US i3 Deliveries Begin!

i3's sitting at a port in the US awaiting vehicle carriers to take them to dealershipsBMW of North America issued a press release today confirming that US i3 deliveries have begun. Not such a surprise since as of yesterday dealers across the country began taking in i3's. BMW of North America's CEO Ludwig Willisch said of the i3 launch: “Today marks a big day at BMW of North America – What started out as a dream for an innovative sustainable vehicle...

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Breaking: BMW i3 REx Gets $2,500 CVRP Rebate in California & BEVx Designation

We finally got the official answer to one of the big questions i3 REx customers in California have been wondering. Will the i3 REx qualify for the full $2,500 CVRP Rebate, or will it only get $1,500 like other plug in hybrids do.The Center For Sustainable Energy just posted the answer on their website. The i3 REx will indeed qualify for the full $2,500 rebate, just as pure EV's do. This is a little surprising since it has been reported on various...

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Breaking: BEV i3's Arrive At Dealers Monroney Label Revealed

As expected, the i3 is officially the Most Efficient Car in America. The 81 miles per charge range is a bit disappointing though. BMW has just now released the BEV i3's from the ports and they are en-route to dealers. The i3's with range extenders have not been released and will remain at the ports a little longer. The common belief it that the EPA range certification for the REx hasn't been finalized yet so the REx cars need to wait a little...

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How Much Does it Cost to Charge an Electric Car?

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BMW i3 Wheels and Tires: What you need to know

You get a better view of just how tall and thin the tires on the i3 are without the body in placeNote: This was originally posted on February 17th, 2014. I have had so many people message me about tire and wheel size information that I thought it would be a good idea to repost it.One of the more talked about features of the i3 is its tires. Not for decades has there been a car with such tall and narrow wheels and tires. Since the 70's, the trend...

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More Range Extender Details Uncovered At BMW i Dealer Training

BMW has been hosting i3 training events to get their client advisers up to speed and ready to sell the car. I'm very happy to hear they are doing this because I was really beginning to get concerned that they wouldn't properly prepare their sales staff for this unique vehicle. I even dedicated a post a few months ago to this very topic. I've now talked to a few client advisers that have done the training and they reported that they did indeed get...

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BMW i3 Selected the Best Green Car of 2014 by Kelly Blue Book

The awards keep piling up for the BMW i3. Less than a week from winning the 2014 World Green Car and the 2014 World Car Design Of The Year, Kelly Blue Book just awarded the 2014 BMW i3 the "Best Green Car of 2014".The Nissan LEAF finished second  with the Toyota Prius third. Four of the top six cars were either all electric or PHEV's. Here's how the top ten placed:...

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BMW i3: Wrapped and Ready

Is it me or does the i3 look especially good in custom designer wraps? Now that the i3 has been available in select European markets for about five months now, pictures are surfacing of i3s with colorful full-body wraps. The i3 will likely be a popular car for businesses to use because of tax incentives and low operating costs. Plus with its funky-unconventional styling it is sure to grab attention, especially with bright, colorful body wraps. The...

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Breaking: BMW i3 Wins 2014 World Green Car And World Car Design Of The Year!

Breaking news from InsideEvs.com. The BMW i3 swept both awards it was a finalist for which were 2014 World Green Car And 2014 World Car Design Of The Year. Here's what InsideEVs had to say:From the shortlist of finalists, a winner in both categories emerged. Here first are the shortlisted automobiles:World Green Car- Audi A3 Sportback g-tron (+ Audi e-gas)- BMW i3- Volkswagen XL1World Car Design of the Year- BMW i3- Mazda3- Mercedes-Benz C-ClassThe...

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BMW increases i3 production by 43%

Bloomberg News reported this morning that BMW has raised i3 production an additional 43%. They got that information directly from BMW board member and production chief, Harold Krueger. What that means is instead of the 70 units a day that was previously reported, BMW is now making 100 i3's every day which amounts to around 23,000 units per year. They already have built 5,000 cars in 2014 which works out just about exactly to the 70 units a day that...

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Touchy "Door Ajar" Warning Light an Issue With Early i3 Builds

If you already drive an i3, you've probably seen this warning pop up on the dash. The rear coach doors have been one of the more talked about features of the i3. Most people seem to favor conventionally opening rear doors, especially when they are considering hauling the kiddies around in the back as it can be difficult to open the doors in tight parking spaces.Surprisingly, the feedback I've gotten from many early i3 owners has been generally positive...

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Is The BMW i3 "Too European" For the US Market?

It's been called edgy, futuristic, polarizing, ground breaking and even flat out hideous. It has funky lines, rear coach (suicide) doors that can't be opened unless the front doors are and rear windows that are permanently closed. The nose has a pronounced "underbite" that any respectful orthodontist would love to correct and the tires are so skinny they look like they should be on something coming out of BMW Motorrad, and certainly not on a proper...

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BMW i3 Training Autocross Video

*Hat tip to insideevs.com for finding this first!BMW has been holding i3 training events to get the new BMW Product Geniuses up to speed on what they need to know about the car. As I have written here many times, there is so much about this car that is completely different than anything BMW has ever sold before that they really need to dive deep into the training of their client advisers and especially these new Product Geniuses. As good as the car is, if they fail to have the ability to properly help the customer decide if the car is right for...

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BMW i3 REx European Road Trip!

Back in February we featured Steven from The Netherlands as a Born Electric guest blogger. At the time he mentioned to me that he was planning a road trip with his i3 REx that would take him on a fantastic journey from The Netherlands through Germany and France to the final destination of Switzerland. The funny thing is, I almost was able to meet him along the trip because I was actually in Switzerland the week before he...

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