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This has been said many times, but it feels like all the manufacturers colluded to make EV cars extremely ugly and undesirable. Prime example being the BMW i3. Of all the nice looking cars they have in their line up, one has to wonder why they went with an i3. Put that same capability in a 3-series and it would have been a different story.
I doubt they would be making any effort in electric cars if the threat of Tesla did not exist. Even as it is, they are dragging their feet.
This has been said many times, but it feels like all the manufacturers colluded to make EV cars extremely ugly and undesirable. Prime example being the BMW i3. Of all the nice looking cars they have in their line up, one has to wonder why they went with an i3. Put that same capability in a 3-series and it would have been a different story.
Cannibalizing your existing products is a hard sell in an established organization. It's why businesses like Tesla are able to innovate more rapidly. They have no internal combustion product to compete with, and they don't have to save anything for the swim back (succeed or die). EDIT: This isn't restricted to just the auto industry. Consider the need for Lockheed to create their Skunk Works team [1]. [1] https://en.…
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Cannibalizing your existing products is a hard sell in an established organization. It's why businesses like Tesla are able to innovate more rapidly. They have no internal combustion product to compete with, and they don't have to save anything for the swim back (succeed or die). EDIT: This isn't restricted to just the auto industry. Consider the need for Lockheed to create their Skunk Works team [1]. [1] https://en.…
Gattaca reference? :)
The difference between then and now is Tesla. I wonder if anyone asked BMW if they were given the opportunity to mass produce the Model 3, if they would have the same opinion.
As for looks, the i8 looks pretty nice. It is apparently going to be available in an electric version this year.
This has been said many times, but it feels like all the manufacturers colluded to make EV cars extremely ugly and undesirable. Prime example being the BMW i3. Of all the nice looking cars they have in their line up, one has to wonder why they went with an i3. Put that same capability in a 3-series and it would have been a different story.
Whereas, I feel something like the Prius, Volt, Bolt, Leaf, or i3 deals with the aerodynamics/style poorly. On top of that, these cars may be made to cater to some early-adopter/green person market subgroup. Maybe those traditional makers do not foresee the EV as the top choice, but as a niche and limited scale product?
On top of all that, lithium battery packs for EVs are expensive currently, look at all the problems Tesla has been having making theirs over the years. Once the price drops, I think automakers will be able to make less compromises elsewhere, getting better looks, performance, and features at the expense of pure efficiency.
GM reached the same conclusion when it built the EV-1. I expect that there are tremendous forces inside a company that push back on the sort of radical change that electric cars represent. The difference between then and now is Tesla. I wonder if anyone asked BMW if they were given the opportunity to mass produce the Model 3, if they would have the same opinion. As for looks, the i8 looks pretty nice. It is apparentl…
I know there is a crowd of people that are enthusiastic about the EV-1 and think GM killed it, but I'm pretty sure GM had a closer look at whether they could profitably produce them than the enthusiasts.
For all the crap Tesla gets, this shows why they are so necessary. Switching to electric car production is a huge disruption for the existing auto industry. It basically eliminates the dealer service revenue, and turns the supply chain upside down. I doubt they would be making any effort in electric cars if the threat of Tesla did not exist. Even as it is, they are dragging their feet.
The German car makers also make gas powered vehicles versions of some of their fleet which are quite different from gasoline cars.
What takes time is building the facilities and technology to create reliable and serviceable electric vehicles.
This has been said many times, but it feels like all the manufacturers colluded to make EV cars extremely ugly and undesirable. Prime example being the BMW i3. Of all the nice looking cars they have in their line up, one has to wonder why they went with an i3. Put that same capability in a 3-series and it would have been a different story.
I don't think the i3 is ugly and I wouldn't mind having one if I could aford it.
I've been checking out the off-lease used ones. In my area, they've been selling for $15k-$20k USD (years: 2014-2015).
https://phoenix.craigslist.org/search/sss?sort=date&query=bm...
https://www.carvana.com/search?SortBy=LowestPrice&models=fr&...