CES 2023: BMW Unveils Prototype Seemingly Set to Rival Apple Car

[King Cleanass]

BMW’s design has been off the rails lately. There is just nothing special about them anymore. The aggressive large stupid grills make them look like a Honda or Kia or something….at least this concept doesn’t have those….so that’s something….but the designer in charge needs to go.

Edit: another article shows it with big grills going horizontal…lol….come on with the grills!

Oh I don't know about that, I'd say they're especially ugly.

Never thought I'd be pining for the Bangle era BMWs but here we are. We will truly live to see manmade horrors beyond our comprehension.

 

[Juicy Box]

It's all great that companies are making more and more expensive electric cars with lots of high tech, there's definitely a (small) market (of top 0.5% rich people) for that, but until someone starts to make an affordable electric car (and I can promise you it won't be Apple), nothing is really going to change.

Tesla, BMW, Apple, these are not companies known to make affordable things for the average person. Yet it's the average person who is driving the average car, which is still a combustion engine car and will remain so forever unless something changes.

The main problems to tackle so that electric cars don't remain more than just a luxury thing for rich people:

• The cheapest electric cars are at least 3 times more expensive than the cheapest combustion cars, but usually far more. For 99% of people combustion cars are already very expensive as they are.
• Most people buy used cars. Which in the case of combustion engines are a fraction of the price of new cars, making this price difference even wider. Used electric cars are nowhere near as discounted.
• Buying a used electric car carries with it the real risk of having to replace the battery sometime in the future, which is a cost so big that you might as well just send it to the junkyard and buy a used combustion car in decent shape for the price. It's not typical for a combustion car to ever require repairs so expensive, even a full engine replacement might be cheaper (and that's not something most people ever have to do). Most people expect small, regular maintenance costs but aren't prepared for gargantuan, sudden costs like that at any point of the car's life.

Is anyone trying to solve these? Do we expect Tesla, BMW or Apple to really bring that revolution about? (no) Or are we just continuing to make more expensive fancy cars for rich people?

I think car manufacturers should continue to spend R&D and produce electric cars, but also hybrid and efficient ICE vehicles.

A friend of mine is convinced that by 2030 90% of cars sold in the US will be EVs, but I find that pretty unbelievable given the cost, US electric grid issues, not being able to charge for some people, range issues, etc.

But, there are plenty of ICE and hybrid vehicles that have great range and pretty efficient, and some that cost fractions of an EV.

For example, my purchased new 2019 1.4T Jetta, it gets really great fuel economy for an ICE and even some hybrids, while @ over 40,000 miles, with fuel ($3,646.78), maintenance costs($214.65), and the initial purchase of it (car, taxes, fees, etc $16,951.06), the Jetta is still much cheaper ($20,812.49) than even the cheapest new EV in the US:

 

[shredthegnar]

Thinking about how many dudes are gonna get slapped at a bar when dropping the line, "Have you seen my Dee?"

 

[contacos]

Am I the only one that misses those days when you could just hop into a car and you instantly new how to work it? Now there are sooo many different switches and what not like what happened to REGULATIONS. I feel like everything that has come out in the last 10 years misses some proper norms. For instance, even something as basic like a EV-Charging logo isn’t even universal! It may look different on every Autobahn stop sign

 

[guzhogi]

I wonder what aftermarket upgrades would be like? I find that many newer cars can't get aftermarket radio upgrades. Not sure about speakers. Plus, even if I can upgrade, what kind of speakers & amps can I install? I have a 2012 Prius, and many places suggest a max of 350 watts or less total for all speakers & subwoofers. While I'm sure some of these cars come with pretty decent sound systems, I'd still like the option to upgrade components as time goes on rather than needing to buy a whole new car.

 

[rpmurray]

I wonder how much the subscription costs will be to activate all the features.

 

[Benjamin Nabulsi]

BMW is living concepts

 

[bviktor]

Rofl gotta love Hasselhoff + Arnie D

 

[ilikewhey]

So a prototype to rival a car that doesn’t exist. The fight of the century.

this made me chuckle 😆, a mock up concept prototype fighting a non existent mock up prototype.

 

[Dredd67]

After tax credits a handful of EVs are worth looking into. The VW id4 standard and Hyundai Kona EV are reasonably priced. Chevy Bolt EUV and the new Equinox EV are options too. There are choices for those who don’t want to go all in on Tesla, which for most people is overkill for what we “need” in a car.

Maybe in the US, here in Europe some models are way more expansive or just aren't sold. We have local brands but they're kind of a joke.

 

[NY Guitarist]

Can this be the BMW that's finally able to get the driver to use turn signals? 😉

 

[iDento]

Yep. Them and Mercedes-Benz. They were once both makes of substance, but that was a long time ago.

Wasn't "Driving Experience" the main BMW differentiator? The design was always questionable, especially since my 2019 BMW cabin looks exactly like a 1990 BMW 550 save for a new 8' screen that doesn't even work with CarPlay because I had to pay even more for that.

 

[Warped9]

I'm a VW guy, but even there the EV line is looking so dull and bizarre I honestly don't know what I will buy when the time comes if it stays like that. Audi's design is mostly OK but it's also way too overpriced for a rebranded VW with a few rings slapped on it.

My first car was a ’79 VW Rabbit 2dr. with manual transmission in Diamond Silver Metallic. I LOVED that car! It set me on a path of being a VW fan. And the GTI was the cream of the crop. But VW has completely changed the character of their cars. Like Honda there used to be an identity to VWs and the GTI. No more as it’s all me-too-ism. Hell, it’s now all SUVs (in North America). And the once awesome GTI is now computerized into meh.

 

[sparkinstx]

BMWs have progressively gotten more soft over the years, and this would complete their transition from The Ultimate Driving Machine to The Ultimate Washing Machine.

 

[sparkinstx]

Yep. Them and Mercedes-Benz. They were once both makes of substance, but that was a long time ago.

Mercedes-Benzes are more like overpriced Hyundais nowadays. The S-Class is about the only model that carries the same prestige that it used to. Daimler spent years chasing every niche, hitting bottom with the CLA-Class.

 

[8CoreWhore]

On the plus side, the yellow wheels will disguise frozen dog pee in winter.

 

[BuffaloTF]

It basically is:

"Apple says the software will take over a car's instrument cluster, so you can see your current speed, fuel and battery levels, RPMs, navigation details, and other common bits of information in a more unified, highly Apple-esque design."

No doubt it will run via a hypervisor of course.

Either way - BMW is the notable absentee from the list of makers signed up for "next-gen carplay", and i don't think it's a coincidence they have gone down the Android Automotive line.

Remember current Carplay is really only screen mirroring + audio, and run on your phone, not the car.

Right… but I think the general point is that Android Automotive is not the same as CarPlay… or even Android Auto for that matter. Google even has a website that tells you what the different nomenclature means, because it is confusing. CarPlay is your phone projecting to screens, the new version with multi-screen projection. Android Auto is the same - your phone drives the experience. You could say these 2 are competitors. Android Automotive is a pre-packaged ordeal for the full stack of services your cars OS has for its In Vehicle Infotainment. It’s competitors are the likes of Ford Sync, Toyota’s “Arene” system coming in a few years, etc.

 

[NMBob]

They certainly are giving Apple a run for their money in the naming-department.

 

[alexandr]

and intstall automatic blinkers for all BMW's? It seems a rarely purchased option today.

Not to worry — we'll use Bimmercode to disable them

 

[Mr. Dee]

Inspired by me I see. 😉😄

 

[iphonehype]

Biggest BMW fan here. Had many. The most recent cars in my experience have lost what they where once. They feel really numb and not exciting. The Electric Cars on the hand are just petrol cars with a retrofitted battery.

Now I am a Tesla owner. I'm excited to see Sony's new EV, but unless BMW spend £00,000,000's into Software, it cannot compete with Tesla or what will come out with.

I think BMW are done. Sad to say because I wish they are what they once where.

 

[jsalda]

It would be nice if it could stop at pedestrian crossings which normal BMW's seem completely incapable of.

Definitely the comment of the day.

 

[compwiz1202]

It would be nice if it could stop at pedestrian crossings which normal BMW's seem completely incapable of.

Or have it read the mind of the driver and autoactivate the turn signal. Or even better integrate the maps into the signals.

 

[crisss1205]

It basically is:

"Apple says the software will take over a car's instrument cluster, so you can see your current speed, fuel and battery levels, RPMs, navigation details, and other common bits of information in a more unified, highly Apple-esque design."

No doubt it will run via a hypervisor of course.

Either way - BMW is the notable absentee from the list of makers signed up for "next-gen carplay", and i don't think it's a coincidence they have gone down the Android Automotive line.

Remember current Carplay is really only screen mirroring + audio, and run on your phone, not the car.

Except it isn’t. The OS is still iOS. Your phone is not the operating system of the car.
Many manufactures that are on the list for the next gen CarPlay are also using Android Automotive.

Your last sentence contradicts yourself. CarPlay cannot be a car OS while running on your phone.

 

[blazerunner]

I love how so many people here think Apple is entitled to profits from any market they enter.

The cheerleading is insufferable.