The average person probably believes that the first model year of a car is the worst, and in many ways: That is correct. As much theory/simulation/validation testing that automakers do before rolling a car off the assembly line, the truth is that the Day 1 product is rarely the optimal one — it is simply the one that could be built in the allotted time. But what if you extend that timeline beyond the vehicle’s start-of-production (SOP)? Does the car get optimized by an automaker and just become better? The answer is: Yes and no. Allow me to explain.
Oftentimes, the first model-year car has significant mechanical/electrical issues that weren’t caught by engineers (sometimes all use cases weren’t considered, sometimes it’s just a matter of insufficient validation testing, sometimes it’s poor quality control, etc.), and oftentimes the cost of the car is higher than it needs to be. These are the downsides of having a three-year timeline — SOP is SOP. The train doesn’t stop.
The second bit about cost is sometimes kind of intentional — I’ve heard of automakers including a feature in the first model year specifically to win over Consumer Reports, only to ditch that feature after all the initial first-year reviews have been written. The concept of slicing cost out of a vehicle program with each passing model year is called (at least at Chrysler, where I worked formerly) “Technical Cost Reduction,” and one of the greatest recent cars to demonstrate the concept is the BMW i3.
I’ve already written an article titled “Seeing How Much BMW Cheapened The BMW i3 Over The Years Is Driving Me Crazy,” so much of this will be a recap, but shortly afterward that story I made aware of other ways BMW managed to make the car cheaper over the years, and I just cannot resist writing this exhaustive list of all the ways the BMW i3 became “cheaper” after the first model-year, and yet also better.
Before I start, allow me to point out that the two cars shown above may technically be the same model of car, but in terms of what they meant to BMW, they are totally different. The 2014 BMW i3 represented optimism to an automaker that was strutting its stuff, throwing the kitchen sink at what would arguably be its most innovative car ever. When the production BMW i3 debuted in 2013, BMW was excited to show the carbon fiber structure, the incredible electric drive system, the suicide doors, the incredibly skinny low-rolling-resistance tires, and the sustainable interior materials. This vehicle was, to BMW, a world-beater. A true giant of engineering.
The 2021 BMW i3 was totally different. It represented seven years of failure — poor sales of a car that, though innovative, was considered unsightly, overpriced, and impractical. The 2014 BMW i3 was an amazing engineering masterpiece; by 2021 it was BMW’s black sheep, and the company was trying to pinch every last penny out of its $3 billion program investment.
As such, the cost-saving mechanisms BMW employed after 2014 were numerous. The body-colored mirrors were gone after 2014:
The five-spoke forged aluminum wheels, which were specific to each corner of the car for 2014, were instead made the same for each axle. What this meant is that, on 2015 and newer i3s, the wheels looked to be “facing” a different direction depending upon if you were looking at the car’s left side or right side.
Here’s what I mean; see how my 2014’s wheels appear to spin the same direction?:
Now here’s a 2015:
What’s funny is that BMW itself was clearly ashamed of this change, because on the infotainment system of my 2021 i3 — a system that was changed in 2018, well after the left and right-side wheels had been made common — the wheels appear like 2014-only cars: They are “facing” the same direction on each side of the car:
The rear hatch of my 2014 BMW i3 has little rubber closure bumpers that are fairly common in hatchbacks:
My 2021 just has blanking plates:
On the inside, my 2014 i3 has a compass in its mirror:
My 2021 does not:
My 2014 has netting on the back of its front seats:
Those went away in 2015:
My 2014 i3 had a net where the center stack meets the front floorboard:
My 2021 has just a strap:
The leather armrests were replaced with white ones that I’m fairly sure are vinyl. Here are the 2014 armrests:
Here are the 2021 armrests:
The iDrive wrist pad on my 2014 went away in 2015. Here’s my 2014:
Here’s my 2021:
The glovebox lock turned from metal:
Into plastic:
My 2014 has a carbon fiber engine cover:
BMW replaced that with aluminum in 2015:
My 2014 has a fill plug for its differential, while starting in 2015, the fill plug went away, making filling the differential insanely hard, requiring removal of an axle shaft:
And those are just the Technical Cost Reductions that I noticed. I haven’t even discussed the decrease in quality over time; this can be a result of tooling wearing down over time, or just a result of the automaker caring less about getting the car just right as it ages.
Take the gap in the eucalyptus wood glovebox lid; it is perfect on my 2014:
It might not be obvious in this picture, but the gap is totally uneven on my 2021, with the front edge having a significantly larger gap than the rear:
Then there’s the center armrest; look at how perfectly the leather stretches over that 2014 armrest:
The white vinyl on the 2021 is wavy and looks cheap:
Where the headliner ends in the cargo area is nice on my 2014:
On my 2021, you can see that the fabric wasn’t stretched high enough, so the rubber seal only barely covers it:
The rear hatch has two pieces of glass (the bottom glass and then the glass that you look out of in your rearview) that are joined by a rubber seal. My 2014’s seal fits perfectly:
The 2020’s seal has a big gap, and lets dirt in:
I can go on and on.
The 2014 is just a better-built, more content-rich car than my 2021, and yet, it’s the 2021 that I’m keeping. Why?
Well, while many of these small things have been TCR’d to death, the reality is that, in order for the vehicle to remain competitive over the years, it had to receive macro improvements. For example, the BMW i3 received two battery updates — one in 2017, which brought capacity from 22 kWh to 33 kWh, and one in 2019, which brought the battery size up to 42 kWh. Plus, Apple CarPlay came around in 2018, a Sport model with a little more horsepower was added that same year, a USB-C port joined the party, the backup camera seems to have improved, and I can go on.
Perhaps just as important as these macro improvements to maintain market competitiveness are the improvements to battery, compressor, and motor reliability. 2017 batteries seem to last a lot longer than 2014-2016 i3 batteries; the compressor was revised a number of times after 2014, and many suspect it’s for warranty-related reasons (automakers want to fix failure points to avoid huge warranty payouts); and the drive unit bearings were also improved over time.
So yes, my 2021 is built worse and is, in many ways, devoid of many of the customer-delight features I’ve come to love in my 2014 i3, but it’s got more power, more range, and it should be more reliable. So, while I’m a little annoyed by all the TCRs, I’m still obsessed with my Gold i3, which I plan to keep forever.
Of all the things you mentioned the fill plug on the differential is the one that sparked my ire. You can drain it but you can’t fill it? That’s just mean.
Psst, David. You control your own destiny. You can find out yourself if some of these better old pieces are easily swapped to the newer one or not!
–a person who has fog lights controlled by a Toyota turn stalk in a Prius that did not come with fog lights or the right stalk with the fog light switch.
The only thing mentioned here that I wouldn’t bother is the headliner, rubber seal, and some of the interior trims. The others seem like they all can be swapped over.
Yeah, like…if they’re legitimately compatible, there’s no reason not to swap them over. And it’s not like it hurts the value of the one being sold to anyone but the most discerning buyers.
BMW did this across the board for years. The e8x and e9x cars had significant cost-cutting of small features to hold the line on retail prices when BMW did the “LCI” facelift circa 2009-2010. When I bought my e91 wagon in 2011, I spent a good bit of money adding back nice little things that BMW left out;
One thing I did not add back was they changed the sunvisors from cloth that matched the headliner to vinyl – I actually MUCH prefer the vinyl, as you can clean it! And remove the idiotic airbag warnings. I am sure I am forgetting a few things too.
BUT – in exchange for these minor features that most people wouldn’t notice, BMW added a free “Value Pkg” that added about ~$2000 worth of formerly optional equipment, while barely increasing MSRP. Leather, 17″ wheels, the USB/iPod interface and a couple of other things. So given the car was a major stretch for me as it was, I was OK with adding those things back myself. It was a few hundred bucks. But over a couple million cars remaining in the production run, that adds up to real money!
Inflation is a thing, and if you need to hold the line on price, you have to cut costs somewhere. Especially if you are going to make some major features that people care far more about “free”.
Was going to mention my E90. I only sold it a month ago and still miss it, but it was a 2006 330i which may be the most desirable BMW made this century, that can be had for under $10K. So many more features than the following years!
Every car company does this now. Why build a decent car when they don’t have to cover anything past 100,000klms warranty? May as well make it as cheap as possible. It’s sad, but also people need to vote with their wallets and not support companies that make poor products.
What do you mean by “does this now”? Cars actually last to the 100,000 mile warranty and beyond. I remember my parents going through cars well before 100,000 miles, and they certainly weren’t warrantied to even half of that.
I don’t recall the last time warranties improved to align with the yearly price increases, or the reliability they go on about. But everyone’s experience varies, even with the same products. For the price we pay, I absolutely expect a car to last to 100,000 (miles even), but the price we pay and in the year 2024, cars SHOULD last much more (with reasonable, normal routine maintenance).
Yes, and they always have.
There’s the (possibly apocryphal) story about Henry Ford sending his engineers to check over Model T’s in a scrap yard, to see which parts had worn out. When they found that the only part not worn on any car was the kingpin, Ford decided to make that out of a cheaper material.
Every manufacturing company does this. I used to work for an appliance company. Something made out of metal can be replaced with plastic. Steel can be thinned. Features can be removed. By the 3rd or 4th year of a program, you’ve got a significantly shittier product.
Well, isn’t the battery in the 2014 much newer than the one from 2021 since you got it replaced? Why is it still a priority to move on from that battery?
The ‘14’s battery is smaller, and not known to last as long. (My ‘21’s battery health is as good as my ‘14s, even though the ‘14’s battery is new).
The replacements in 2023/4 age just as fast as the original 2014s? Kind of odd that they haven’t been produced with updated chemistry
Smaller battery means it gets stressed at its limits much more often. Also the cells that are more power dense tend to handle temp extremes better, and as such are much pricier for BMW to purchase.
Hyundai Kona did the same. Crappier headlights, less safety features,…
Am i the only one who thinks the wheels look better “backwards”? Asymmetric wheels like that should be oriented so it looks like the spokes bend away from the wheel rotation, give a sense of speed when stationary
This!
MG-Rover did the same thing to cut costs in their “Project Drive” program. It was an effort to cut costs to stave off bankruptcy for a few months.
So the car isn’t selling so let’s spend millions in engineering and tooling to take $50 out of the cost. But since it’s not selling we can’t sufficiently amortize the new upfront costs.
They likely didn’t spend a penny on re-engineering. Those things were probably already in place for other markets. We generally only get VERY loaded versions of German cars in the US, you would be AMAZED at how stripped out they can be had in the olde countries.
When I was in Germany with my 328i wagon, I got in a conversation with a German guy at a rest area who had a German-spec 320d wagon that was also new. He had never heard of a 328i, because that model was largely unique to the NA market. They got nothing between the 320i and the 335i in the wagons for gas motors by then, because nearly everyone who wanted a faster car than a 320i was going to buy one of the six-cylinder diesels. We got to compare cars a bit, and it was very interesting indeed. And nearly all the niceties that were on my car as standard equipment were extra-cost options on his car. But I would have liked to have had his 45+mpg! In Germany, if you were rich enough to run a six-cylinder gasoline motor, you were going to want the mighty N55 turbo motor and run with the bigger dogs on the autobahn.
I also noticed this kind of thing with my car through it’s life, the early models had padded fake leather and cloth covering touch points and lining some storage cubbies but then during the mid-cycle it got rid of all that for harder textured plastic, but they did get a slightly better engine. the hard plastic switch was especially noticeable with the steering wheel, which was a choice.
Could not some of the “cheapening” be due to budget constraints? If you’re going to improve the battery pack, the compressor, and the motor unit, that money has to come from somewhere, doesn’t it? Especially on a model not selling well.
Rehashing the same article from July must mean you’re busy spending quality time on the wedding Jeep…
It’s not the same! I discovered new cost savings!
Never buy the first year of a GM car or the last year on a GM car.
And some might argue “or the years in between”…
This article makes me wary of buying any new car.
Or just never buy a GM car. It’s the safest route.
I’d personally swap over the cosmetic items (arm rests and directional wheels) to the ’21 given you have both and they completely add to the appeal. Maybe the carbon fiber engine cover as well.
It might even improve the resale of the 2014 if you advertise that is has a 2021 interior swap and 2021 premium wheels
DT’s ’21 has a sport package with different (non-directional) wheels whose tires are a much more available size.
Oh right right about the tire size issue!
The WJ Grand Cherokee was known for a 100% failure rate on the AC blend doors – necessitating a dash out repair, of course. They knew within a couple years of the car’s 5 year production run that the design was flawed, and they never changed it!
Same thing with GM. There is a list of problems that all C5 Corvettes have. They had 8 years to get it right and never bothered to fix problems that they knew about.
If the costs of warranty repair and lawsuits is less than issuing a recall or updating the design…
I swear that BMW engineers parts to last the length of the warranty period plus one month. Of course everyone else does the same thing. My F150 gifted me a cracked plastic oil pan about 2 months after my extended CPO warranty expired. Of course Ford refused to even discuss helping me out w/ the cost of replacement. I’d gladly pay the $600!(94’a new aluminum pan if they would install it.
Plastic oil pan?!?
Yup. 3.5 TT on a Max Tow F159. So a motor intended for heavy duty use. OTOH, my GTI also has a plastic oil pan. :(. The BMW has an aluminum oil pan, but poorly sealed to the block, so I had to remove the front cross member to drop the pan and put in a new gasket. The gasket was cheap, the 20+ one-time use aluminum bolts to put it back, were not.
It’s a common remark that the Germans got so good at reliable engineering they’ve engineered cars to reliably fail outside warranty. Ford seems to like that approach but still fails within warranty more often than not.
Yup.
I’ve tried for decades to convince my younger siblings that the same thing holds true for children in a family. They’re not buying it.
As the youngest of seven I think your siblings are right. I always say that my parents had to keep trying until they got it right.
As the middle child, I can say with certainty I was spared the first-gen bugs AND the last-gen tooling wear.
i dunno as #2 out of 7 I think the adage of “don’t buy the first model year or the last” holds up.
Also, they got rid of the little pleather palm rest behind the idrive wheel sometime between 2014 and 2016. I have a 2016 and it’s just flat plastic. 2016 still has the leather armrests however. Are you sure that the armrest change didn’t just get shifted to being an option?
The headlights got much better in 2018 with the bi-LED setup and adaptive high beams.
Didn’t you just get married this weekend? (It could have been last weekend or will be this weekend, I just remember what seemed like a couple weeks ago that article about having 2 weeks to get the Jeep ready) Whatever the time frame, if you did get married:
CONGRATULATIONS!!!
Torch was out there for either the wedding or a bachelor party, if that post wasn’t a lie told to pay David back for the Sienna to back up the whole fake wedding story arc he’s used driven clicks all year. Nobody’s posted anything yet, so expect the truth or continuation of this ruse later this week.
After all, we’ve just seen someone pointing out armrest wrinkles who only 18 months ago would have been profoundly disappointed by any vehicle treated for corrosion resistance, so what can we believe?
Ha ha if you really think it’s a ruse, you are completely delusional. This is a great site with great people
I like turtles.
Seeing the original comment, clicking refresh, and then seeing this made my day.
Oooooo David Tracy edited it. What was the gist?
He took issue with David writing an article about a car on a car site, when there are more apparently more important car issues to write about on a car site.
It was… really bizarre honestly.
All the best things are.
I had a 2015 REx and now a 2019 BEV and have noticed most of these things… however I think a couple of the items you pointed out are legit improvements due to the engineers learning along the way:
Rear hatch rubber bump stops – I think these were deleted to allow a little more hatch movement to prevent breaking the glass over the taillights. I remember in the early adopter days of the i3 seeing some owners actually shatter the lower glass panel by slamming the hatch closed too hard. It’s quite heavy and only needs to lowered and dropped into its latch, unlike many other hatchbacks.
Aluminum drivetrain cover – my guess on this one is obvious, heat dissipation, especially on the REx models… the CF cover probably trapped too much heat and things were getting too toasty in high heat markets.
I thought about that for the rear hatch bumpers; it’s plausible. The Al cover, less so, as there’s insulation just above the Al to prevent the engine from cooking what’s in the cargo area.
In any case, I love looking at small model-year changes.
DT.
Looking a small model year changes was a part of my married life.
Best to you and “not her real name.”
The way BMW did this just creates a nightmare in case you need parts to be replaced when you have one model year specific items, in case something breaks, you need to replace it with the updated parts that are “cheaper”. All of the cars I owned so far had improvements from previous model years, there are probably some cost savings that regular users don’t see but BMW went above and beyond.
BMW is pretty good about keeping all the parts available for a long while. At least back in the day, I had no problem buying the bits they cost-cut out of my ’11 e91 to add them back in. Of course 15 years on, a TON of interior small parts are NLA in general, pre or post LCI.
That’s great. It’s starts with some cost saves, quirks and no wheel symmetry, David T is not afraid. Plastic on the glovebox, lack of mesh on seatback slots, Munich serves its own needs, bottom line for AGs, armrests, footrests, wood grain’s not the best; engine cover carbon, now we beg your pardon, rubber, big gaps, accountants caught you in their trap! Cheap headliner looks like crap, center console weakly wrapped, tranny lost its fill plug, USB, A or C, first world problems, two i3’s!
It’s the end of i3 as we know it and BMW didn’t start the fire.
Are you mixing REM and Billy Joel?
We didn’t start the fire
No, we didn’t light it
But the Tesla ignited
Sit in the place where you drive, now face north, think about direction wonder why it’s not in the mirror. The manufacturers all face PRESSURE!
This is the winter of David’s discontent.
With the Aztec he also had a winter of a discount tent
I visit da comments fo dis content.
Brilliant
I had an 84 Jetta that was the first year of the A2 style and actually the VIN was about 150 below where they were supposed to start- that thing was a nightmare for parts as some of them seemed to have been made by hand or adapted from other parts
With German cars you always want the last of the run. My ’84 Jetta was one of the very last A1 GLIs built, and it was just superb. As is my last of the line ’11 e91 BMW wagon. Which was SUPPOSED to be literally one of the last made, but they decided to make another half-year of them as ’12s at the last minute, since the f31 wagon was delayed. Zero changes between ’11 and ’12 though, other than the price went up. But my ’11 e88 128 is one of the very first ’11s, and it has some oddball parts – month of production often matters for BMWs, they LOVE their mid-year and quarterly changes. Amusingly, despite both being “2011”, my two cars were built 15 months apart due to the different production schedules at the two plants, the model year change-overs happened at different times.
Yeah my wife had a 92 which was worlds apart in quality
I’ve always preffered to buy cars on the old midcycle refresh- most often there arent sweeping changes to drivetrains, but you tend to get the most updated interior and exterior. It’s seemed to be that way with most domestic vehicles I’ve owned.
Unless the refresh cheapens things further, like when Rover went from a nice enameled badge on the 75 to a cheap screen printed one with the 2004 update
I suppose it happens, but thats usually a generation to generation thing I see.
Sometimes still, the refresh is a downgrade. The 88-1995 Chevy pickup interiors come to mind. They had the neatest gauges and controls for the HVAC and radio, and went to a more traditional style in 1996 that just never felt as cool.
Some mid-cycle refreshes are butt ugly though.
’15-’20 Colorado and Canyon: Not bad looking.
’21-22 Colorado and Canyon: Way uglier
’14-’15 Silverado/Sierra: Good looking
’16-’18 Silverado: Horrible
’16-’18 Sierra: Not as good as before, but better than the Silverado
Ok, maybe it’s just GM that fucks up refreshes…
I’ll agree on the Canyon, but the 16-18 Silverado were gorgeous to my eye. I HATED the 07-14, Thought the 14-15 were a nice change back to looking like a chevy, and then 16-18 I was in love. The 2019-to present though?
Ugh, I hate them.
With the Germans it’s usually win some/lose some on the refreshes. Usually they get better looking on the outside, but cost cut on the inside. Though with my S212 Mercedes, the refresh might as well have been a whole new model – they really re-engineered the whole damned car with MAJOR changes all over the place for 2014. Supposedly a billion dollars was spent. Kind of surprising given they only made them for three more years before the actually new W/S213 came out. But they did carry over the new mechanicals to the new car, so I guess there is that. Also a rare case where they FIXED a bunch of interior quality issues with the refresh – the earlier cars are pretty bad (for a Mercedes anyway). The refresh cars are “adequate”. Which is to say nicer than almost anything else that isn’t twice the price, but not on par with what they did 15-20 years earlier.