What in the world were the BMW designers thinking?

[Mabouya]

I saw my first i3 yesterday. Unbelievable.

In my opinion it looks like a cross between a Pontiac Aztec and a Honda Fit.

[seanile]

saw one in person a month ago. flippin stupid looking.

[David Tollefson]

What was that Isuzu that had NO visibility in the back quarters? Kinda reminds me of that...

Ah, yes, the Vehicross...

[jitahs]

If Walter White lived in Silicon Valley he'd have it.

Haven't driven it yet, but I find the looks far less offensive than, say, those of lifted trucks or luxury SUVs, but then again I watched an hour of robots assembling the thing without narration. It's really an engineering marvel, hitting low weight, a very high strength passenger compartment shell (which has a resilience in crash tests no metal-silled ICE car can match), low Cg, rear wheel drive and gobs of torque, though I'm not sure about the training wheels for lateral grip. Will have to test on an autox course.

I'm a total fan of lots of headroom, airy cockpits with uprightish/thinish A pillars and expansive windshields. These make a huge difference in a crowded city.

Basically the perfect really expensive urban runabout. Just think of it as something Kraftwerk would drive far from Deliveranceville.

[joosttx]

saw one in person a month ago. flippin stupid looking.

They are all over the place out here. I've seen at least one, it seems, per day. I kinda of like them but would not ever buy one because Ithink they are too expensive.

Regardless, I heard on CNBC on Tuesday that Prius sales are down 15% y/y because of the drop in oil/gas prices. I bet there are a couple of BMW marketing managers that are sweating balls right now.

[hmbatrail]

At Artomobilia I slid behind the wheel of one. I have to say, it was a rather pleasant place to be.

[jitahs]

Regardless, I heard on CNBC on Tuesday that Prius sales are down 15% y/y because of the drop in oil/gas prices.I bet there are a couple of BMW marketing managers that are sweating balls right now .

They're also down due to the Prius Leaf Blower Experience, but sales of the i3 are well beyond expectations; premium alt fuel swag. Costs must be $$$ but recently there was a very large consortium formed, in part, to bring carbon down to commodity levels for mass consumption. Like the Elon thing but with plastic.

[spopepro]

What BMW is doing with their i-cars is seriously impressive engineering. Tesla has the infrastructure and drive train nailed, but the things BMW is doing with weight, strength, and recycled materials is super, super cool.

I'd venture they stick out far less in Europe. I'd drive one.

[sk_tle]

^^^^ This. To me this is the first modern car made by a big manufacturer tha twas truly engineered has an electric car out of the box. The original Tesla was really a hack job converting a Lotus Elise. The modern Tesla, Chevy Volt, Nissan dontevenrememberitsname are cars made to look, feel and work like petrol car

[vertical_doug]

BMW realized there is a certain amount of snob appeal in the i3 owners want people to know how environmentally concious they are, and to loudly say 'here, look, all electric car' . MB took a different approach and have a tesla drive system in an A3. People do not think it will sell because it is too hard to tell that it is electric.

But wait till you see your first i8.

[MarkC]

Sister had an active E beta tester and loved it. Loves her i3 now. They feel a ton better than Prius.

Nissan has the Leaf if that's what you meant Thomas.

[ldamelio]

[QUOTE=MarkC;643225] They feel a ton better than Prius. /QUOTE]

Mark, if a) you weren't my friend and b) this:

http://jancurran.smugmug.com/Other/C...17023674-M.jpg

I'd break your balls endlessly over this.

[GT56]

and what have bmw achieved with this design ?:

'everyone' talks bmw, tons of free publicity

this is not a car to please the crowds, these are test-beds paid for by the tester, and the testers being tech / environment freaks - freaks here in the good sense of the word

[RickM]

I'd love to test drive one. It's not horrible-looking. Those tires, tho.....No.

[Matthew Strongin]

I kind of like it. Granted, I tend to have a thing for unattractive by traditional standards vehicles. The engine seems peppy enough to make a good commuting car, even on the highway, though average highway speeds would probably drain the battery quickly. There's also a lease special that makes the price pretty good relative to the sticker. That i8, though...oof.

[Mr B]

But wait till you see your first i8.

Saw one on a busy Saturday here in NYC (which usually sucks for car-spotting).
Love it. Would quite like a black i3 too.

[robin3mj]

I've seen a few around here and I like it.
The design is probably a little too euro for many in the US- there are any number of hatchback Renault (the Megane with the weird rear trunk butt), Alfa, Seat, etc. that look way worse than this.
One size too small to serve as the only car in our household, but f one day we needed two and the price made sense, I would not automatically disqualify it.

[quickag]

i8 is dope though. Try jump starting a newish X5 while it's parked nose in in the garage. What a fcking nightmare. No more BMWs for me...

I lied. I need an E60 M5 somethin bad.

[david]

my sons, 19 and 21, saw it independently and both said "cool." unprompted.
on the other hand, they both like the e30.

[Mr B]

The design is probably a little too euro for many in the US- there are any number of hatchback Renault (the Megane with the weird rear trunk butt), Alfa, Seat, etc. that look way worse than this.

As an Englishman fairly new to the US, I'm still having a hard time figuring out why y'all don't really 'get' hatchbacks. Is it still the fault of the Pacer and the Pinto?
I spent two years in LA and saw maybe four or five VW Golfs the entire time. Jettas were literally everywhere. Where I'm from, the Jetta is a dorky dated POS that nobody buys, and few dealers sell.

ps
The Renault Megane R26.R is a bona-fide modern trackday classic. Ridiculously capable car.