scottf200
Well-known member
Thanks to Tom for pointing out this article. Oh so clever. Related to the BMW i3 but a general loop hole that I think you'll see other manufacturers take advantage of ... possibly put a smaller tank / larger battery in the Accord PHEV as one example.
Note I had trouble/timeouts bringing up this article today so I cut-n-paste some of it.
http://www.thestreet.com/story/11766466/1/bmw-cuts-off-toyota-gm-and-ford-in-california.html?cm_ven=RSSFeed" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Note I had trouble/timeouts bringing up this article today so I cut-n-paste some of it.
http://www.thestreet.com/story/11766466/1/bmw-cuts-off-toyota-gm-and-ford-in-california.html?cm_ven=RSSFeed" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
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So what's the problem? Just buy the Volt, the Prius Plug-In, or any of the Fords, and drive alone in the California carpool lane! No?
Actually, while this will work just fine right now, this convenient party is coming to an end -- fast. You see, only 40,000 of these permits will be provided. The program only started recently, and by early October 2012 approximately 6,000 had been handed out. Now that Ford is entering the market this month, the pace should accelerate and I would be shocked if these permits don't dry up by the second half of 2013.
So what happens when these coveted 40,000 permits are exhausted? Will you then be forced to buy a potentially more expensive ($50,000 to $100,000) Tesla (TSLA) Model S? Or will you live with range anxiety in a car that may only go 75 miles on a charge, with no back-up safety valve?
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Actually, no. In a story that is all but certain to set the automotive world ablaze in strife, California's regulatory bureaucrats are on track to grant what appears to be a special status that in practice will apply to only one car -- made by BMW, nonetheless.
Yes, you read that right. After some time in the second half of 2013, the only car that will be sold in California with a gasoline back-up engine, and still eligible for the carpool lane sticker, will be a BMW.
Make no mistake: This is the ultimate trump card in the California market, and it would crush GM, Ford and Toyota -- among others.
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What is so special about the BMW i3 that will allow it to be the only car of its kind to obtain the ultimate in California car sales trump card, the carpool lane sticker? The details here are a bit murky, but here is one thing: The range for the gasoline tank must not be larger than the all-electric range of the battery.
Let's say the BMW i3 can go an average of 100 miles on pure electricity. If the gasoline engine operates at 40 MPG after that, the gasoline tank can only be 2.5 gallon (2.5 x 40 = 100).
So this car will not be the one you will likely drive from LA to San Francisco. It will, however, be an ideal commuter car (for the carpool lane) where you would know you would never get stuck if you ran out of juice.
This market is a California goldmine. BMW should just name the car "1849" and be done with it.
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