Electric BMW 3 Series Reportedly Coming to Frankfurt Auto Show in September

[MightyMouseTech]

Originally Posted by jkoral

Enter your state to see your power grid breakdown by source:
https://www.afdc.energy.gov/vehicles..._emissions.php

For example, West Virginia is 95% coal, but Massachusetts (where I live) is 5.8% coal.

Also interesting is the emissions difference between EV, Hybrid, and Gasoline powered vehicles taking into account your state's power sources (for example, worst case scenario is WV, where EV is only marginally better from an emissions standpoint compared to traditional).

As of 2014, our province of Ontario has 0 coal. Bring on the electrics!

https://www.desmog.ca/2014/04/17/ont...ally-coal-free

Ontario is the first province or state in North America to successfully phase out the burning of coal to produce electricity. The Winnipeg-based International Institute for Sustainable Development describes the move as the “single largest regulatory action in North America” to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

Although, our electricity is horrifically expensive, but our overnight rate is 1/3 the daytime rate.

[jackelliott]

Tesla Autopilot > BMW ?

I don't care if it's electric or not just make it drive itself for over 50 seconds

[Bowser330]

Originally Posted by dmboone25

I have been lucky enough to ride in a Tesla, and yes - the initial speed is quite intoxicating. And the car is very nice and has a lot of interesting features, tech, etc. But I am not sure it would have a lasting impact, such that I would actually want to purchase a car like that.

The main problem is noise, or the lack thereof. I know the industry is constantly moving farther away from the type of "involvement" that an enthusiast enjoys, but the electric car experience is really strange in my opinion. I have always thought my F80 was quiet (especially in comparison to my 981), but this is on a whole other level...

I do like the idea of a hybrid setup (think Porsche 918), where you get the benefits of both gasoline and electric power. But electric on its own? Not for me.

Exactly imagine if BMW were to mainstream the 918/i8 type technology....not just hybrid, performance hybrid...there's a difference folks....the 918 is not a prius...

The next m3/m5 should be a performance hybrid.

[Chihuahua]

Yes please, provided it is better than the Tesla.

[Chihuahua]

Originally Posted by AudiA4

Ummmm...the Chevrolet Bolt is Car of the Year; beat the Tesla Model 3 to the market, and is by all accounts a phenomenal vehicle...for $35,000.

And is still not available in every state in the US.

[evanevery]

Originally Posted by positiveions

>300 miles and we are talking. Honestly, taking an electrical car with 250 miles range out of town is not feasible.

Damn! Wish I knew that before I took my Tesla Model X from Milwaukee to iND in Chicago to pick up my M4 Track car! Oh well, I guess I'll know better next time!

Thanks for the heads up!

[ORIGIN M.]

Originally Posted by evanevery

Damn! Wish I knew that before I took my Tesla Model X from Milwaukee to iND in Chicago to pick up my M4 Track car! Oh well, I guess I'll know better next time!

Thanks for the heads up!

See that's the lifestyle right there.
Works wonders.

As soon as the M4 CSL plugin comes out I bet you will buy one.

Correct me if I am wrong.

[srswans]

Awesome news. I put my Model III deposit down promptly when the gates opened and I believe that I'm in the first 100,000. That puts me about two years away from getting a Model III. The 3-series electric should be available by then so Tesla will have to compete for my business.

I had an i3 for a two-year lease while I waited for M2 deliveries to start. The i3 is the perfect commuter car - fast, quiet and fun. It can fit four six-foot adults without problem (though the carriage doors get tiresome). Now that I have my M2, I'm missing the i3. The M2 is wicked awesome, especially on the track, but I feel that its wasted on commuting detail. Jumping in the i3 and taking off for short, guilt-free trips was awesome.

I drove the Bolt a few weeks ago. Very nice. Four normal doors with tons of headroom. Excellent price - low $30s. The seats didn't fit me very well though. And it didn't give me the "gotta have one" addiction that I got when test-driving the i3. The Bolt wasn't quite as fast as the i3 but it appears that the new, longer range i3s aren't as fast as the original either. I will pass on the Bolt (for a Model III or 3-series) but I can see where many others will buy one.

[AudiA4]

Originally Posted by Chihuahua

And is still not available in every state in the US.

Seriously, what does that have to do with anything?

[AudiA4]

Originally Posted by adc

Tesla does them because they beta-test their software on their clients, and because they don't have dealers/servicing in certain states or parts of the country. I find both reasons deeply uncool.

The ability to switch features on and off over the air is a different thing, and way cooler. Although it makes you realize you already bought your AutoPilot technology when you bought the car, and now just need a $6,000 activation code for it. That's maybe worse than having empty button slots on the dash like Porsche.

Let me get this straight: Tesla provides a seamless, over-the-air update service that does NOT require you to make a trip to the dealer, AND it's FREE, and you find this "deeply uncool"? Seriously...

[BMWRL]

This is going to be one of BMWs most important debuts.

They have to nail it.

[sdshah]

Originally Posted by AudiA4

"Awards don't mean anything." - quote from entity not getting awards

It's sad how little people know about brand image and marketing. Especially its hold over the public.

How many people do you think read car mags about what EV won an award? Exactly.

There are 300,000 preorders because someone would rather drive a tesla 3 then a bolt. That will be true yesterday, today, and tomorrow. It doesn't matter how good of a car the bolt is.

Even someone who knows nothing about cars like my Dad wants to buy an electric car. If I said buy a bolt? He'd say I can spend the same and buy the car that all those SV celebs drive...

That's the bottom line. Tesla has this market cornered for the time being. All these other cars that pop up are just a bunch of LG phones competing with the IPhone

[AudiA4]

Originally Posted by sdshah

It's sad how little people know about brand image and marketing. Especially its hold over the public.

How many people do you think read car mags about what EV won an award? Exactly.

There are 300,000 preorders because someone would rather drive a tesla 3 then a bolt. That will be true yesterday, today, and tomorrow. It doesn't matter how good of a car the bolt is.

Even someone who knows nothing about cars like my Dad wants to buy an electric car. If I said buy a bolt? He'd say I can spend the same and buy the car that all those SV celebs drive...

That's the bottom line. Tesla has this market cornered for the time being. All these other cars that pop up are just a bunch of LG phones competing with the IPhone

I don't disagree with anything you've said. But don't knock GM for reaping literal awards for a product that is well executed. They've earned it. Whether or not it translates to a ton of sales remains to be seen.

[antzcrashing]

Originally Posted by dmboone25

This is pure conjecture on my part, but from my point of view, the whole electric car thing is a massive farce from the perspective of helping the environment.

If you get your electricity from a power plant that burns coal, is there much difference between a Prius and an M3? Perhaps there is...but it doesn't seem very obvious to me.

Now if you're talking about hydrogen, which is the most abundant element in the universe and only produces water as it's being used as a fuel....well, that makes some sense. Of course the gas/oil companies don't want that, and the global network of fuel transportation and procurement would have to change, but utilizing a truly clean burning fuel should move that environmental needle much more effectively.

Electric cars feel like an enormous marketing exercise, nothing more.

Agreed, but it is a successful marketing campaign.

[adc]

Originally Posted by AudiA4

Let me get this straight: Tesla provides a seamless, over-the-air update service that does NOT require you to make a trip to the dealer, AND it's FREE, and you find this "deeply uncool"? Seriously...

I find it deeply uncool that they are not properly/sufficiently testing their products in the first place, and give you an unfinished item. Then after all the clients have debugged their stuff on the road, they will send you an update over the air.

If they did it properly from the beginning it wouldn't be necessary.

When I pay for something, I want it all, from the beginning and the full fat.


And not all the updates are "cool". They recently sent updates to downgrade the performance in the ludicrous mode, after finding out it was killing the batteries. So you pay for a product with a promise of performance, only to have it dumbed down a few months later. It's downright dishonest in this particular case.

[AudiA4]

Originally Posted by adc

I find it deeply uncool that they are not properly/sufficiently testing their products in the first place, and give you an unfinished item. Then after all the clients have debugged their stuff on the road, they will send you an update over the air.

If they did it properly from the beginning it wouldn't be necessary.

When I pay for something, I want it all, from the beginning and the full fat.


And not all the updates are "cool". They recently sent updates to downgrade the performance in the ludicrous mode, after finding out it was killing the batteries. So you pay for a product with a promise of performance, only to have it dumbed down a few months later. It's downright dishonest in this particular case.

What in the world makes you think Tesla's initial software is any less tested than BMW's? Then you proceed to criticize a software change that fixes a problem. Somebody needs to let you in on a little secret: these are all POSITIVE attributes.

[the dope steez]

I would seriously consider an electric 3 series. I am a city commuter and I too feel that the power of my 335i is wasted cruising around town. More importantly my fuel economy is brutal (i only drive in sport because of the improved steering feel) so it's just expensive when you add up all the costs..

My old man has a tesla 85D AWD, coming from a P85D RWD (why he traded it I'll never know), and the thing is seriously impressive. He has put 100,000 miles on the two and only ran into one problem - ran the battery down too much and we thought he may have bricked it. Tesla flew out a tech from Vancouver the next day and he fixed it in an hour.

Another thing I find interesting, my cousin wanted to order a Chevy bolt. Went to the dealer and they said they were 'over their allocation limit'. He asked how many they had sold, they replied 'zero'. Chevy Canada also won't give him an answer on where to buy. Dunno if it's a Canadian thing but I have never seen one on the road whereas now I see teslas fairly frequently

[ron_jeremy]

Originally Posted by the dope steez

I would seriously consider an electric 3 series. I am a city commuter and I too feel that the power of my 335i is wasted cruising around town. More importantly my fuel economy is brutal (i only drive in sport because of the improved steering feel) so it's just expensive when you add up all the costs..

My old man has a tesla p85 AWD, coming from a p85d RWD (why he traded it I'll never know), and the thing is seriously impressive. He has put 100,000 miles on the two and only ran into one problem - ran the battery down too much and we thought he may have bricked it. Tesla flew out a tech from Vancouver the next day and he fixed it in an hour.

Another thing I find interesting, my cousin wanted to order a Chevy bolt. Went to the dealer and they said they were 'over their allocation limit'. He asked how many they had sold, they replied 'zero'. Chevy Canada also won't give him an answer on where to buy. Dunno if it's a Canadian thing but I have never seen one on the road whereas now I see teslas fairly frequently

The Volt have all but sold out here in Norway, all cars for 2018 have gone, so the ones first in que, did sell their cars with a healthy margin afterwards. So if you want a brand new Volt, you have to wait until 2019. 3700 Norvegian bought the car even before they have seen it, so it's very popular here, as all EV are, we have almost 20% EV in Norway btw.

[conradb]

It won't work. BMW doesn't have the infrastructure, research, nor tech to compete with the likes of Tesla on this.

[Pauleebe]

Originally Posted by conradb

It won't work. BMW doesn't have the infrastructure, research, nor tech to compete with the likes of Tesla on this.

I'd tend to agree, but competition is good

[Falafel Combo]

I have owned 9 different iterations of 3 series models (between series and M cars), and I would have zero hesitations buying an electric 3 series. None. Just give me a range of at least 250 miles and I'm all over it.

[rainfall]

BMW needs to combine its strengths with the market trends to be competitive in this segment.

BMW is literally years away from Tesla & others, not just in product launches, but also in R&D.
What BMW does (did) well was to figure out what are different DRIVER segments and what they are looking for from a driving perspective.

I think it will be a waste of effort to go chase down Tesla or Bolt as is. I'm not a car engineer, but I think if they focus on building cars that are fun to drive instead of copying what others are doing, they are more likely to be successful.

That's not an easy job, because the 3 series hybrid didn't sell much. I hope they are more successful with this 3 series electric and I hope there is still some fun factor in this car.