edging closer to electric

[Grog]

they are bringing back the Pontiac Aztek?

[porsche4life]

The original M Coupe (i.e. the "clown show") is my favorite BMW ever, so my taste is already suspect

You are a bass player, of course your taste is suspect!

[Jim Richards]

If your wife wants it and it fits your budget...

[GH85Carrera]

Happy wife = happy life.

[Steve Carlton]

Originally Posted by nostatic

The original M Coupe (i.e. the "clown show") is my favorite BMW ever, so my taste is already suspect

All your taste is in your mouth...

J/k. I like a lot about the styling, in it's golf kart, electric car kind of way. To me all the awkwardness is in the notch below the rear door glass. BMW must have some relative of Chris Bangle still working there.





This must be a prototype rendering or something. Much better:





$45K seems like a lot of money for this. The value would be in the lease payments, if anywhere. Do you get the tax credits if you lease? Is there some sort of lease equivalent?

What about an electric Fiat? I've heard they're pretty good. I might even be able to hook you up with one.

[Rot 911]

Sweet baby Jesus that thing is fugly.

[Seahawk]

I like it.

I drove a friend of mines Wednesday. He lives in DC and commutes about 15 miles to our office in Alexandria. He also travels a lot and all the airports in the region are within reach and have free charging stations right up front in parking.

It is indeed a hoot to scoot around in. I drove it in traffic for about ten minutes then headed out on I395 back to Alexandria.

Surprisingly roomy, better looking in person (his is silver) and well suited to city driving. His wife commutes by Metro but they also own a Tacoma for hauling his gear (we kayak together).

I'd own one on lease and give it a few years.

[jyl]

Originally Posted by nostatic

I think they do, but we've got the X1 for that. The wife's commute is 66 miles round trip so going pure electric can cover that but not with a lot of room for error (range is about 80-90 miles depending on the details). The range extender adds another 60 or so miles on top of that so you've got a safety blanket. There is a big brouhaha with some owners as the US version has the engine wait to kick in until the battery is down to 6% whereas the EU version you can use the engine whenever. While that is just a software change, it has to do with CARB credits and other political/financial/regulatory nonsense.

I've been looking harder at electric cars because my wife only drives around town at 25-35 mph for 99% of the time. If not, then a plug-in hybrid or the Prius-V (larger Prius) which might be plug-in by that time. The BMW is rather expensive, I grant, given I don't lease my cars. Regardless, our next car will be a hybrid or electric. Gas could go to $10/gal and it would have almost no effect on our household spending. Every year or two, we have these frustrated threads about how gas prices have spiked and how much it is costing people; I enjoy not caring. Also, electricity in Portland is inexpensive. But the current Prius will probably go another 100K miles/8 years, so I will need to hand it off to a kid . . .

[nostatic]

Originally Posted by Seahawk

I like it.

I drove a friend of mines Wednesday. He lives in DC and commutes about 15 miles to our office in Alexandria. He also travels a lot and all the airports in the region are within reach and have free charging stations right up front in parking.

It is indeed a hoot to scoot around in. I drove it in traffic for about ten minutes then headed out on I395 back to Alexandria.

Surprisingly roomy, better looking in person (his is silver) and well suited to city driving. His wife commutes by Metro but they also own a Tacoma for hauling his gear (we kayak together).

I'd own one on lease and give it a few years.

Paul, how dare you comment with actual experience in the car. I'm shocked...

Definitely will lease, as going electric is about more than the car. There are infrastructure and planning issues that need to be considered, and it may or may not work out. But what is life if not an experiment. Driving the car had me giggling like a kid, so I'll gladly burn electrons behind the wheel of that. And if it proves to be a pita, then we'll walk away from it after a few years. It's just a car, it's only money, and you can't take any of it with you.

[Scott Douglas]

Now if they'd just make the 2-cyl engine a diesel they'd really have something there....

[1990C4S]

Electric Aztek.

[Steve Carlton]

Originally Posted by Bill Douglas

Wait, stop, I have an idea. How about a 911

Yes! A 911e...

[speeder]

I'd consider leasing one for no other reason than I think it might get the old boy laid in Santa Monica. Pull into Whole Foods on Montana, plug it in and just start doing lower back stretches.

[nostatic]

A 911e will be fun, and the Tesla is a pretty damn cool car, but almost 2x the cost of the i3. If I were rolling in money, I'd have an i8 ordered up - that thing looks spectacular in person. I saw three of them driving in Santa Monica some months back. Talk about a head turner...

The Fiat is cool, but with an 87 mile range it is kind of on the edge of usefulness. Tesla has it right with the longer range and it will be interesting to see what they build for $30-40K. The i3 Rex seems to be a reasonable compromise for range/cost/complexity.

[Seahawk]

Originally Posted by speeder

I'd consider leasing one for no other reason than I think it might get the old boy laid in Santa Monica. Pull into Whole Foods on Montana, plug it in and just start doing lower back stretches.

And that is why I still check in here. Jesus, I cackled like a two pack a day smoker.

[wdfifteen]

That thing will turn more heads than a Harley with open pipes. And the women who are impressed will still have all their teeth. I think it's a winner.

[jyl]

Originally Posted by wdfifteen

That thing will turn more heads than a Harley with open pipes. And the women who are impressed will still have all their teeth. I think it's a winner.

Speeder need simply pull up to a Santa Monica yoga studio and open the door. Then he can charge from their house during.

[nostatic]

Originally Posted by jyl

Speeder need simply pull up to a Santa Monica yoga studio and open the door. Then he can charge from their house during.

L2 setups are quick, but not sure how much charge he'll get in 3 minutes...

[Tobra]

Bastard child of an Aztec and a Smart Car.

[Joeaksa]

Originally Posted by Flieger

Ugliest BMW ever made, one of the ugliest cars ever. But that's just my opinion.

And you my friend are not alone... I could care less if BMW paid someone to drive it, it would not be in my driveway...