John,
John,
I've got an i3 'Panda' on order myself.
I think your comments on the Tesla are right-on. What a magnificent car the Model S is, but will never work for me. I toss a parachute in the back of my car next to the tool bags and the SCUBA gear and then the dogs jump in and away we go. I've gotta have a hatchback with seats that fold down and I admire but avoid beautiful hand stitched leather seats- the amazing S3 does not fit my profile like the i3 and the $39K I will be out of pocket (calculating in the sales tax exemption and the IRS tax rebate) is right at the top of what I will pay. So for me perfect, for Peter it's a no-go.
Your comment
"How does BMW get the CFRP body structure it makes in the top left corner of the US to Germany, and then back to Washington as part of the finished car? Fossil fuel transport"
isn't quite right. Only carbon fiber processing occurs at the Moses Lake facility (they cook it) using almost free energy from the big dams there. The body is made in Germany. To make your point for you though, the calculations I've seen indicate that if your electricity comes from burning fossil fuels you are consuming more carbon than an equal size fossil fuel car once you figure in the embedded energy. If your power comes from a cleaner source you are consuming a lot less.