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      10-15-2013, 12:30 PM   #21
tommolog
Tom Moloughney
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Efthreeoh View Post
Seriously, we are being that nitpicky? So you also said "it will be a very popular option for many first-time EV buyers". If it will be that popular, then why not offer it standard? It's kind of like air conditioning. Air conditioning used to be a popular option that many buyer chose, so it's now practically standard in every normal passenger vehicle sold in America. If the i3 optioned with the range extender has a gas powered generator (lets not argue whether it actually powers the drive wheels) is it then still truly an Electric Vehicle, or does it become a "hybrid"?

If a first-time EV buyer chooses the i3 because it offers an optional range extender, then what will that person do for his next EV choice, buy the next-gen i3 (with perhaps a 160-mile EV range) without the engine in it?
Yes it will be popular but why would they make it standard when it can be optional? That makes no sense. There will be a lot of people that don't want it - thousands of them in fact, why would BMW wnat to lose those sales?

It's ridiculous to compare it to once-options like A/C because it's not something everybody wants. Personally I'll call it a plug in hybrid if it has the range extender, but I know others will want to use their own terminology. Many Volt owners take extreme offense if someone calls their car a hybrid, but in my eyes that's exactly what it is so that's what I'll call the REx i3. Hybrid isn't a dirty word so I don't know why people seem to have such aversion to it.

Yes, I believe the next gen i3 will indeed have a longer range, probably around what you guessed, but I believe they will still offer the range extender as an option. I don't think we'll see the range extenders leaving until we get consistent, year round ranges of 250mi or better. Either that or a healthy infrastructure of DC quick charge stations. DC QC can eliminate the range extender or need for long range batteries without a doubt, but we are many years away from an infrastructure that's robust enough to allow that to happen.
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