Quote:
Originally Posted by ddk632
I don't know man.
I think that they have made an incredible car. They are marketing to go along with it but I don't see how that detracts from the car.
The blue accents are all part of the styling of the car, not the marketing. Like you said, i8 looks like the batmobile.
To me it looks like the cars of the future, which I dreamed of as a kid (not that I'm grown up these days) who was into Star Trek and sci-fi movies... I like the styling, blue accents and all.
So much has gone into this car that is functional yet distinctly unique (styling, manufacture process, CFRP, etc.), it would be a disservice for it to look like a normal car.
I have stated this over and over and it doesn't get old, but I think the Tesla Model S is butt-ugly. It looks like Hyundai or a Kia to me. Actually I was behind one on the road and was wondering if it was a new Kia until I drove up to it and saw that it was in fact a Tesla.
And I don't agree with you regarding the performance. According to BMW, the i8 has performance on par with an M3. That's pretty awesome for a first-generation ground-up electric/hybrid car. It's not about the numbers. This car has usable real-world performance.
I also respect how BMW has gone to great lengths to manufacture their own CFRP, partnered with the Moses Lake facility which runs on hydro power and are basically producing their own carbon fiber just for BMW, which BMW then presses into body panels.
They are able to paint pieces separately now and have stated the most energy-hungry process of the auto-assembly line (paint) is taking 25% of the energy it used to with the BMWi vehicles.
They're recycling CF scraps and using in other parts of the vehicles such as the door sills.
I am regurgitating a bunch of stuff I've seen in the many recent videos and interviews posted, and to be honest I am impressed and blown away at the dedication that BMW has thrown at making this about efficiency and sustainability from the core all the way to the finished product.
And this is coming from someone who couldn't care less about all the green hype. I mean, I bought an X6M, it's a beast of an SUV, nothing green about it!
But the philosophy of BMWi commands respect for their dedication to doing this all the right way. And I'm all about doing things the right way. If you're gonna do something, do it right.
I believe (just my opinion) BMW wanted to differentiate the cars from other cars much in the same way they have differentiated the entire philosophy and manufacturing process from any other...
So to celebrate that, I'm cool with blue accents. I like the logo, the kidney grilles, and the minor touches on the interior where the accents have been placed.
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I'm with you on a lot of this, but there are certain things I can't get passed.
Teslas can go 300 miles on a charge. i3 comes in a single flavor that's all electric and that caps around 100 miles. i8 doesn't even come in an all electric form, theorhetically drops its mpg down to 45 when driven hard. Tesla doesn't factor gas into the equation, and manages to push it's car 0-60 in under 4 seconds. For a seven seater luxury full size car, that's pretty damn impressive. 4.5 seconds for a $140 grand super car, and the reaction is meh. These are the things that buyers at this price level are going to care about. If Tesla could do it without compromise, why couldn't BMW?
We'll agree to disagree on the blue. I find it to be a very surface level addition that only speaks to marketing, not function by any means, and that's what bothers me. The i8 is already so unique in its styling that blue accents aside, it still wouldn't look like a normal car.
I just see the debut of these cars as being 2 steps in the wrong direction, and that's what bothers me. I've been waiting to see a BMW super car since I was a teenager. An answer to the R8, the SLR, SLS, something. Anything. And then bring us a hybrid that performs reasonably well, that has bright blue all over it in the hopes that everyone realizes the car is about efficiency and forgives the lack of performance.