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The BMW i3 is anything but the average car. Not only is it BMWs first electric offering, it's also the only car available today that has an optional auxiliary power unit; the range extender. It's really unlike any car that's ever been available, and unsurprisingly, it's often misunderstood. Most people really don't understand how the range extender works; what it can do, and what its limits are. This is, unfortunately even true for many of the client advisers selling them! So getting information on how the  car works out there is very important. BMW has produced a series of videos that help to explain the i3. While very helpful to new owners, they don't go into too much of the technical details that many people are also interested in. The book is filled with graphs on charging, range, power, consumption, etc Enter BMW i3 owner and engineer, David Bricknell. Earlier in the year, David published a book called "Electric Vehicles and the BMW i3" that was ...

Do you live in the San Francisco Bay Area and drive a BMW i3, i8, X540e, 330e or 740e? If so, would you like to get paid to participate in BMW i's award winning ChargeForward initiative, while helping to shape the future of electric vehicle charging? BMW is seeking 250 individuals to participate in the second phase of the ChargeForward initiative, which will last approximately 24 months. The first phase of the program is now complete, and volunteers are needed for the second phase, which begins in January, 2017. This phase includes vehicle to grid managed charging, and stationary energy storage systems which utilize repurposed MINI-E battery packs. Back in 2015, this program won the ESNA Innovation Award for EV Battery 2nd Life Energy Storage System. From the ChargeForward website: The second phase of ChargeForward, from January 2017 through December 2018, is expected to demonstrate expanded benefits of charging optimization through management of both current and projected future c...

BMW has long said that BMW i wasn't created exclusively for developing and manufacturing their plug in electric vehicles; that it would also be devoted to developing sustainable mobility solutions as well. Car sharing is one of those mobility solutions that are getting a lot of attention lately, and not just from independent companies like Uber and Lyft. OEMs are also getting into the car sharing game, and GM’s Maven car sharing service is now in 13 US cities. BMW’s car sharing arm was initially called DriveNow, but was recently brought entirely in house (DriveNow was a partnership between BMW i and Sixt) and rebranded as ReachNow. The three i3's and two 3-Series sedans used for the car sharing program were parked in front of The Solaire for the announcement on Thursday, December 8th.  ReachNow was launched earlier this year in Seattle, Washington. They then added service to Portland, Oregon and recently became available in Brooklyn, NY. However yesterday, BMW i and the Albanes...

The following is a guest post written by i3 owner Francis. I started the Born Electric guest post series back in 2014 to give the readers here a look into the lives of i3 owners around the world. To view past Born Electric guest posts, follow this link: Born Electric Hello, my name is Francis and I was born electric two years ago on November 13th, 2014. I opted for the BMW i3 with the range extender and I have been sharing my electric experience with my fellow Quebecers. I even did a lengthy post after my first year that covers pretty much everything. I'm also an owner that didn't code my i3 to change the range extender behavior in North America (some would call me crazy and yet I never had a problem with the REX). So why post again after my 1-year report ? Simply because this year was everything but usual. One question we all asked ourselves, what would happen if my driving habit changed, would my electric car still meet my needs? Ever thought about a family emergency? Would m...

While I typically keep a narrow focus on the content of this blog, that being to obsessively cover the BMW i3 electric car, occasionally I'll post something if I feel it has particular importance to the electric vehicle industry as a whole. Such is the case with this entry. For those of you unfamiliar with the Volkswagen "Clean Diesel" scandal, it basically amounts to the fact that Volkswagen cheated the emission testing in place and flooded the market with highly-polluting vehicles that were improperly called "Clean Diesel". As a result, the Volkswagen Group was fined a record amount of money and forced to buy back or fix nearly half a million cars in the US which were operating in conflict with US emission laws. As part of the penalty, Volkswagen was ordered to pay a 2 billion dollar penalty, which would be used to fund zero emission infrastructure, and improve access to ZEVs. On face value, the proposed Dieselgate settlement initially seemed like it might pro...

Side by side comparison clearly demonstrates the difference the sport springs by H&R make. In the bottom (after) picture, the front is lowered by 1.2" and the rear by .8". I've always loved modifying my cars. From subtle aesthetic improvements to serious performance upgrades, I've done it all. Modification isn't usually thought of with regards to electric cars though, but that's changing, and will continue to as more and more EVs come into the marketplace.   Many car enthusiasts share my desire to personalize their cars also. BMWs in particular have become synonymous with performance upgrades and that's going to continue with BMWs that plug in, it's just going to take a little time for aftermarket manufacturers to realize there's a market for EV modifications. Granted it won't be as easy as it's been in the past; but where's a demand, the market will create a supply. One company that didn't wait long was H&R, makers of perfo...

255 miles of combined range? This range estimator is probable a little more optimistic than real life, but I definitely believe 200 miles is possible with the new 2017 i3 REx.  What a difference three years makes.  I was able to secure one of the first 2017 BMW i3 REx cars that made its way into US dealer inventory, compliments of Chris Chang, Sales Manager at BMW of Bloomfield here in New Jersey. The vehicle is mostly the same as my 2014 i3 REx, the one big exception is it has the new 94 Ah battery cells, which increase the overall battery capacity from 21.6 kWh to 33 kWh without increasing its physical size. That was necessary, since this isn't a redesigned i3, so the battery modules had to fit in the existing battery tray. The 2017 i3 REx in Fluid Black next to my "Moloughney Red" wrapped 2014 i3 REx As much as I wanted to check out the moonroof option that this car had (finally the moonroof is available in the US!), there is no denying the single most important improv...