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Tearing Down the Model T of Our Time - Autoline After Hours 284

5 videos recommended on HN
YouTube
6 HN users recommended this interview4 months2015–2018 score 5
Years with an HN recommendation, 2007–2026

HN recommends it as a fascinating look at the i3's revolutionary materials and production methods, and as a contrast point for Tesla.

An Autoline After Hours episode where Sandy Munro discusses his complete teardown of the BMW i3, along with automotive journalists. It covers the car's carbon fiber construction and manufacturing technology.

“discussing the manufacturing tech within the i3; absolutely fascinating” (HN, 2016)

2 strong recommendations · 4 recommendations · 2 citations · Interviews · intermediate · partly dated

8 Hacker News comments

From the HN archive; up to 20 kept per video, favoring different commenters. Recommendations first.

@_s Apr 2016 Strongly recommends
on HN thread BMW Loses Core Development Team of Its I3 and I8 Electric Vehicle Line
There was a video ( [this video] ) posted recently discussing the manufacturing tech within the i3; absolutely fascinating - the general gist being how this car is the Model T of our time. Perhaps it is a big loss or not that great; eitherway I believe the company will do just fine - they've set themselves up very well for the future unlike many of the other manufacturers in terms of brand, mobility, innovating / delivering on new tech / processes etc.
Manufacturing tech inside the i3, framed as the Model T of our time.
@aorth Feb 2018 Strongly recommends
on HN thread A Company That Tears Cars Apart to Find Out How They're Built
I don't follow the car industry but I did happen to catch this 2015 video of Munro talking about the BMW i3. He says things like "this is the watershed," "they invented new science," "this is the Model T of our time," etc. I got a whole new respect for BMW after watching that video. Munro even followed the production chain to Morocco while investigating the costing! [this video]
Munro explains why the BMW i3 was a watershed car.
@janfoeh Dec 2015 Recommends
on HN thread Volkswagen and the Blame the Engineer Game
If anybody is interested in this kind of thing, here is an hour-long talk with a freelance analyst who disassembled the BMW i3: [this video] His agency is selling that report for $500,000. I found the whole thing quite fascinating.
Hour-long talk by an analyst who disassembled the BMW i3.
@jonknee Apr 2016 Recommends
on HN thread ReachNow – BMW car sharing service in Seattle
I've heard a lot of good things about it, including in this somehow fascinating talk about a complete teardown: [this video] tl;dr A guy who sells $500k reports of cars for competing manufacturers says the i3 is revolutionary (in materials and construction).
Analyst calls the BMW i3 revolutionary in materials and construction.
@retSava Sep 2017 Recommends
on HN thread Dyson to make electric cars from 2020
I can recommend this video: [this video] "Tearing Down the Model T of Our Time - Autoline After Hours 284" and [link] "BMW i3 Factory Production Tour"
Recommended teardown video alongside an i3 factory tour.

Citations, criticism and jokes

@dao- Sep 2018 Cites it
on HN thread Mercedes Readies First Tesla Rival in $12B Attack
> The funny thing is, had Tesla just said: we don't need to innovate upon lean manufacturing Or had they done it the right way like BMW did with the i3. Source: BMW i3 Teardown: An Electronics Masterpiece: [link] Tearing Down the Model T of Our Time: [this video] (both are about the same teardown by Munro & Associates)
Cited as source on BMW's i3 manufacturing approach versus Tesla.

Video list and Hacker News comment labels from HackerTube (prompted by @karpathy), released under ODC-By 1.0, built on the open-index/hacker-news archive. Hacker News data is provided by Y Combinator; comments remain the work of their authors. Video titles, channel names and thumbnails belong to their creators and are shown via YouTube. HackerTube Watch is an unofficial edition. Data export of 2026-10-31.

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