"The $12k price difference
"The $12k price difference gets you a few upgrades and the BMW panache" Real world price difference between the Volt and the i3 is closer to twice the 12k you listed or $25,000 more for the Beemer. I negotiated a fully loaded Volt with a sticker price of $41.5k down to $36k. With the State and Federal tax incentives my Volt landed at $27k plus tax and license. Factor in GM 0% financing on the Volt and you could pay more than twice as much for the privilege of driving a BMW with a 1.9 gallon gas tank.