How do you mean? Surely this BMW is the only "glorified Volt" that's due on the market? The only other range-extended hybrid due is the Fisker Karma.
As far as price goes though it's a long time since BMW released a car worth $200,000. People will undoubtably pay it (Aston Martin have had no trouble getting orders for the One-77 which is a good four times the price of the next most expensive Aston) but it's still a lot of money to pay for a hybrid.
Well, a Bentley could be called a glorified A8, which could be called a glorified A4, etc. etc. Most cheaper cars will offer the same concept of motoring as their much more expensive counter-parts, i8 to Volt is like Porsche 911 to Ford Fiesta.. it still uses petrol to drive an internal combustion engine to drive 2 wheels to get you from A to B. One's faster round the track, and the other has a bigger boot....
... and yes, it's a lot of money to pay for a hybrid, but then it's a lot of money to pay for any car, the fact it's a hybrid doesn't mean it should be cheaper, does it?
Possibly so, but there's still not a great deal to prove with something like a Tesla. Yes it's a car, but it's theoretically not a great deal more complicated than an R/C car. The batteries are essentially like those you find in the average laptop, the chassis is the hugely proven Elise-based one, an electric motor is an electric motor (one moving part - not complicated) and the body isn't something you can get massively wrong anyway.
Fair point, I understand that... but if it was that easy, wouldn't everyone be doing it? either way, the BMW brand is attractive because it has built a reputation for itself over decades... I think many people would (rightly or wrongly) treat the Tesla with the same scepticism as Kia, or Tata.
I have nothing against Tesla's product as it stands BTW... and...
There's a large difference from being involved in the chain of production and having working cars out on the road
I know this, but MASSIVE inefficiencies owing to thoughtless or badly managed design processes REALLY bug me (and no we didn't design the bits
), to be fair - nothing we make ends up on Bimmers, so maybe the same could be said of them.
I'd agree, it's not a competitor for any of those cars until those companies bring out alternative-fuel competitors (which they will), but that doesn't make it a lot of money for a diesel-electric BMW with styling best described as suiting those with an acquired taste...
Well, this statement is largely subjective... to me the R8 is expensive for an ugly car, and Porsches epically stale design of the 911 is offensive to me, both are good cars if I ignore the styling.. either way.. BMW won't try and justify the price based on whether or not you like the styling..
I'd stress I'm not objecting to the car per se, I just think it's a mistake releasing something so expensive,
Like you say, the price people pay probably won't be based on Logic - we'll call it One-77 syndrome if you wish
.. but that's not a crime, infact it keeps the supercar and hypercar pictures on kids walls... NOBODY needs a Veyron....? Is a Reventon worth paying a couple of times more than a standard Lambo whateverario? No... but they still sell, the same will be true of the i8.
and if they were to charge that much for it, it'd be more prudent making a fully-electric vehicle with a usable 300-mile range say and the same sort of performance. And given a 2013-2014 release date, a good 300 mile range is more than possible given that Tesla have been offering 230 miles in a car of lighter weight for a good few years now.
Why would it be more prudent? This car, or pretty much any BMW purchased new cannot justify its price based on Fuel economy?
This will do ALL my commuter distances fully electric, and can drive me to my favourite UK race track, which happens to be in Scotland (a different country), without stopping for fuel. The Tesla won't. IF I could afford either, the BMW would make sense, if I could only afford the Tesla I could probably still afford a diesel estate car AND an Elise (one worth buying (a.k.a. the older one)).. so therefore the case for the Tesla isn't clear cut either...
Basically, neither is a logical choice for the money... you have to WANT to buy the car.
