REx Class Action Lawsuit

[TonyWilliams]

Traveling slowly on the highway is not a crime or illegal as far as I'm aware. Not a single accident or fatality as far as I'm aware. :lol:

I doubt that there's a freeway in the United States that doesn't have a minimum speed. It's also extremely dangerous to have a large differential of speed and many many accidents have been attributed to this, including fatalities.

The minimum speed, in part, is how they keep farm tractors and bicycles off the freeway.

This lawsuit will boil down to three simple facts:

1) does that vehicle slow down with a depleted battery, even though there is plenty of gasoline to operate the gasoline motor?

2) if the vehicle slows down, are there situations where this is not safe?

3) if the vehicle slows down, was the consumer implicitly made aware of this by BMW?

That's it folks. None of that has anything to do with whether you will get to code your car or not. BMW has already received unique credits for the sale of these vehicles. They can't be retroactively changed, or there would be yet another lawsuit for BMW to contend with!!!

Future cars will likely be modified, and may or may not fall into the BEVx category.

 

[i3an]

Tony, you must have driven on your beloved Electric-Highway-To-Be, CA-99, no? Now, please tell me again about keeping super-slow diesel-belching agricultural vehicles away from real cars — or is 99 not a "real" highway?
Anyway, one time I nearly got killed (or rather I was put in extreme danger) when I got a flat on the freeway and had to install one of those dorky little spare tires that warn you they are just a stop-gap, so drive slowly straight to the nearest garage. Well, I followed instructions and all the other cars were whizzing by me and putting me in danger, and all because of the faulty design.
Then again there's that blow-out HK audio system that came with the car, you know the one that will pop out the windscreen out if you crank it up to 11. Well, one day I had it only on 10 listening to Megadeath and never heard the fire truck's sirens and nearly got T-boned at an intersection. Now I know there is some small-print blather about operating the vehicle safely, but really they should never have released this inherently-dangerous sound system, so can I please get in line with my hand out too?

 

[I33t]

Says it all really.

Hungry lawyers looking for a feast while they suck in the stupid public so they can get a minute payback for some failed grammar.

That's the public 'in your face' lawyer side of USA legal system.

Don't they have any real work to do?

 

[PluviaPlumbum]

Traveling slowly on the highway is not a crime or illegal as far as I'm aware. Not a single accident or fatality as far as I'm aware. :lol:

I doubt that there's a freeway in the United States that doesn't have a minimum speed. It's also extremely dangerous to have a large differential of speed and many many accidents have been attributed to this, including fatalities.

The minimum speed, in part, is how they keep farm tractors and bicycles off the freeway.

This lawsuit will boil down to three simple facts:

1) does that vehicle slow down with a depleted battery, even though there is plenty of gasoline to operate the gasoline motor?

2) if the vehicle slows down, are there situations where this is not safe?

3) if the vehicle slows down, was the consumer implicitly made aware of this by BMW?

That's it folks. None of that has anything to do with whether you will get to code your car or not. BMW has already received unique credits for the sale of these vehicles. They can't be retroactively changed, or there would be yet another lawsuit for BMW to contend with!!!

Future cars will likely be modified, and may or may not fall into the BEVx category.

I typed in haste but yep there are Freeway minimums some thoughts on that here :-

http://www.rita.dot.gov/bts/sites/rita.dot.gov.bts/files/publications/journal_of_transportation_and_statistics/volume_07_number_23/html/paper_06/index.html

Were owners made aware that this could happen, well everyone gets the operating manual so yes they were forewarned - where BMW NA have made themselves vulnerable is the lack of product knowledge in the Dealer showrooms. But as they are independent then the fault is at arms length at best. On this side of the pond the dealer standards are better and this is down to training of the I Genius.

 

[i3an]

BMW's old-school ICE dealer network is looking more like an albatross every day, so this (entirely frivolous) lawsuit is yet another reason for BMW to spin off their iDivision into entirely separate Tesla-style company-owned salesrooms, with a salesforce and maintenance staff properly trained in EVs, and rewarded accordingly. BMW already owns Mini, and they share components and at least one platform, so this shouldn't be too hard to do. It feels really retro (and not in a cool way) when I have to take an ICE into a smelly gas station, and I'm getting the same vibe from my local dealer, as if I am an intruder into some decaying cultural relic, like a smoke-filled room or a mens-only club. The dealers don't seem too enthusiastic about EVs, and perhaps it is time for BWW to return the favour.

 

[jadnashuanh]

How the i3/8 are treated at a dealership relies entirely on the owner's thoughts and training of his personnel. My local dealer is one of very few in the area that is certified to do body work repairs on the CFRP of the I-series, so the owner has dedicated more training and emphasis on EV's. The service manager drove a REx for awhile, then bought an X5e, so is also enthusiastic about their EV/hybrid models. That helps immensely.

Because the dealership network in the USA is operator owned, BMW can only control some aspects of how it is run.

 

[i3marc]

Wonder if BMW will change the coding for the U.S. cars so the range extender can be activated at any time to address this.

http://insideevs.com/class-action-lawsuit-filed-bmw-unsafe-i3-rex-reduced-power-operation/

I think BMW should just do away with a dirty smelly motorcycle engine and add some more to the battery pack to make it competitive with the Bolt EV.

Business-wise a car manufacturer has all to gain to limit liability and concentrate on profitable vehicles that are mechanically simple and don't attract lawsuits like these.

And sell direct which is the only way for EVs as the dealer network has most of its revenue stream coming from the high maintenance requirements if a ICE car not to mention its limited lifespan.

EVs are eternal if only you swap the battery pack every 20 years and replace the tires.

Brand recognition of BMW = they can charge more
EV simplicity = They can build for less

Tesla still only dreams of the kind of name brand recognition Mercedes and BMW have... but those 2 will spiral into the dustbin of history if they do not become disruptive themselves.