THERE'S MORE TO LIFE THAN GAS MILEAGE!

Some thoughts

that occurred to me today while driving my All Electric Mini E - 80 miles round trip to one of the Multitude of Meetings I endure as a Special effects Artist in the Southern California Movie industry.

The meeting was in Manhattan Beach, 40 miles from my Home Office in Newport Beach. While  driving the 405 freeway, I was listening to NPR (National Public Radio) a Talk Show about Cars, then an interview with a Car Journalist from the LA Times who's talking about the LA Auto Show, an event I will attend this weekend.  He is being questioned, among other things, about the viability of the Electric car in Southern California, will people buy them? His answer:  "it will take a long time for people to adopt the idea of an All Electric Car" and "they will probably have to go through the Hybrid phase first to gain Security over the Fear of running out of electricity" he said "it will take many years for people to accept the Electric Car". This I hear as I am traveling faster than the other traffic while in the Car Pool lane of the 405 freeway by myself to a meeting with my briefcase and laptop computer (a daily occurrence) in my All Electric Mini E.

Finishing my meeting, Mini E and I head for the 405 and the return trip home when a Lifted 4X4 Chevy, 3/4 ton Pickup, pulls in front of me, carrying only the driver and stops at the red light. As we sit waiting for the light to turn, I am thinking about the FUEL he, and the other cars sitting there, are BURNING while IDLING and the 4 inch EXHAUST pipe I am looking down as I sit using NOTHING waiting for the light to turn.

My eye drifts while thinking of these things and rests on the license plate frame which announces in Bold Face:

"THERE'S MORE TO LIFE"

and below that on the lower frame:

"THAN GAS MILEAGE!"

I agree Totally, (though I don't think he meant it the way I'm taking it)!

On the Radio, the LA Times writer is asked about the various cars soon to be available in the Hybrid/Plug-in Electric universe. He itemizes most of them, the interviewer asks about the Mini E, he responds something like "Thats not really a viable car, no backseat, only a two seater, 'snickers' and glosses over its existence as not really PRACTICAL".

The Radio is telling me THIS car is not practical as I watch my ODOmeter turn over 7200 miles. This afternoon I will finish my singular ride (among thousands of other cars occupied by only one Single person), arrive at my destination, plug in, do some work and after an hour and a half the Mini E is ready with a full tank for another run, wherever I want to go in a 100 miles.

Such is my life with the so called "IMPRACTICAL" Electric car I love driving more than any other car I've ever driven!

Perhaps it WILL take a LONG time for the adoption of the Electric Car,

(I hope we don't run out of Fossil Fuels in the meantime)

More people need to actually DRIVE the Electric Car,

experience the THRILL of INSTANT TORQUE and SILENT SPEED!

DRIVE one and GET IT!

There IS more to life than Gas Mileage!

I easily get a HUNDRED miles on the COST of a single GALLON of gas!

That's Practical!

COOPER E 230 meets Ken Gibson of the LONDON SUN

One of the best parts of being involved with the MINI E road test is the really nice people I am meeting along the way! 

I received a call last week from Natalie at Mini, asking if I would be available to talk to someone named Ken Gibson who had been reading my blog about the Mini E driving experience. Sure! I said, always glad to talk about the Mini E!

Yesterday, I had one of the most fun afternoons I've had in a while.

I met Ken Gibson, Motoring Editor for the London Sun Newspaper, at his Hotel in downtown LA., Yvonne, from Mini PR in Detroit, was there with a shiny new Mini Convertible, a local photographer and a bunch of cameras.

Ken is doing a story on the Mini E driving experience, here in America, in preparation for the launch of the same program in the United Kingdom.

As the clock was now pushing 2:00 I hit 'Start', the 'ICE' Convertible 'fired up' and we headed out with an eye toward LA city backgrounds and icons that would be recognizable to his British readers.

Driving around LA/Hollywood being chased by a Mini Convertible and a strobe flashing photographer was a really fun experience for an old guy who has spent most of his career BEHIND the cameras, for a moment I felt what a celebrity must feel!

Speeding past Paramount Pictures front gate (where I spent most of the 70's), the Hollywood sign, my old Stage 29, shooting away, strobes flashing, was a lot of fun for me.

All too soon it was over, back to the Hotel, seared Ahi dinner on MIni PR, we said our goodbye's. 

Thank you to Ken Gibson, the LONDON SUN, Yvonne and Natalie from MINI PR, MINIUSA, BMW and all the good people involved with bringing the Electric Car to the rest of us!

I new when I signed up I would be meeting a lot of really nice people!

(128 miles today with a hour and a half charge during the morning meeting.)

Range Anxiety is completely GONE!

100 mile range is completely adequate 

for what I do in my regular daily routine!

I have driven 7000 miles now and have reached

every place I need to go in the Los Angeles basin from Orange County,

with a little help from a few chargers.

With a well developed infrastructure of available chargers,

it will be such a pleasure for more people to be 

quietly, cleanly and affordably whisking from place to place in this city.

I had to drive an internal combustion engined (ICE) car this weekend and the drone of the engine, though relatively quiet, really irritated me!

I am really spoiled by the amazing performance, silent power and ease of operation of this great little car.

140 mile round trip.

My Malibu friends now see me (probably too) often!

The 140mile round trip used to be a rare visit in the old gas (diesel) guzzler because it cost too much and I would stress about the use of a finite resource to go for a joyride, but now that my friend has also gotten a Mini E (with 60 amp charger), my trip is guilt free, stress free, easy, fun and cheap!

He was able to snag one of the returned Mini E's from someone whose lifestyle it didn't fit and 2 chargers, one for work (Hollywood) the other at home (Malibu). I am in Newport Beach, 70 miles from Malibu and 55 miles from Hollywood, both just outside my 100 mile RT so it makes it perfect for me as those are the only places I go (in my daily routine) that are in need of at least a touch up charge.

Almost 7000 miles, be there in a couple days,
(we watched as we turned over 6666.6 last night).

if you want to drive one, ask me, you'll be hooked too!
Still Love this Car!

Drive an Electric Car Once and You Won't Go Back!

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-neil20-2009nov20,0,5609464.column

I love the fact that people are discovering Electric Cars!

Find someone to let you drive one and you will be as hooked as I am!

BACK HOME with a new Brain!

Diagnosis of this weeks problem: Internal Fault in the PEU (Power Electronics Unit) or the 'Brain'.
After diagnosis the 'Flying Doctors' replaced the unit, reprogrammed the DMI and returned the car to my dealer.


After four days (with the 328i loaner) I am back in the drivers seat. Thanks BMW for creating this valuable program so many people are watching and learning from. 


My son and I picked up COOPER E 230 and drove straight into Santa Monica to see the Nissan 'Leaf' launching at Pier 59 Studios.


An Exciting Event, the Leaf is definitely a serious attempt by a Major manufacturer to jump in to the BEV market.
Watch for an event near you, they launched last night a 20 city tour exhibiting the car and a cutaway chassis that looks to be very well engineered.  


The run from home to Santa Monica is 51 miles one way, the computer was figuring 87 mi of range when we started out, hmmmm, this'll be fun. We jumped on the freeway, kept it at 60 mph, drove 55 miles to Hollywood using 50%, we spent 20 minutes on the charger at a friends business, where there is a charger in the parking lot, had some dinner while waiting. 


Now With 60 % and 11 miles to Santa Monica we went to the Launch Party.


The computer seemed to indicate we were using power at an alarming rate on the 11 mile trip to Santa Monica and I spent most of the time at the party wondering where we would be calling the flatbed from to get home.


I did, however, enjoy looking at Nissans entry. 


Retrieving the car from the Valet (hoping he hadn't joy rode with our meager remaining power) we headed out for the trip home, 52 miles with 48% battery! Jamie drove, keeping constant speed is his theory, so we pegged the speedo on 60 mph and meticulously stuck to it varying as little as possible. We watched the battery % meter at first deplete alarmingly fast then it began to recalculate and actually add percentage. Jamies theory is to keep speed constant and avoid using regen.


We were about 8 miles from home when we hit 0% and flat line on the battery!


Hmmmm we were still doing 60 MPH! I have run the car 9 miles in the same condition so I now new we could make it home, so we continued, conservatively, (Not Jamie's nature or even a word he likes) and pulled into the garage and the computer popped back up to 3% after having read 0% and flatlined for about 8 miles.


It was another great day with the Mini E and we are so happy to have it back ...and to be in the drivers seat again!

Interesting article in The Sun - UK

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/motors/ken_gibson/2642561/Its-the-sun-wot-run-it.html