Anybody Following David Tracy's i3 Saga?

[eNate]

Auto journalist David Tracy of The Autopian formerly of Jalopnik bought an i3 -- an old and extremely high mileage i3 -- and has been posting a series of stories leading up to it and now post-purchase. If you don't know David, he usually buys rusty junk and gets it running. A few years ago he traveled to Germany to buy a diesel manual Dodge Caravan (or was it Plymouth?) to make road legal and drive across Europe. Well, little does he know i3s don't rust.

I wouldn't have done the same but am excited for his choice and we'll see how this one turns out. Looks like he's just in under the wire for a warranty battery replacement. Hopefully, via his readers, he'll have full access to any and all non-dealership resources that he may need for unplanned gremlins that are bound to pop up on an aged, 150k car.

I Want To Buy A New Car But The Transition To EVs Makes It Feel Risky
https://www.theautopian.com/i-want-to-buy-a-new-car-but-the-transition-to-evs-makes-it-feel-risky/

I Rented A BMW i3 For A Weekend And Now I’m Sitting In A Cheap Motel Two Hours From Home Contemplating Buying The Cheapest One I Could Find
https://www.theautopian.com/i-rented-a-bmw-i3-for-a-weekend-and-now-im-sitting-in-a-cheap-motel-two-hours-from-home-contemplating-buying-the-cheapest-one-i-could-find/

Every Car Dealer Selling Used EVs Should Provide Information On Battery Health
https://www.theautopian.com/every-car-dealer-selling-used-evs-should-provide-information-on-battery-health/

I Bought A High-Mileage Electric Car With A Bad Battery. Here’s Why That Was Actually A Stroke of Genius
https://www.theautopian.com/i-bought-a-high-mileage-electric-car-with-a-bad-battery-heres-why-that-was-actually-a-stroke-of-genius/

My BMW i3 Depreciated $43,000 In Just Nine Years. The Luxury Features I Got For $10,500 Are Incredible
https://www.theautopian.com/my-bmw-i3-depreciated-43000-in-just-nine-years-the-luxury-features-i-got-for-10500-are-incredible/

 

[gt1]

Thank you. It was a good read.

 

[SSi3]

Yes! Love that he's doing this, the i3 is a great used car if you're willing to take the chance on the battery, the REx and other electronic gremlins.

 

[SSi3]

https://www.theautopian.com/the-bmw-i3-was-a-design-success-even-if-it-was-a-failure/

 

[eNate]

Nice. Adrian's summary hits it nicely on the head.

I didn't know that an i3 designer went on to Canoo – I can see some of the spark in that design. I hope it makes it!

But i3 wasn't a complete waste in the face of BMW's current lineup of cartoonish EVs – the VW ID.4 also had i3 talent on its design team, where some of the open-cockpit aesthetics were carried over, as was the EV-practical stubby-hood, just in more publicly-acceptable packaging. You could say the ID.4 got some of the i3 skin but not the guts. Except rear wheel drive! That was unexpected from a modern-day VW product.

I'll bet in the coming 5 years we see more EV choices that harken back to the i3, because it's so practical. Tastes change, just not overnight. When I was reading that article a Mini ad was in the middle of the scroll, and that "throwback" car has such an unnecessarily long hood in relation to the photos of the i3 right underneath it. As more buyers realize the interior and exterior possibilities made possible by elimination of the huge block of hot metal they no longer need to carry around, they'll begin understand.

 

[SSi3]

https://www.theautopian.com/ive-bee...d-i-remain-amazed-how-is-this-car-so-perfect/

 

[eNate]

David Tracy posted that he's got a case of upgraditis, looking at swapping out his 2014 for a 2019 vintage without HK audio and without the wide screen (meaning no tech package).

https://www.theautopian.com/should-...mw-i3-with-twice-the-range-and-apple-carplay/