Breaking: BMW i3 "Shadow Sport" Special Edition to be offered in US

The i3 Shadow Sport Limited Edition is coming

Thinking about getting a BMW i3? Do you like to own low-volume special edition cars? When it comes to cars, a special edition where only 50 copies are made guarantees the owner will be in pretty exclusive company.

That's exactly what BMW is doing with a special version of the 2016 i3. BMW is calling it the "i3 Shadow Sport" and they are using social media for the public unveiling. Tomorrow (Monday, 11/16) at 8:00pm EST, you can tune into the live BMWUSA Periscope event to find out the details on the i3 Shadow Sport.

BMW's teaser of the new limited edition i3 Shadow Sport

From the teaser picture it looks like the car has a moonroof, which has yet to be available in the US, and is the new color, Fluid Black. It has the 19" Cyclone wheels which only come with the top-of-the-line Tera World package, so it's likely loaded with all the options the car offers. So far, all BMW has said was "With only 50 available to purchase, the all-electric 2016 BMW i3 Shadow Sport is every bit a BMW i3 with new features – available for the first time in the US." Nothing else is known about this special edition i3, so if you're interested in the i3, and like owning rare cars, made sure you tune into tomorrow's live Periscope event. 

Join The BMW i3 Owners Map!

A screen shot of the current i3 owners map

A few posts ago BMW i3 owner Scott Lawrence Lawson was featured in our Born Electric series and gave up some insight into his reasons for going electric and how he's doing with his i3 after a few months of ownership. At the end of the post I mentioned that he created a BMW i3 owners map where i3 owners can register their location and see where other i3's reside.

It's not a commercial site that is trying to collect your data or sell you anything, Scott only created it because he though it would be fun to see where other i3's live. This is how he explains it on the site where you sign up:

I thought I'd give back to the growing i3 community by making a map of BMW i3 owners and owners to be. This is an opt-in map so if you want to be on it, fill out this form below. The more specific you are, the better the data will represent our community. Maybe you'll meet someone new who made the same great choice in mobility as you did! If you are an i3 owner, fill in the this form and I'd be happy to add you! 

There are currently 378 i3 owners listed from twenty five different countries and the list is growing every day. If you have an i3, please use the link below to go over to the site and add your car to the map.

EV Owners Shun ICE Loaners

Hopefully more dealers will understand that their EV customers want an EV loaner when their car is in for service and add them to their loaner fleet.

I've been lucky enough to own some nice cars in my life. Like most people, bringing my car in for service was never something I looked forward to. However one thing that I did like was when I got an interesting car as the service loaner. I remember one time when my Mercedes ML430 was being worked on I got a black E430 4matic and I liked it so much I almost told the dealer to keep my car and trade it for the loaner.

Today, many dealers have only a small fleet of in-house loaners and use rental car agencies for the overflow of cars that they need. They do it to save money, and I'm sure it does, but they do miss out on the opportunity to show off the other cars that they sell. I still don't fully understand why a BMW dealer for instance would want to put their customer in a car from another brand while they are getting service, it just seems wrong.

I tried plugging in the 135i loaner I had a when my ActiveE was being serviced. That didn't work too well.

However dealers that are beginning to sell electric cars are now finding they have another problem to deal with. Their EV customers don't want to drive a gas car while their car is in for service, regardless of the make or model. I wrote a blog post about this over two years ago when I was driving my ActiveE and now that the i3 has launched I'm watching many i3 owners say the same thing.  One person recently posted this in the i3 Facebook group:

"Most people would love to drive a new BMW 3-Series for a few days as a loaner. Not me. It vibrates, burns gas, I have to use the brake pedal, makes noise and is slow. All this found during the 2.1 mile drive home. Very much so ‪#‎firstworldproblems‬. Think I'm going to bribe my wife for a ride to and from work."

A 2014 BMW 328i loaner? No thanks.

 Imagine that. The BMW 3-Series is considered one of the best cars on the road. In fact, it has was recently awarded Car & Drivers coveted "Ten Best Cars" distinction for the 23rd consecutive year. One would think just about anyone would love to have a new one for a few days while their car was in for service. That's not so if your car is an i3. After driving an electric car for a while, ICE vehicles seem antiquated. You feel the engine vibrations right up through the steering wheel, you hear the engine noise when you accelerate, gear shifts feel clunky and jerky. Yep, once you get back in an ICE vehicle after driving electric you realize what you've left behind and you don't miss it. You've evolved now, and you don't want to go back to the dark ages of the ICE.

Some BMW dealers have already realized this and are including i3 loaners into their in house fleet. This is a great idea for a couple of reasons. First, they can keep their i3 customers happy while their car is in for service, and secondly they can expose some of their other clients to the electric driving experience. Any electric car owner can tell you, getting people to try electric drive is the hardest part. Once they experience the smooth linear acceleration, the quiet vibration-less cabin and the excitement of the instant torque of an electric motor they too will be thinking about going electric. I'm happy to report my dealer (JMK BMW in Springfield, NJ) - perhaps with the help of some encouragement from me ;)  has decided to include an i3 to their stable of loaners. I think this is a great move and will pay dividends for them in the long run.

Like your Model S loaner? Just keep it!

However this certainly isn't just a BMW issue. I've seen Nissan LEAF and Chevy Volt owners lament the fact that they get an ICE loaner car and wish they had an electric option available. Tesla only sells electric cars so they only have electric loaners. In fact, not only do you get a Tesla loaner, but all Tesla loaners are the top of the line P85 Model S. Plus, if you really like the loaner, Tesla allows you to keep it. Of course you have to pay the difference in your car's value and the P85 loaners that you want, but it's a simple process where you just tell them your keeping that car and they tell you how much you owe them for the difference. That's another example of how Tesla is bringing new ideas and improved customer service to the industry.

I am sure that the savvy dealers who provide electric loaners for their EV customers will definitely benefit. The electric vehicle community is pretty close-knit and does communicate amongst themselves. It doesn't take long for a specific dealer to be labeled a "bad" dealer for not being very "EV friendly". Conversely, the dealers who have provided good service to their EV customers have benefited from a high number of referrals. The dealers who train their staff to understand these new cars, provide free on-site charging, and offer electric loaners are the ones who are really going to succeed in the new electric frontier.

The Norby's "Driving to Net Zero Energy Challenge" Starts off Strong!

My i3 is powered by electricity generated by my home solar array. EV+PV is really a fantastic combination and one that I believe will be fairly common in the near future.  So how can you possibly top that? How about by getting two i3s and powering both of them plus your entire household's energy use by your  solar array! That's exactly what the Norby's are attempting to do.

I have frequently written on my blogs how one of the best part of being in BMW's e-mobility test program for the past five years has been meeting and interacting with many of the other people in the program. Together we learned how to live with the issues that test cars frequently have, we built up our own support network and we simultaneously realized how fantastic driving electric was. It was a really a great experience and one that was nothing short of life changing for many of us. 

While I've literally made hundreds of acquaintances in the program, there are a few people who I've really connected with and now consider friends, and one of them is Peder Norby. Peder and his wife Julie live in Carlsbad, California and went from MINI-E to ActiveE to BMW i3, just like I did, only they went one step further and got two i3s! Like me, the Norby's power their electric cars with clean energy from their rooftop solar array. However even though our systems are about the same size, their array provides about 1/3 more energy than mine does because of the location (sunny Southern California) and orientation of the arrays. 

This year, Peder and Julie began a year-long net-zero energy challenge. They are attempting to live the entire year with their solar array providing all the energy they need to power their home and both of their cars. I believe this is a fantastic story and a glimpse into what the future has in store. Peder has been updating the progress on his i3 blog but now that he is one quarter of the way through the year, I asked him for permission to post his progress here and he happily agreed.  Below is a little introduction to what the Norby's are doing followed by the three month update. 

It’s hard to get this down to a sentence or two, but when we built our home in 2005,  our ethos was to partner with nature, harvesting the gifts of nature, building the most efficient home possible.

In doing this, we wanted to elevate, we refused to compromise or lower the enjoyment of our life and the caliber of our dwelling, we refused to reduce our life to living in a small cave with one solitary light bulb, solely for the sake of efficiency.

Our desire was to express ourselves artistically, with the highest quality materials, design and comfort in the size home needed to accommodate our family and friends, while partnering with nature, being as efficient as possible. We wanted to live in a net zero energy home, harvesting food and drink from our land. Not big or small, not right or wrong,  just our home.

The idea is a simple one: Harvest sunshine from the roof of your home to provide 100% of the power needed for your home and the two cars in the garage. That is our goal in this "Driving to Net Zero Challenge.

 

The 12 month documented journey began May 15, 2014. Three months in, things are looking pretty good:

Update Month Three. We're killing it!

The idea is a simple one, harvest endless sunshine from a small portion of a roof to provide 100% of the energy needed to power a home and two cars with zero utility cost, and zero gasoline cost.

Summary:

• 1/4 of the way through the year,  -167 kWh and a $468 credit.
• Stats, Stats, Graphs, Graphs. 
• We're killing it! Ready to make a projection!
• Our French import.

We estimate that we will be -$800 by Oct/Nov

Solar PV production holding steady at 1326 kWh

Electricity use for the two BMW i3's rose to 478 kWh for the month

We have a credit of $315 for the first seven months of the year

1/4 of the way into our "Driving to Net Zero Energy" challenge and as they say in political election coverage:
"I am ready to make a projection and call this race"

We will be below zero in utility cost and gasoline cost providing the energy for our home and guest house, and the two cars in the garage driven a total of 24,000 miles a year.  In fact we are so far ahead we will accomplish this goal four months earlier than planed with the January 2015 true-up bill from our utility. 

Our natural gas cost for a year is $301.27

We estimate at the true-up bill that we will have a credit of $400 to $450 for our electrical use and a cost of natural gas of $301 for the year thus  -$100 to -$150 in total energy cost for the year.

How about total cost?

As I mentioned in my first post in May, an asterisk is required regarding the cost of energy as our utility does not let us carry over our electricity credit to our natural gas cost.  Essentially our valuable peak hour electricity that we do not consume will be a gift to our utility.  As the years go by we will most likely convert one or two of the natural gas appliances at the end of their useful life to electric in order to reduce the natural gas bill by using our excess electricity credit.

Where are we with energy usage and gasoline cost now compared to 2007 when we began this path to energy independence?

In 2007 our energy cost were:

$3,800 a year in electricity
$   300 a year in natural gas

$2,800 a year for Julie's Infinity G35 gasoline

$2,400 a year for my Volvo S60R gasoline

Total:    $9300 a year in energy cost.  ($792 per month)

This is not far off the statistical norm for a US family which uses an average of 11,000 kWh per year ($3,060 at SDG&E rates) and $2912 for gasoline according to the 2012 EPA statistics.

In 2014 our energy cost are:

$      0 a year in electricity*

$  300 a year in natural gas

$      0 a year in fuel cost for Julie's BMW i3

$      0 a year in fuel cost for my BMW i3

Total $300 a year in energy cost. ($25 per month) 

* we donate $450 worth of electricity back to SDG&E.

You can see how quickly that $9000 a year in energy cost savings will pay off a $30K Solar PV system, $15k in extra construction cost for a thick well insulated home, efficient appliances and led lights and $1000 for a EV charging station in the garage.  We have calculated from the installation in January of 2007 we reached the payoff point in April of 2012.

From April 2012 and for the next few decades, we will have essentially zero or de minimus cost for energy saving us $200k to 300K in energy cost with escalating utility and gasoline cost.

How about total usage?

Julie and I live normal lives, things come up and situations change. The interesting part of our Drive To Net Zero Energy challenge is that we are real people with a real life and not some demonstration house with nobody living in it.

We have been doing really great using a net total of -167 kWh of electricity (generation vs consumption) for the first three months of the challenge. We can extrapolate the prior four months of usage pre i'3s, assuming we had the efficient BMW i3's and the extra 1kw of solar pv production which would have saved us 225 kWh per month. We estimate that by May of next year we will be very close to a net of 0 total kWh used, +- 250 kWh per year which is a normal usage and weather variable.

The French Import.

I bet you thought it was a car :)

Julie and I have decided to make an impact on two young adults lives.  We are hosting through Rotary Youth Exchange, a 17 year old French student named Peroline for a one year exchange. By doing so, an American young man is traveling to France to begin his year as an exchange student in France living with Peroline's family.

Our household has now risen to four and the extra electricity that our 17 year old exchange student will use will most likely push us into the positive use territory.

Hosting a 17 year old young lady French exchange student for a year was not contemplated and is not a very good idea for the Drive To Net Zero Energy Challenge!

But life is life, unpredictable, wonderful and real.  We are very happy to have Peroline as part of our family for the next year and we're looking forward to driving her everywhere, using lots of electrons, to see the sights of our great nation.

Our goal remains Net Zero Energy usage as well as Net Zero Energy cost.
We'll see how the the next 3/4 of the year goes.

Imagine a better future and your participation in it.

Next Month:

• Charging stations and what's on the horizon.
• Our CHG emissions 
• Our version of GHG offsets

Thanks for reading and commenting.

(Past "Driving To Net Zero" articles on Peder's blog)

Energy Challenge Introductory Article

Mid Month Article: The Energy Grid

Update Month 1

Mid Month Article: Does your Gas Station Pay you to fill'er up?

Update Month 2

Bonus video:
Below is one part of a series of videos that Peder and I participated in. The video series is called "Wherever You Want to Go" and was produced by BMW back in 2011. BMW recruited Buzz Aldrin, Marissa Meyer, Robin Chase, Syd Mead, and many others to participate and Peder, Todd Crook and I were also chosen to because of our high level of participation in BMW's e-mobility program. The four-part series is available online and did a good job of opening the up a conversation about where we are going with regards to personal mobility. Take a look and see if you can spot Peder and me.  :)

 

BMW i Announces New DC Quick Charger and It's a Potential Game Changer

The very first public display of the new BMW i DC quick charger

BMW stole the show today at the start of Plug-in 2014 in San Jose, California by not only announcing a new DC quick charger that will charge an i3 to 80% in 30 minutes, but also by saying the use of these chargers will be free for i3 users through the end of 2015. 

This is a huge step forward for BMW i and the EV movement in general. I have consistently contended that the mass adoption of electric vehicles will hinge on the deployment of rapid charging. Even though the majority of charging will be at a slower rate and overnight, for EVs to really be taken seriously by the masses they need to be capable of refueling in less than an hour while making longer journeys. Tesla and Nissan have already demonstrated that they understand this and have made significant investments in DC quick charge infrastructure, and today's announcement from BMW is proof that BMW also realizes this and appears ready and willing to jump into the DC quick charge game.  

The new BMW i 24kW DC quick charger

The interesting thing about BMW's approach is that they didn't just use existing DCQC equipment. Instead, they took a different approach working with Bosch to create an entirely new type of DCQC that is specifically tailored to suit the needs of their car, the i3. One of the barriers to installing DC quick chargers is the cost of bringing the high voltage service to the location.  By limiting the draw to 24kW's the site won't incur the sometimes-astronomical utility demand fees which can make DC Fast charging cost as much as filling up a car with gas. BMW has worked with utilities to agree on a level of supply which would avoid these high demand charges. 

So if these DC quick chargers only supply 24 kW's that must mean they charge the cars much slower than a conventional 50kW DC quick charger, right? Wrong. This is what I meant about these being tailored for the i3. The i3's relatively small battery can't really utilize a higher rate than 24kW effectively. All DC Quick chargers taper off to a lower charge rate once they get close to fully charging the battery to prevent overcharging and damaging the cells. The i3 only has a usable battery capacity of 18.8kW's so on a 50kW quick charger it only will charge at the full rate for about 10 minutes before it starts ramping down to a lower charge rate. In fact, BMW claims the i3 will charge to 80% in about 25 minutes on a 50kW DC quick charger. On this new 24kW unit, it only takes about 5 minutes longer, charging to 80% SOC in 30 minutes. So for only an extra 5 minute penalty, you get:

1) A low-cost solution for DCQC. BMW will sell the unit to their partners for only $6,548 which is less than half as expensive as the least expensive 50kW CCS DC quick charger made by ABB. "Partners" include BMW dealerships, utilities and municipalities that want to provide this service. BMW hasn't decided on a regular retail cost for the units but they are willing to discuss it with interested parties.
2) The unit is small, measuring 31"(H) x 19" (W) x 12"(D) and only weighs about 125 lbs. It can even be pedestal or wall mounted, unlike any other DCQC on the market.
3) The sites won't have to pay the excessive demand charges for electricity. Instead it will be the regular  electric rate, allowing for a reasonable cost to be assessed for use of the charger. 

Even with all this great news, you'll notice the title reads that this is a "potential" game changer. As good as these units sound, they won't do any good if they aren't installed. It's already been announced that in California the NRG eVgo DC Fast Charging network will deploy a minimum of 100 BMW i3 compatible DC Fast Chargers, but what about the rest of the country? Will BMW step up and prove they are "all in" like Nissan and Tesla have and assist (yes that means subsidize) the deployment of these quick charge stations in other markets? Only time will tell, but I have to say I like what I'm seeing so far. Let's keep the ball rolling BMW.

Specifications for the new DCQC unit

Below is the full press release from BMW:
 
San Jose, CA/Woodcliff Lake, NJ – July 28, 2014… At Plug-In 2014, a conference dedicated to discussing key issues for the long-term success of electric vehicles, BMW of North America launched its BMW i DC Fast Chargers which can charge the BMW i3 all-electric vehicle’s battery up to 80 percent in 30 minutes. A joint development between BMW and Bosch Automotive Service Solutions, BMW i DC Fast Chargers will change the face of public charging as the first compact and affordable DC Combo fast charger. The first BMW i DC Fast Charger will be on display at Plug-In 2014 on July 28 at the San Jose Convention Center. BMW also announced its new ChargeNow DC Fast program in cooperation with NRG eVgo, in which BMW i3 drivers in California can enjoy no cost unlimited 30 minute DC fast charging, at NRG eVgo Freedom Station® sites equipped with DC Combo Fast Charging, through 2015.

Introducing the BMW i DC Fast Charger
Conventional DC fast chargers are about the size of a standard refrigerator, cost tens of thousands of dollars and require a significant amount of electricity. Half the size of a traditional electric vehicle DC charger – measuring 31”H x 19”W x 12”D and weighing approximately 100 pounds – BMW i DC Fast Chargers can be mounted on a wall, a first for electric vehicle DC fast chargers. In addition, BMW i DC Fast Chargers will be priced significantly less than other DC Combo chargers in the market at $6,548 for authorized BMW partners.

“This is a milestone in the development of the DC fast charging infrastructure. With more than five years of real world experience, we understand that a robust network of publicly available DC Combo Fast Chargers is a key part of the mobility of tomorrow,” said Robert Healey, EV Infrastructure Manager, at BMW of North America. “BMW is offering the BMW i DC Fast Charger at an appealing price point, and more manageable size, to make the convenience of DC fast charging more accessible for BMW i3 owners.”

The 24 kW DC Fast Charger feeds the current directly to the vehicle’s battery, resulting in a more efficient and faster charge. BMW i DC Fast Chargers use the SAE Combo 1 connector, the North American automotive industry standard for fast charging; feature a rugged aluminum IP54 enclosure; meet NEMA 3 requirements; and are designed to perform in extreme weather conditions, from -40°F to 185°F. Additionally, the BMW i DC Fast Charger is ChargePoint network-enabled, allowing electric vehicle drivers with the SAE Combo 1 inlet to access the BMW i DC Fast Charger using a ChargePoint or ChargeNow card. Major automakers including BMW, GM, Ford, Chrysler, Daimler, Volkswagen, Audi and Porsche have committed to adopting the SAE Combo 1 inlet for DC charging. The BMW i DC Fast Chargers will be available for BMW i Centers across the U.S. beginning in August.

Introducing ChargeNow DC Fast for BMW i3 Drivers
In keeping with its holistic approach to making DC fast charging more accessible and, in turn, increasing the adoption of electric vehicles, BMW, in cooperation with NRG eVgo, will offer no cost charging to BMW i3 drivers at participating eVgo Freedom Station sites equipped with DC Combo Fast Charging in California through 2015.

Using their ChargeNow cards, BMW i3 drivers will have access to unlimited 30-minute DC fast charging sessions with the ChargeNow DC Fast program. BMW i3 owners can sign up easily for ChargeNow DC Fast at chargenow.com/us. In order to receive the full benefits of the program, BMW i3 drivers must use the ChargeNow card, provided with their BMW i3, to charge the vehicle at least once by December 31, 2014, at a participating eVgo Freedom Station. By doing so, BMW i3 drivers will enjoy continued access to no cost DC charging sessions through the end of 2015. Eligible BMW i3 vehicles must be equipped with the DC Fast Charging option (SAE).

“We’re confident the rapidly-expanding NRG eVgo DC Fast Charging network will provide significant benefits to BMW i3 drivers in California,” continued Mr. Healey. “With the cooperation between ChargePoint and NRG eVgo, ChargeNow DC Fast brings us closer to the reality of one card, one account public charging network interoperability.” eVgo will deploy a minimum of 100 BMW i3 compatible DC Fast Chargers across California to support the ChargeNow DC Fast Program.

“This is a milestone in the development of the DC fast charging infrastructure. With more than five years of real world experience, we understand that a robust network of publicly available DC Combo Fast Chargers is a key part of the mobility of tomorrow,” said Robert Healey, EV Infrastructure Manager, at BMW of North America. “BMW is offering the BMW i DC Fast Charger at an appealing price point, and more manageable size, to make the convenience of DC fast charging more accessible for BMW i3 owners.” - See more at: http://www.longtailpipe.com/2014/07/bmw-shows-smallest-and-lowest-cost-dc.html?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=facebook#sthash.B9P4jL3V.dpuf

“This is a milestone in the development of the DC fast charging infrastructure. With more than five years of real world experience, we understand that a robust network of publicly available DC Combo Fast Chargers is a key part of the mobility of tomorrow,” said Robert Healey, EV Infrastructure Manager, at BMW of North America. “BMW is offering the BMW i DC Fast Charger at an appealing price point, and more manageable size, to make the convenience of DC fast charging more accessible for BMW i3 owners.” - See more at: http://www.longtailpipe.com/2014/07/bmw-shows-smallest-and-lowest-cost-dc.html?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=facebook#sthash.B9P4jL3V.dpuf