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In Japan, you can buy your a BMW i3 on Amazon [UPDATE2]

UPDATE: The story's been updated to include a response from a BMW spokesman. UPDATE2: The story's been updated to include a response from a BMW's Germany headquarters. We love the "Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought" section for this one. Sleeping bags, cotton T-Shirts and a BMW i3 plug-in vehicle. That's your average Amazon shopping cart, right? It could be in Japan, where the plug-in car is being sold to potential customers online. The online retailer, long the largest in the US, is posting listings of the i3 on its Japanese site, notes Yahoo News, and both the standard electric i3 and the one with the gas-powered range extender are available. There are almost 50 dealers in Japan that can sell the i3, the German automaker's first production plug-in vehicle, but BMW appears to be trying to extend its distribution reach a little further. Of course, it's not a simple point-and-click situation, as prospective customers who order the vehicle online will apparently get a follow-up phone call from a BMW representative asking for proof of both access to a charging station as well as a parking spot. "It's become a tradition that the BMW Group breaks new ground with BMW i and that also goes for the way the vehicles are sold, with several different sales channels being tested and used," a representative with BMW's Germany headquarters wrote in an e-mail sent to AutoblogGreen. "In Japan, a one-off test project, designed only for that market – has seen BMW i3 models offered via Amazon. The delivery and customer service of these vehicles is, of course, handled by authorized BMW i dealers in Japan." BMW started selling the i3 in the US last year, moving about 6,100 units in 2014 and almost 2,700 through the first quarter of this year. Related Videos: Related Gallery 2014 BMW i3: First Drive View 33 Photos News Source: Amazon, Yahoo! News via Green Car Reports Green BMW Electric Amazon online

BMW i3 gets official worldwide

Even though we recently drove a near-production version of the BMW i3, the car still wore light exterior and interior camouflage. Today, BMW took off that little bit of camo and made a big announcement: The i3 will go on sale in the US for $41,350 in the second quarter of 2014. That does not include any state or federal incentives that could lower the price or the $925 destination fee. The i3 will debut with three trim levels, which BMW is referring to as Worlds: Mega (standard in the US), Giga and Tera.
The BMW i3 is chock-full of new technology afforded by its design as an EV from the start of development, which has resulted in a vehicle layout unique to the i3. BMW has named it LifeDrive architecture, and it features the Life Module and the Drive Module. The Life Module is the i3's pillar-less passenger cell, which is the first mass-produced monocoque made of carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP). The tougher-than-steel material is also 30-percent lighter than aluminum, which contributes to the i3's relatively light weight of 2,700 pounds (preliminary US figure) and, in turn, increases its energy efficiency. Expect more of this technology to find its way into future BMWs.
The Drive Module, a 100-percent aluminum chassis mounted under the Life Module, houses everything that makes the i3 go. It includes the 22-kilowatt, 450-pound lithium ion battery mounted as centrally as possible, and provides power to a rear-mounted electric motor that turns the rear wheels. With 170 horsepower and 184 pound-feet of torque from zero rpm, the single-gear i3 can accelerate from 0-30 miles per hour in 3.5 seconds and 0-60 mph in about 7.0 seconds, but it has a top speed of only 93 mph. BMW says the i3 has a real-world EV range of 80-100 miles, and the standard charger can fill the battery in three hours. Opt for the SAE DC Combo Fast Charger and 30 minutes is all it takes for a full charge; 20 minutes will bump the battery to 80 percent. For customers who have range anxiety, BMW gives them the option to install a 34-hp, 650cc two-cylinder generator as a range extender for the electric drive system.

BMW may be planning AMG Black Series competitors

Word has it BMW has its heart set on giving the Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG Black Series a run for its money in the US. According to BimmerBoost.com, the German automaker has been making more and more noise about offering a number of specialty models aimed specifically at enthusiasts. While at the Detroit Auto Show this year, the BMW PR machine revealed 2013 will be "an interesting year" and that buyers can expect one or two products aimed specifically at swiping buyers from the clutches of the C63 AMG Black Series. The news came courtesy of Automobile writer Marc Noordeloos' Twitter machine.
Noordeloos reportedly interviewed several executives familiar with the M models while in Detroit, and says the M division would like to offer hardware like the M3 CSL, GTS or CRT to buyers here in the States. That sounds great to us, but saying something doesn't make it true, and manufacturers rarely find it in their hearts to bring money-losing machines to our green shores. Still, that won't stop us from crossing our fingers.