Are BMW about to announce a new Z4 coupe…

[Sae]

If this article is to be believed sounds completely pointless

https://www.motor1.com/news/668244/bmw- ... potential/

Tim.

Sounds like a PR stunt for BMW and partner production facilities lol. Sometimes I wonder if the car market has lost it's real passion and given over to mass market profit.
Still, I'd empty the piggy bank if they decided to sell it

[TitanTim]

If this article is to be believed sounds completely pointless

https://www.motor1.com/news/668244/bmw- ... potential/

Tim.

Sounds like a PR stunt for BMW and partner production facilities lol. Sometimes I wonder if the car market has lost it's real passion and given over to mass market profit.
Still, I'd empty the piggy bank if they decided to sell it

I would have thought if based largely on the Roadster parts bin it's not as exclusive as they would have you believe

Be a great shame if it became a exclusive little club model Be surprised if BMW went down that route.

Tim.

[MikeyH]

If this article is to be believed sounds completely pointless

https://www.motor1.com/news/668244/bmw- ... potential/

Tim.

Sounds like a PR stunt for BMW and partner production facilities lol. Sometimes I wonder if the car market has lost it's real passion and given over to mass market profit.
Still, I'd empty the piggy bank if they decided to sell it

I would have thought if based largely on the Roadster parts bin it's not as exclusive as they would have you believe

Be a great shame if it became a exclusive little club model Be surprised if BMW went down that route.

Tim.

Okay, so spanner in the works and yes it is a convertible but how will the new 'MG' change this as BMW will need to go electric also, very soon?

[TitanTim]

Sounds like a PR stunt for BMW and partner production facilities lol. Sometimes I wonder if the car market has lost it's real passion and given over to mass market profit.
Still, I'd empty the piggy bank if they decided to sell it

I would have thought if based largely on the Roadster parts bin it's not as exclusive as they would have you believe

Be a great shame if it became a exclusive little club model Be surprised if BMW went down that route.

Tim.

Okay, so spanner in the works and yes it is a convertible but how will the new 'MG' change this as BMW will need to go electric also, very soon?

It will be interesting to see, I guess for those who are not interested in engines it won't bother them at all, you could argue the MX5 isn't bought for its engine or exhaust note so going electric might not bother existing owners. Where you have cars with a great sounding ICE that ultimately become purely electric then surely it lose a certain customer base.

I wouldn't have bought my M140i if purely electric.

Tim.

[buzyg]

I would have thought if based largely on the Roadster parts bin it's not as exclusive as they would have you believe

Be a great shame if it became a exclusive little club model Be surprised if BMW went down that route.

Tim.

Okay, so spanner in the works and yes it is a convertible but how will the new 'MG' change this as BMW will need to go electric also, very soon?

It will be interesting to see, I guess for those who are not interested in engines it won't bother them at all, you could argue the MX5 isn't bought for its engine or exhaust note so going electric might not bother existing owners. Where you have cars with a great sounding ICE that ultimately become purely electric then surely it lose a certain customer base.

I wouldn't have bought my M140i if purely electric.

Tim.

Very true Tim. I pretty much gave up watching F1 after the Wizz went out of the engine note and gave up after 20mins trying to watch FE. The sound is so much part of it. Like having the Shadows front up a rock concert.

[TitanTim]

Okay, so spanner in the works and yes it is a convertible but how will the new 'MG' change this as BMW will need to go electric also, very soon?

It will be interesting to see, I guess for those who are not interested in engines it won't bother them at all, you could argue the MX5 isn't bought for its engine or exhaust note so going electric might not bother existing owners. Where you have cars with a great sounding ICE that ultimately become purely electric then surely it lose a certain customer base.

I wouldn't have bought my M140i if purely electric.

Tim.

Very true Tim. I pretty much gave up watching F1 after the Wizz went out of the engine note and gave up after 20mins trying to watch FE. The sound is so much part of it. Like having the Shadows front up a rock concert.

I still don't get why some people are buying classic cars and electrifying them It's bad enough having fake exhaust sounds piped into a cars cabin these days, the future seems a tad bleak.

Tim.

[Russ Z4]

I still don't get why some people are buying classic cars and electrifying them It's bad enough having fake exhaust sounds piped into a cars cabin these days, the future seems a tad bleak.
Tim.

Lots of reasons.

Because a lot of classic cars are unreliable and would otherwise end up rotting in a garage (if lucky) or more quickly, on a driveway or field (if unlucky).

It opens up the life of the car to those who are unable or lack the knowledge to work on cars.

It enables people to drive something other than something that looks like an appliance on wheels in pollution controlled zones.

The engines and transmissions in certain cars were never good, so replacing them is no real loss.

Its quirky and gives people with a big enough wallet something to do and drive something that doesn't resemble an appliance on wheels.

These are just some of the reasons...

We are just going through a transition. As soon as range catches up, energy density in batteries go up (to enable a more lightweight design), I suspect attitudes will change.

I guess the same can be said of engine swaps too... or resto mods. Anybody watching the K24 308 Stanceworks Ferrari? You could argue thats a more fun/interesting car than the original ever was. And it's likely to be more reliable despite all that hp.

[TitanTim]

I still don't get why some people are buying classic cars and electrifying them It's bad enough having fake exhaust sounds piped into a cars cabin these days, the future seems a tad bleak.
Tim.

Lots of reasons.

Because a lot of classic cars are unreliable and would otherwise end up rotting in a garage (if lucky) or more quickly, on a driveway or field (if unlucky).

It opens up the life of the car to those who are unable or lack the knowledge to work on cars.

It enables people to drive something other than something that looks like an appliance on wheels in pollution controlled zones.

The engines and transmissions in certain cars were never good, so replacing them is no real loss.

Its quirky and gives people with a big enough wallet something to do and drive something that doesn't resemble an appliance on wheels.

These are just some of the reasons...

We are just going through a transition. As soon as range catches up, energy density in batteries go up (to enable a more lightweight design), I suspect attitudes will change.

I guess the same can be said of engine swaps too... or resto mods. Anybody watching the K24 308 Stanceworks Ferrari? You could argue thats a more fun/interesting car than the original ever was. And it's likely to be more reliable despite all that hp.

Nope still don't get it, I thought one of the enjoyments of classics is tinkering with them and their simplicity, for some makes and models anyways How can you do that with an electric motor? Different strokes for different folks I guess.

Problem for me is electric cars are not visceral, I guess that's why I use a valve guitar amp than a transisterised amp.

Tim.

[Russ Z4]

Even in the world of music, there is a swing towards modelling - because it's got to the stage where the convenience of reliability doesn't make the overheads of valves worth it. Kemper, Axe FX, Quad Cortex, Helix... they are becoming staple in the guitar playing community.

Some people don't want to tinker. Some people want to get in their cars and drive. And know that they are going to reach their destination and get back. Tinkering is 1 enjoyment - the endless fettling... but for others, they would rather spend their time clocking up trouble free miles. Both are valid options - despite if one of them is at odds to what you personally want to get out of a classic car.

Same goes for a valve amp - yet a good transistor amp is not to be sniffed at either. Plenty of L5 and JC120 fans out there.

Place for all I reckon. I'd rather see these things being used than not.

[MikeyH]

I'm dreading being pushed into electric cars just as I was many years ago with CDs from records, vinyl to you youngsters. Hopefully I'll be dead when that finally happens. Young drivers will soon only know about electric cars so if they want something that looks less boring they will buy an electrified petrol car and will not care.

[TitanTim]

I'm dreading being pushed into electric cars just as I was many years ago with CDs from records, vinyl to you youngsters. Hopefully I'll be dead when that finally happens. Young drivers will soon only know about electric cars so if they want something that looks less boring they will buy an electrified petrol car and will not care.

Interestingly (if you can call it that ) a new housing development has just been granted planning permission near to me and a requirement is each new build has to have a vehicle charging point

What happens if a few years from now it's decided Hydrogen is better

Tim.

[axelleveau]

What happens if a few years from now it's decided Hydrogen is better

Cost of adding a charge point at time of build is going to be much cheaper than developping a hydrogen infrastructure anyway... And wait until people realise hydrogen vehicles need batteries and might even need charging as well...

[Pondrew]

Interestingly (if you can call it that ) a new housing development has just been granted planning permission near to me and a requirement is each new build has to have a vehicle charging point

Been a building regulation requirement for a year now.
More political than anything else (isn't everything these days).
Our Gov have sent the signal to the manufacturers that we are 'going down the electric route', so the manufacturers are almost guaranteed a return on their EV R&D costs, which will be significant. The UK Gov can't do a U-turn on that pledge now, the industry would not stand for it. even if the rest of the world decides that hydrogen or synthetic fuels are the way forward, we will be stuck with the EV for a good while.

We could be the Betamax to everyone else's VHS. The laser disc to everyone's CD. The Blackberry to everyone's i-Phone. The 'squarerial' to everyone's SKY dish.

[MikeyH]

What happens if a few years from now it's decided Hydrogen is better

Cost of adding a charge point at time of build is going to be much cheaper than developping a hydrogen infrastructure anyway... And wait until people realise hydrogen vehicles need batteries and might even need charging as well...

JCB have designed a hydrogen engine that runs on hydrogen. It works like a petrol engine.

[Pondrew]

JCB have designed a hydrogen engine that runs on hydrogen. It works like a petrol engine.

Toyota developed the Hydrogen engine years ago. But it seems to have died a death, for reasons that are not clear for me. Apart from the EV revolution.
Hydrogen has it's shortcomings, not least that it is highly volatile, but petrol isn't exactly inert and that has been around for 140 years.

Hydrogen is going to be replacing natural gas for our heating in the UK, apparently, but God knows when, or if! Bosch have spent millions and millions on R&D for hybrid gas/H and fully H boilers, so they will want their money back sometime soon!

It seems there are multiple ways to go: EV, Hydrogen, synthetic fuels, etc, but the R&D costs fortunes so the manufacturers wait for guidance and commitment from Govs before ploughing the money in. We are at a major crossroads I fear, with most traffic (in the UK at least) heading towards the EV exit. Not for me. I would rather walk!