Hi all. I’m a BMW client advisor, and I attended a two-day “Ride and Drive” i3 introduction last week in Houston. This was the first opportunity most of us attending had to even see the new i3. Frankly, my [U]first[/U] impression upon viewing 40 or so i3’s lined up in a parking lot was that it looked like the nerd parking lot at Comic-Con. HOWEVER, this impression was quickly turned around as we learned just how much attention BMW invested in designing and manufacturing the i3 from its inception. The second day proved even more enlightening, as we actually drove the i3 both in real Houston traffic as well as in several courses in a huge parking lot next to the arena. This included a direct “out of one into the other” comparison on obstacle courses with two North American primary market competitors - the Chevy Volt and the Nissan LEAF - both of which began their lives as ICE vehicles. The i3 blew the doors off both of these cars both in acceleration, handling, and simply being a blast to drive. As the LEAF and the Volt both wallowed and squealed their ways through the courses, the i3 handled like a BMW start to finish. At the end of the two-day course, many of those of us who arrived with a somewhat neutral attitude about this new car, departed excited about what the i3 brings to the market and planning on how and when we could get one of our own, and that includes me. 