as what displayed by posters here, then there may be a sale, and I can have it that cheap.

As I said, for me cheap wins over ugly, particularly for cars.

PS. Hey, before I give anybody any idea, I do have some standards, even though they may be a bit low. For example, I would buy a used car, but there must be no dents, no mismatched paint on any panel, etc...

 

[clifp]

I don't care if it's ugly. If it costs $25K and has a range of 500 mi, sign me up!

How about 50K and 100 miles still interested?

This Wired article is pretty decent, but $45,200 for the model with the motorcycle and no options, vs $62,400 for the baseline Tesla..

 

[NW-Bound]

"My $25K offer is firm!"

Said NWB as he walked towards the door...

 

[Chuckanut]

If that is the best they can do after consulting with Tesla, then I would say Mr. Musk must have horns-waggled them! Or maybe it fits inside the HyperLoop so you can take your car with you

 

[samclem]

Or maybe it fits inside the HyperLoop so you can take your car with you

And that way nobody would have to look at it.

 

[JOHNNIE36]

samclem, you took the words right out of my mouth. Pontiac Aztec!

 

[Zathras]

Tesla is not doing any work for BMW.
Tesla is doing work with Toyota and Mercedes.

The extender is an option. So you could have the pure EV for $42k or the EV + extender for $46k and an extra 270 pounds or so.

I would like to see one in person. However from what I have seen Tesla has nothing to worry about. Closest competition is probably the Volt or Leaf.

 

[NW-Bound]

And that way nobody would have to look at it.

Hey, do not make fun of my future $25K car!

The electric battery has a range of 100 mi. The gas generator charger adds another 100 mi, but that is because of its 2.4 gal tank. That's 40mpg. Bring your own 2 gal jerrycan, and one can almost get from LA to SF. It beats carrying a HarborFreight generator in the trunk. The 100-mi electric range is adequate for in-town grocery runs, so that's good.

Think I will have to wait a while before I buy an EV. Hopefully, before I croak.

 

[clifp]

Tesla is not doing any work for BMW.
Tesla is doing work with Toyota and Mercedes.

The extender is an option. So you could have the pure EV for $42k or the EV + extender for $46k and an extra 270 pounds or so.

I would like to see one in person. However from what I have seen Tesla has nothing to worry about. Closest competition is probably the Volt or Leaf.

You are right it is Mercedes, which frankly explains some things like the limited capability. Although why BMW, who generally makes nice looking cars, came up with this design is a mystery.

The target is clearly the Volt, Leaf, and the Ford Fusion Energi. My friend has the Ford and she is pretty happy with it. Still the BMW like all the others is overpriced compared to a other cars in their class,with no real redeeming features other than the Greenness.

 

[Powor]

You would think that more companies would be jumping on the electric car wagon. These things are pretty popular for price, so why not try to make something to compete? It'll be a great day when you can buy one for a lot cheaper though.

 

[Midpack]

You would think that more companies would be jumping on the electric car wagon. These things are pretty popular for price, so why not try to make something to compete? It'll be a great day when you can buy one for a lot cheaper though.

You must be in SoCal. They're still pretty rare here in flyover country and east, and make little sense purely in terms of operating cost. They're a toy for eco-chic early adopters mostly, and profits have been elusive for most if not all carmakers. Tesla seems to have turned the profit corner, but the others are covering their losses with ICEs and (maybe) hybrids AFAIK.

Don't get me wrong, I hope to own one someday. And thanks to early adopters, I may be able to one day. But we're not there yet - maybe within 10 years for a second car at least?

 

[RockyMtn]

Me thinks I'll hang on to my BMW 650ci.

 

[aja8888]

I'll keep my diesel Jetta for now. I can make a 300 mile run to the Eagle Ford shale area for a project and not have to fill up for the whole 600 mile round trip and average 42 MPG @ 70 MPH.

In this area (Texas), I have only seen a few pure electric cars on the road since they became available. I have seen a few Volt's, one Leaf and no Telsa's. Hybrids are all over the place and I mainly see Toyota and GM brands (Prius, Yukon). Ford must be late to the party around here. But boy, do we have the pickup's!

 

[Alan]

On holiday in the UK at present and recently we hired a VW Golf diesel TDI with great performance, and over the 7 weeks and 2,300 miles we drove we averaged 56 mpg (that's US gallons). We are currently driving a much bigger car, Toyota Avensys, and after 700 miles it is averaging around 45 mpg.

If diesels ever make it to the US, electric and hybrid cars will have even tougher opposition. We see a few hybrids here but not nearly as many as we see back in the USA.

 

[Bestwifeever]

The only person I know in real life who owns an EV (and a hybrid) is an economics professor in the South.

We are always amazed when driving in Europe how tiny some of the cars are, which are not available in the US. I imagine a lot of them are diesels, too.

 

[Alan]

The only person I know in real life who owns an EV (and a hybrid) is an economics professor in the South.

We are always amazed when driving in Europe how tiny some of the cars are, which are not available in the US. I imagine a lot of them are diesels, too.

I can only imagine the mpg of the really small European cars. The Golf we hired is the 4th car up on the Enterprise Car Rental classes of rental cars, and is only a little smaller than our 2007 Prius. The Avensys is larger than the Camrys we used to own.

 

[aja8888]

On holiday in the UK at present and recently we hired a VW Golf diesel TDI with great performance, and over the 7 weeks and 2,300 miles we drove we averaged 56 mpg (that's US gallons). We are currently driving a much bigger car, Toyota Avensys, and after 700 miles it is averaging around 45 mpg.

If diesels ever make it to the US, electric and hybrid cars will have even tougher opposition. We see a few hybrids here but not nearly as many as we see back in the USA.

Alan, diesels are making it back after GM's late 1970's fiasco with their converted V8 diesel engines. It's taken 30 years to get people to forget that mess. VW offers the new full size Passat sedan (made in the new Chattanooga, TN plant) along with the Golf and Jetta wagons and sedans which are assembled in Mexico or Europe.

BMW has had the 335 diesel here for a few years and MB has been selling diesel models continually since 1980 or earlier. Audi (really VW in some regards) has had the A4 - A7 model here for a few years. Porche has the diesel Cyanne SUV sold here.

This year, GM has introduced the diesel Cruze sedan and is selling it now (selected markets). It's very similar in size and performance to the Jetta and has an Italian 2.0 liter turbo-injected diesel engine.

So they are showing up, but only are about 2 - 3% of auto sales in the U.S. at the moment. Not a bad choice if you want performance and economy.

 

[Alan]

Thanks for the info, we'll definitely look for diesels next time we need a car. We've had many diesels rented here and in Europe over the last few years.