Recent content by michael

I guess the concept of "Ultimate Driving Machine" has gone by the wayside, replaced by financial forces. But at the same time, Ford and GM seem to be managing by selling primarily ERVs (Energi and Volt). They each sell vanishingly few pure EVs (Ford Focus electric and Chevrolet Spark EV). In...

Volt gets the $7500 rebate...and incidentally it all gets passed on to the customer even in a lease. BMW hold some back in a lease. Volt gets $1500 from California while BMW gets $2500. Wouldn't you happily have settled for $1000 less to get a bigger gas tank and the ability to shift to gas...

Actually, I was beta testing the unit for several months, and it's been very useful. There is no standard 240/208 V receptacle...whatever a manufacturer might select, someone will say (correctly) that other types are more common. The necessary solution is to have adapters. I bought adapters...

My last three cars have been BMW (740, 330, and 328). I really, really wanted an I3 (still do!). I expected to own a BMW for the rest of my life, but the pricing makes no sense. This week I'm planning to trade in the 328 on a Volt. In three years I'll look at BMW again.

So sum of payments = (36x950) + 5000 + 4875 = 44075 on a car with MSRP of $56025?

I've never heard that...which companies? Still hoping to hear BMW's explanation....??

I hope he can come up with something convincing...I've never heard of this problem before. GM, Ford, Nissan all manage to realize the full $7500 and to factor it into the lease. I'd like to know why BMW qualifies for only 65%, and why they pass this problem onto the customer. Effectively...

This is a very important bit of news and doesn't seem to be getting much attention. According to the article, expected lease rates are in the order of $550/mo plus $5000 down for a Rex with 15,000 miles. Pro-rating the down over 36 months, about $700. Also BMW is planning of keeping over a...

I don't see this as such a big deal, assuming it's even true. I have an EV with white stickers, and they only help occasionally...if the traffic is free flowing, you're better off in the mainline. If it's really jammed, the carpool lane is jammed as well. There's only a narrow window in...

I dont understand....? What is your basis for saying that BMW FS doesn't qualify for the full $7500? Every other (Ford, Nissan, GM, etc) EV lease includes this amount as a capital reduction. Why should BMW be any different?

That's not correct. When you lease, the $7500 goes to the leasing company, and they apply it to the basis of the lease, generally as a reduction of the capitalized amount. It's actually better than buying and hoping and waiting for the IRS to let you have the tax credit. If one's tax...