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BMW looking to fix i3 acceleration problem uncovered by Consumer Reports

The BMW i3 has been hailed in some quarters as the future of electric mobility, what with its innovative carbon-fiber-reinforced plastic body and commitment to sustainable materials wherever possible. The modernist little hatch is even available with a 650cc two-cylinder gas engine with 34 horsepower to act as a range-extender for those who want it. However, that optional engine might have a drawback - at least for the moment.
Consumer Reports brought the problem to light when one of its drivers was behind the wheel of an i3 using the range-extender. When the driver attempted to pass another vehicle on a rolling, two-lane road, the BMW suddenly had no power to accelerate - a scary situation. CR started examining the car and found something pretty shocking: After driving at a constant speed for a while without any regenerative braking in range-extended mode, acceleration to 60 miles per hour plummeted from about 9 seconds normally to a staggering 27 to 40 seconds in their testing.
A BMW spokesperson told CR that it knows about the problem and has a fix coming next spring that also works on current models. The upgrade includes a state of charge indicator, a warning about loss of power and uses the car's navigation to boost the battery before driving on rolling terrain. It is not clear if the severe power deficiency will also eventually result in a recall.

New BMW i3-like Visio.M EV concept uses lightweight resin

It's not a new version of the BMW i3, but an updated version of a lightweight concept car from SABIC, BMW, the Technical University of Munich, Daimler and others does bear a certain resemblance to the well-designed plug-in city car. From the black "glass" in the hatch to the angled line tail lights to the up-and-down window line, you can see a sort of family resemblance (see an i3 comparison photo here). And, of course, they both have an electric powertrain. But the changes made to the new lightweight urban electric concept vehicle is more of an exercise in what's possible rather than a way to evolve the i3 and i8 into a broader i family of vehicles. Even so, what we see here is interesting, since SABIC found all sorts of new ways to take weight out of the car as part of the Visio.M (Visionary Mobility) project, which was first announced in 2012. Let's start with the window material, which as you might guess from the quotation marks above, is not made of glass but is instead SABIC's Lexan polycarbonate (PC) resin plastic. The lower weight (the PC helps shed about 29 pounds) adds two miles of range while the PC resin has better thermal conductivity compared to glass and so does even more because the HVAC system can be more efficient. According to SABIC's computational fluid dynamics analysis, an extra 9-10 miles of range, in fact. Without the battery, this concept weighs just 992 pounds. Remember, BMW already made a lot of weight-reduction measures in the i3 thanks to carbon fiber reinforced plastic, so to make the "glass" lighter would only help boost efficiencies on a production vehicle that uses a resin like this. Read more below. SABIC's LEXAN™ resin delivers weight savings and thermal efficiency for new ultra-lightweight electric car concept developed by BMW-led Visio.M Consortium Munich, October 20, 2014 Today, at the Technical University of Munich (TUM), BMW, Daimler, TUM scientists and a consortium of industry participants showcased a lightweight urban electric concept vehicle with various advances, including an all-plastic design of the car's windows. The windows are made of LEXAN resin, a polycarbonate (PC) material, and coating technologies from SABIC, a leading developer of PC glazing for automotive windows and many other thermoplastic solutions for the automotive industry.

BMW iPerformance plug-in hybrids coming in July

BMW obviously has a long-term plug-in vehicle plan. Like megacity long. First hinted at in 2008 and finally announced in 2009, the Bavarian's EV march has gone through the MINI E, the ActiveE, and then the i3 and i8. There's got to be a detailed timeline chart taped to an office wall in Munich somewhere that we would love to get a glimpse of, but instead we just get bits and pieces of where BMW's going next. At least now know the next phase: iPerformance. The new iPerformance models will be vehicles from the core BMW line-up that have plug-in hybrid technology that was first used in the i3 or i8. This technology includes the, "electric motors, battery cells and electronic control systems" and the first models to use some of the i Brand guts will be the plug-in hybrid versions of the 7 Series, like the new BMW 740e iPerformance. BMW is also going to throw in some of the now-standard blue accents that you might be familiar with form the i3 and i8, in case you don't recognize the outlet panel. As for the continuation of the i vehicles (currently just that two-model line-up), we still don't know anything other than the rumors of an i5 or i6 or who knows what. You can read the full release about iPerformance below. Related Video: BMW at the 86th Geneva International Motor Show 2016. 12.02.2016 World premiere: The new BMW M760Li xDrive raises the bar in the sporting luxury sedan segment as the flagship variant of the successfully launched BMW 7 Series model range. The first ever M Performance TwinPower Turbo 12-cylinder petrol engine generates 441 kW/600 hp* and sprints from 0 to 100 km/h / 62 mph in 3.9 seconds* (fuel consumption combined: 12.6 l/100 km [22.4 mpg imp]; CO2 emissions combined: 294 g/km)**. The new iPerformance model designation, which will be given to all BMW plug-in hybrid vehicles from July 2016, provides a visible indicator of the transfer of technology from BMW i to the BMW core brand. It will be seen first on the plug-in hybrid variants of the new BMW 7 Series, e.g. the BMW 740e iPerformance. The iPerformance models will benefit from the transfer of technical expertise regarding electric motors, battery cells and electronic control systems. Visible indicators, meanwhile, are a BMW i logo on the front side panel, BMW i-style blue elements in the kidney grille and wheel hubs, and an eDrive logo on the C-pillar. Customers can also make use of the BMW i 360° ELECTRIC range of products and services, including the BMW i Wallbox.