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In Japan, you can buy your a BMW i3 on Amazon [UPDATE2]

UPDATE: The story's been updated to include a response from a BMW spokesman. UPDATE2: The story's been updated to include a response from a BMW's Germany headquarters. We love the "Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought" section for this one. Sleeping bags, cotton T-Shirts and a BMW i3 plug-in vehicle. That's your average Amazon shopping cart, right? It could be in Japan, where the plug-in car is being sold to potential customers online. The online retailer, long the largest in the US, is posting listings of the i3 on its Japanese site, notes Yahoo News, and both the standard electric i3 and the one with the gas-powered range extender are available. There are almost 50 dealers in Japan that can sell the i3, the German automaker's first production plug-in vehicle, but BMW appears to be trying to extend its distribution reach a little further. Of course, it's not a simple point-and-click situation, as prospective customers who order the vehicle online will apparently get a follow-up phone call from a BMW representative asking for proof of both access to a charging station as well as a parking spot. "It's become a tradition that the BMW Group breaks new ground with BMW i and that also goes for the way the vehicles are sold, with several different sales channels being tested and used," a representative with BMW's Germany headquarters wrote in an e-mail sent to AutoblogGreen. "In Japan, a one-off test project, designed only for that market – has seen BMW i3 models offered via Amazon. The delivery and customer service of these vehicles is, of course, handled by authorized BMW i dealers in Japan." BMW started selling the i3 in the US last year, moving about 6,100 units in 2014 and almost 2,700 through the first quarter of this year. Related Videos: Related Gallery 2014 BMW i3: First Drive View 33 Photos News Source: Amazon, Yahoo! News via Green Car Reports Green BMW Electric Amazon online

BMW i3 REx rated at 117 MPGe, 39 mpg with 72-mile EV range

The numbers haven't made their digital way to the EPA's website yet, but we can now confirm that the BMW i3 with range extender will be officially rated at a combined 117 MPGe with 39 mpg once the battery runs out. That puts the amazing little city car just ahead of the pure-electric Fiat 500e (116 MPGE, combined) and behind the Honda Fit EV (118) and the Chevy Spark EV (119). In the plug-in hybrid category, it's at the top of the class, beating out the Honda Accord PHEV, which is rated at 115 MPGe but is also a much bigger vehicle. The i3 REx also has an official all-electric range of 72 miles and can go another 78 on gas (for a total of 150). When it's not carrying around the extra fuel tank and engine, the all-electric i3 gets 124 MPGe (combined), which is the currently the highest in the US. The i3 EV also has an all-electric range of 81 miles. BMW expects to deliver the first i3 REx in the US this week and delivered the first all-electric version earlier this month. There was a bit of a hold-up on the range-extender version thanks to a delay with getting these EPA numbers. Now that all the bureaucratic boxes have been checked, it's off to customer driveways they go.

BMW i8 fully revealed ahead of Frankfurt debut

It may be early in the morning here in the US, but in Germany, the first day of the 2013 Frankfurt Motor Show is in full swing. BMW took advantage of the early start and showed off its long-awaited i8 plug-in hybrid sportscar, a two-plus-two, swan-wing-doored coupe, to the Frankfurt crowd.
We drove a BMW i8 prototype back in August, so many of the things we're reading today are clarifications on our initial suspicions or speculations. Underhood sits a 1.5-liter, turbocharged, three-cylinder engine. On its own, it churns out a respectable 231 horsepower and 236 pound-feet of torque, which is then channeled to the rear wheels by way of a six-speed automatic transmission. An electric motor, meanwhile, sends 131 hp and 184 lb-ft of torque through a two-speed automatic to the front wheels.
With all-wheel drive at its disposal, the total system power sits at 362 hp and 320 lb-ft of torque, and allows the i8 to scamper to 62 miles per hour in just 4.4 seconds. That excellent performance is offset by an estimated fuel economy figure of 94 miles per gallon, though, making this a fast and efficient vehicle. Charging is impressively fast on the i8, with a full charge coming from a 110-volt outlet in under four hours. A BMW Charging Station will trim the charge time down to 1.5 hours.