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!