RE: Dealers confirmed for BMW i3 and i8
Discussion
I'm as much of a petrol head as any one here but this is the electric car's Apple moment. BMW are taking something currently geeky & slightly "why do you want one of those new fangled mp3 players, what's wrong with CDs or vinyl" and turning it into a cool object of desire & making a perfectly good petrol engine a thing of derision*
The biggest thing with these cars, like with Apple, isn't the hardware; it's the support infrastructure they are investing in. Apple put a huge amount into itunes and it was that which made the ipod what it became; I'm pretty certain we will see the same with BMW's investment in the support for these vehicles. Range, battery life and cost is just imprving the technology, like memory size of the early generation ipods was.
The biggest thing with these cars, like with Apple, isn't the hardware; it's the support infrastructure they are investing in. Apple put a huge amount into itunes and it was that which made the ipod what it became; I'm pretty certain we will see the same with BMW's investment in the support for these vehicles. Range, battery life and cost is just imprving the technology, like memory size of the early generation ipods was.
- Making the petrol engine derisory though just means they will be cheaper to buy. Can't wait to get my hands on a cheap 6 cylinder beauty myself, I'll won't hear the derision over that sweet engine note :-D
Collectingbrass said:
I'm as much of a petrol head as any one here but this is the electric car's Apple moment. BMW are taking something currently geeky & slightly "why do you want one of those new fangled mp3 players, what's wrong with CDs or vinyl" and turning it into a cool object of desire & making a perfectly good petrol engine a thing of derision*
The biggest thing with these cars, like with Apple, isn't the hardware; it's the support infrastructure they are investing in. Apple put a huge amount into itunes and it was that which made the ipod what it became; I'm pretty certain we will see the same with BMW's investment in the support for these vehicles. Range, battery life and cost is just imprving the technology, like memory size of the early generation ipods was.
The big difference is that the ipod cost a few hundred quid, these icars are being marketed at £100,000.00. That's an awful lot of money to spend on an aerodynamic Nissan Note with a BMW badge slapped on it's ar*e by some camp marketing exec. You're being sucked in by the marketing and the desire for something exclusive and expensive IMHO. The biggest thing with these cars, like with Apple, isn't the hardware; it's the support infrastructure they are investing in. Apple put a huge amount into itunes and it was that which made the ipod what it became; I'm pretty certain we will see the same with BMW's investment in the support for these vehicles. Range, battery life and cost is just imprving the technology, like memory size of the early generation ipods was.
Toaster said:
Well if you want a 'Poverty' Model why not one of these http://www.renault.co.uk/cars/model/twizy/pricesan...
I do not mean the above in a derogatory way its quite a nice car in its own way and you could always for the F1 version http://www.carscoops.com/2013/05/watch-renault-twi...
I want a £35,000 capable of more than 140mls! Last week a friend and I drove 860mls in a day in his Mercedes. We averaged 44.8mpg. Why would I buy an electric car? I do not mean the above in a derogatory way its quite a nice car in its own way and you could always for the F1 version http://www.carscoops.com/2013/05/watch-renault-twi...
The Surveyor said:
The big difference is that the ipod cost a few hundred quid, these icars are being marketed at £100,000.00. That's an awful lot of money to spend on an aerodynamic Nissan Note with a BMW badge slapped on it's ar*e by some camp marketing exec. You're being sucked in by the marketing and the desire for something exclusive and expensive IMHO.
Is that really much different to apple? Paying for something that looks fancy but underneath is basically the same as something far cheaper...greggy50 said:
The Surveyor said:
The big difference is that the ipod cost a few hundred quid, these icars are being marketed at £100,000.00. That's an awful lot of money to spend on an aerodynamic Nissan Note with a BMW badge slapped on it's ar*e by some camp marketing exec. You're being sucked in by the marketing and the desire for something exclusive and expensive IMHO.
Is that really much different to apple? Paying for something that looks fancy but underneath is basically the same as something far cheaper...Of the many problems with electric cars, (no point going electric if you've got mainly coal fired power stations.. and many of those are going to be de commissioned over the next decade with the new ones planned still without carbon capture technology!!.etc..), is that not many of us, (especially in major city centres), have a nice comfy garage with electric point, (ideally 3 phase). This will always be the stumbling block for electric cars, unless they can generate there own electricity without the need for a plug-in facility....in which case you're still burning fuel to generate electricity which sort of defeats the purpose, especially as the engine has to push around 300kgs of batteries!
Edited by Nick644 on Tuesday 21st May 14:04
edinph said:
Toaster said:
Well if you want a 'Poverty' Model why not one of these http://www.renault.co.uk/cars/model/twizy/pricesan...
I do not mean the above in a derogatory way its quite a nice car in its own way and you could always for the F1 version http://www.carscoops.com/2013/05/watch-renault-twi...
I want a £35,000 capable of more than 140mls! Last week a friend and I drove 860mls in a day in his Mercedes. We averaged 44.8mpg. Why would I buy an electric car? I do not mean the above in a derogatory way its quite a nice car in its own way and you could always for the F1 version http://www.carscoops.com/2013/05/watch-renault-twi...
I couldn't unlock my car with a potato...
I couldn't check my valve clearences with a breaker bar...
etc...
Right tool for the job. If you do lots of miles, clearly electric cars aren't for you. If you do 3 miles to the shops and back, they clear would work very well for you. Right?
edinph said:
I want a £35,000 capable of more than 140mls! Last week a friend and I drove 860mls in a day in his Mercedes. We averaged 44.8mpg. Why would I buy an electric car?
I don't want to get into a stupid PH argument but do you think all new cars should be designed with you as the target market or just £35,000 ones?Collectingbrass said:
greggy50 said:
The Surveyor said:
The big difference is that the ipod cost a few hundred quid, these icars are being marketed at £100,000.00. That's an awful lot of money to spend on an aerodynamic Nissan Note with a BMW badge slapped on it's ar*e by some camp marketing exec. You're being sucked in by the marketing and the desire for something exclusive and expensive IMHO.
Is that really much different to apple? Paying for something that looks fancy but underneath is basically the same as something far cheaper...The Jolly Todger said:
edinph said:
I want a £35,000 capable of more than 140mls! Last week a friend and I drove 860mls in a day in his Mercedes. We averaged 44.8mpg. Why would I buy an electric car?
I don't want to get into a stupid PH argument but do you think all new cars should be designed with you as the target market or just £35,000 ones?edinph said:
I want a £35,000 capable of more than 140mls! Last week a friend and I drove 860mls in a day in his Mercedes. We averaged 44.8mpg. Why would I buy an electric car?
Indeed, why would you if that sort of journey is your requirement? Just like you wouldn't buy an Atom for that requirement either. Of course, other people may have different requirements and the i3 might meet those. No one is being forced to buy an EV, but a lot of people seem to think more choice is a bad thing. 
Nick644 said:
To be fair, many of us just want, (or can only afford) one car which ideally should be a jack of all trades. Hence, electric in town, but capable of a trip involving several hundred miles over the weekend with the family etc... It's not really an unreasonable ask for £35K
And there are hundreds of cars that meet those usage requirements already (if not the electric in town bit - range extender tech may be the answer here). For others perhaps an i3 would fit their requirements for a second/third/city car. An EV doesn't fit my current requirements but that doesn't mean I think they are rubbish or useless for everyone.There's no requirement to buy an EV, more choice is good IMO.
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