REX engine on wheels

Hi All,

I am intrigued by the i3 and am looking to get one while somewhat afraid of the many problems that have been reported and potential out-of-warranty costs. One thing I have been wondering about is this:

Wouldn't it have been better if BMW offered the REX engine mounted on its own wheels that could be attached to a BEV when needed? Perhaps with a bigger 5-gallon tank or something? The REX could also then do double duty as a generator set for the house, separate from the BEV? Also, perhaps BMW i-dealers could then "rent" out well maintained "REXs on Wheels" to those that need them? I understand there could be aesthetic considerations involved, but this could have been a huge differentiator in the EV market.

I am interested in thoughts others have on this.

Thanks.

It's an interesting thought but the "value" of the REX is to provide INSURANCE for range anxiety. It kind of defeats the purpose if the REX is detached from the car. For the one time you need it (unexpectedly), the REX may have been left in the garage!

For the few times that you PLAN to exceed the EV range, a much more efficient arrangement is to just rent an ICE car for the day. Let's say you need to rent a car for 10 days in a year. The rental cost is just a few hundred dollars - way cheaper than keeping a mostly idle REX in the garage.

Thanks for the response. I believe most users have a good idea of their daily commute, as far as requiring REX for that day or not. Also, if one knows that they can purchase "REX on Wheels" later if and when they need it, most might start off with BEV as opposed to going for REX because of "long-term" anxiety. I believe all in all, from the environmental standpoint, and also considering the modular nature of the i3, a "REX on wheels" option would keep REX sales low. In fact, I heard BMW already offers ICE cars for EV owners for occassional use. They might just as well offer "REX on Wheels" rather than a whole car, which would again be good for the environment.

Also, this would allow for possibly a bigger engine and gas tank so highway speeds can be sustained regardless of battery SOC.

In fact, if all EV manufacturers would provide for a way to attach a REX this way, perhaps a whole new market for REXs on wheels would develop? And perhaps then more people will jump on the EV bandwagon?

you mean like this?
https://insideevs.com/nomadic-power-present-range-extender-trailer-wvideo/

FWIW, as most (all) probably know, if there's a plug in the charge port, you can't put it into drive, so coding would have to be done some way to be able to charge the vehicle while driving it.

There is an old joke where Bill Gates is at a business conference with a bunch of other CEOs and he proudly states: At a recent computer expo, Bill Gates reportedly compared the computer industry with the auto industry and stated "If GM had kept up with technology like the computer industry has, we would all be driving $25.00 cars that got 1,000 miles to the gallon.

The CEO of GM stood up and says: If GM had developed technology like Microsoft, we would all be driving cars that
1. For no reason whatsoever, your car would crash twice a day.
2. Every time they repainted the lines in the road, you would have to buy a new car.
3. The airbag system would ask "Are you sure?" before deploying.
5. Occasionally, for no reason whatsoever, your car would lock you out and refuse to let you in until you simultaneously lifted the door handle, turned the key and grabbed hold of the radio antenna.
5. Every time GM introduced a new car, car buyers would have to learn to drive all over again because none of the controls would operate in the same manner as the old car.
Oh and You'd have to press the "Start" button to turn the engine off.

The reason I bring this up is the car industry is very different from other industries. it is very hard to cater to very whim and desire. Safty regulations and testing not to mention seas of lawsuit hungry lawyers make it very difficult to do crazy stuff and still make a profit.