Just got back from a long drive in pouring rain in my ALL Electric Mini E.
Some people have some objection to this, I've had NO problems or fears of driving in the rain.
The Car still performs flawlessly rain or shine!
There are SO many little reasons people give for not trying an Electric car but it is my experience that the moment you get in and try one those dissipate and you are overwhelmed with the freedom of driving on pollution free, efficient, inexpensive and readily available Electricity!
Out in the early morning on a full charge, after an hour of driving errands I pull into the garage, plug in and sip cheep electricity (as it is still off peak until noon) refilling while I take care of home business then unplug my car at noon and with a full battery continue on with the day. This packs many more than the 120 miles I normally get on a full battery.
Many more miles than I can possibly use in a normal day.
Need to occasionally go much further than 120 miles, I use my other car (or rent one)!
Thats how I roll!
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
December, the end of TwentyTen!
Well, I'm back from Hungary.
It took a little longer than expected, you see Angelina Jolie decided to shoot her movie in the same castle we were using and she bumped us from October to November which put us into a different weather pattern and made shooting even colder and if-ier.
We lucked out though and had unusually great weather for November and finished in 30 days of shooting.
We had Russian VOLGA's, LADA's, belching gas and diesel fumes, all manor of vehicles supporting us.
I didn't touch a steering wheel for two months though and was driven or walked everywhere I needed to go.
Returning home I couldn't wait to see COOPER E and jump in for a drive!
I feel like I need to air the fumes of Eastern Europe out of my chest, it's amazing how much cleaner the air really is in California!
It seems the rollout of the New Electric Cars is picking at an amazing pace, just since I've been gone the Leaf has hit the road, so to the Chevy Volt (friends got theirs) Think City and more, it's really exciting, people will soon learn the fun and freedom of driving pollution free electric vehicles not tied to War Oil.
Well, Happy Holidays and Happy New Electric Year 2011, I'm back and will try to catch up on E-News.
It took a little longer than expected, you see Angelina Jolie decided to shoot her movie in the same castle we were using and she bumped us from October to November which put us into a different weather pattern and made shooting even colder and if-ier.
I didn't touch a steering wheel for two months though and was driven or walked everywhere I needed to go.
Returning home I couldn't wait to see COOPER E and jump in for a drive!
I feel like I need to air the fumes of Eastern Europe out of my chest, it's amazing how much cleaner the air really is in California!
It seems the rollout of the New Electric Cars is picking at an amazing pace, just since I've been gone the Leaf has hit the road, so to the Chevy Volt (friends got theirs) Think City and more, it's really exciting, people will soon learn the fun and freedom of driving pollution free electric vehicles not tied to War Oil.
Well, Happy Holidays and Happy New Electric Year 2011, I'm back and will try to catch up on E-News.
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Read This about Lithium Ion and Batteries!
I get a lot of questions about "Lithium Batteries, environmental effect, short supply, recycling, etc etc, Read the following link for a more informed view of where it's coming from, how much there is and how recyclable it is.
http://www.treehugger.com/files/2010/08/life-cycle-analysis-lithium-ion-batteries-electric-cars.php?campaign=weekly_nl
http://www.treehugger.com/files/2010/08/life-cycle-analysis-lithium-ion-batteries-electric-cars.php?campaign=weekly_nl
Friday, September 3, 2010
Might have to leave the Mini E behind!
I've got a gig in Hungary for the month of October.
It's GOOD to have work - but NOT good to have to leave my little Electric car here!
A friend (a Writer) has asked me to Art Direct his movie, we will be shooting in a wonderful French Renaissance mansion, built in 1883 on a large wooded property about 40 km from Budapest.
Needless to say the property has been through a lot in the political turmoils of the last century and has picked up a wonderful patina of age and neglect that is perfect for this film.
The Manse will act as our scripts 'Castle' and provide the ambiance for the 'Vampire' story he has written.
Shooting the whole month of October and into the first weeks of November, we are hoping for some snow to enhance the final scenes.
I'll be examining what's happening in Hungary on the 'electric vehicle' front and will report if I find anything of interest.
My wife and son will have to put some miles on lil' Cooper E for me while I'm gone.
Meanwhile, Cooper E is performing perfectly, I just couldn't be happier, it IS the perfect run around, commute, go here, go there, short hops and longer vehicle for me!
Go try one (an Electric Car or Hybrid), give it some thought, keep a record of your daily mileage and you might be surprised how easily your commute or the majority of your running around fits within 100-120 miles.
Think about this - when day is done, you simply plug-in and charge while you sleep, on cheap off peak electricity, when you awake, your tank is full, you've spent less than $3 for electricity, unplug and go do stuff!
My tank (battery) is simply always FULL!
See you in November,
(if the movie turns out good I may tell you it's name, otherwise...well, see ya).
It's GOOD to have work - but NOT good to have to leave my little Electric car here!
A friend (a Writer) has asked me to Art Direct his movie, we will be shooting in a wonderful French Renaissance mansion, built in 1883 on a large wooded property about 40 km from Budapest.
Needless to say the property has been through a lot in the political turmoils of the last century and has picked up a wonderful patina of age and neglect that is perfect for this film.
The Manse will act as our scripts 'Castle' and provide the ambiance for the 'Vampire' story he has written.
Shooting the whole month of October and into the first weeks of November, we are hoping for some snow to enhance the final scenes.
I'll be examining what's happening in Hungary on the 'electric vehicle' front and will report if I find anything of interest.
My wife and son will have to put some miles on lil' Cooper E for me while I'm gone.
Meanwhile, Cooper E is performing perfectly, I just couldn't be happier, it IS the perfect run around, commute, go here, go there, short hops and longer vehicle for me!
Go try one (an Electric Car or Hybrid), give it some thought, keep a record of your daily mileage and you might be surprised how easily your commute or the majority of your running around fits within 100-120 miles.
Think about this - when day is done, you simply plug-in and charge while you sleep, on cheap off peak electricity, when you awake, your tank is full, you've spent less than $3 for electricity, unplug and go do stuff!
My tank (battery) is simply always FULL!
See you in November,
(if the movie turns out good I may tell you it's name, otherwise...well, see ya).
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Gone Racing!
My sons and I were invited to participate in the Monterrey Historic Car Races (now sponsored by Rolex) at Laguna Seca this year. The only catch - my youngest son wanted to go see his favorite band (Gogol Bordello) perfom in San Francisco at Golden Gate Park on Saturday.
Not wanting to drive the extra 4 hours to drop him there and pick him up later, primarily not wanting to miss any of the 18 races per day Sat and Sun, I concluded that since we 'have the equipment' we would load the Electric Mini E in our car trailer, tow it to Monterrey, drop the trailer at our Hotel and son #2 would drive the F250 to San Fran and see his band play.
Son #1 and I then had two wonderful days of driving our Electric Mini E among some of the Rarest, most expensive, even Priceless Historic Racing Cars in the world.
There were 3 Bugatti Veyrons (most expensive and fastest production car in the world) there and we were the Only Mini E. We generated some interest even though everyone was there for the gasoline explosions while racing these rare cars.
The Massive 1917 Hall Scott factory racing car, 4 cylinders, 10 litres!
Each cylinder is 2.5 litres.
They fired it up for a qualifying race and blew the valve in number 2 cylinder, right out through the head!
I offered condolences and they chuckled and said "oh we have a spare engine."
This is one of the two cars we were there to support,
an ARGO.
600 horse power, 1300 pounds.
The other car,
1981 Lotus Factory F1.
Both cars are owned and driven by my friend Jeff,who invited us to crew for him at the races.
We put 100 miles on the Mini E traveling each day from Monterey and Salinas to the track and back.
Sunday morning Son #2 returned with the truck and enjoyed a day of racing with us.
Sunday night we packed up the Mini E with about 8 miles left on the ODO, hitched up the trailer and headed for the 7 hour drive home,
what a great weekend!
Saturday, July 31, 2010
Moving into August
Nothing new to report, just thought I would let you know I am still here and loving the Electric Life!
I am constantly amused at the comments made by those just discovering the fact that the Electric Car is Here! Comments like:
• "Oh' it's a commuter,
•.... what if I want to go to Las Vegas?,
•.....It's a Novelty,
•......only a 100 miles, what do I do if I run out of charge?
All of these comments/questions are so simple to answer it doesn't make any sense to even respond, it just shows how little thought is given to the possibility that this change could actually happen and be beneficial to all.
• Yes, it's a commuter, I put over 15,000 miles on mine in one year!
• Want to go to Las Vegas? Rent a car or even faster, fly.
• Sure it's a Novelty but only for the moment, soon there will be thousands of them driving, silently, cleanly, swiftly on all our highways.
• If you run out of charge, merely Plug it In, go to sleep, go have dinner, enjoy a sunset, visit with friends, Do Something while your car charges for a couple hours, then drive home (Hopefully you are driving somewhere to actually Do something).
The POINT IS you charge your batteries while you are doing something outside the car!
One of the silliest is "So your car is Electric, the Electricity has to come from a Powerplant that is producing pollutants" The answer to that is that it is much easier to control emissions at the smokestack than at the tailpipe, besides, here in California, much of our power is generated in cleaner ways, Solar, Wind, Nuclear, and steam.
An Electric car is responsible for a minutia of the pollution a Gasoline powered auto produces.
The most important use of my Electric car is all the little short trips/errands (15,000 miles last year) that go into the makeup of everyday life!
Think about it, investigate, there are now coming available many choices,
• Tesla
• Think City
• Smart
• Nissan Leaf
• Chevy Volt
• http://www.pluginamerica.org/vehicles
I love my MINI E, I only wish I could buy it!
I am constantly amused at the comments made by those just discovering the fact that the Electric Car is Here! Comments like:
• "Oh' it's a commuter,
•.... what if I want to go to Las Vegas?,
•.....It's a Novelty,
•......only a 100 miles, what do I do if I run out of charge?
All of these comments/questions are so simple to answer it doesn't make any sense to even respond, it just shows how little thought is given to the possibility that this change could actually happen and be beneficial to all.
• Yes, it's a commuter, I put over 15,000 miles on mine in one year!
• Want to go to Las Vegas? Rent a car or even faster, fly.
• Sure it's a Novelty but only for the moment, soon there will be thousands of them driving, silently, cleanly, swiftly on all our highways.
• If you run out of charge, merely Plug it In, go to sleep, go have dinner, enjoy a sunset, visit with friends, Do Something while your car charges for a couple hours, then drive home (Hopefully you are driving somewhere to actually Do something).
The POINT IS you charge your batteries while you are doing something outside the car!
One of the silliest is "So your car is Electric, the Electricity has to come from a Powerplant that is producing pollutants" The answer to that is that it is much easier to control emissions at the smokestack than at the tailpipe, besides, here in California, much of our power is generated in cleaner ways, Solar, Wind, Nuclear, and steam.
An Electric car is responsible for a minutia of the pollution a Gasoline powered auto produces.
The most important use of my Electric car is all the little short trips/errands (15,000 miles last year) that go into the makeup of everyday life!
Think about it, investigate, there are now coming available many choices,
• Tesla
• Think City
• Smart
• Nissan Leaf
• Chevy Volt
• http://www.pluginamerica.org/vehicles
I love my MINI E, I only wish I could buy it!
Sunday, June 20, 2010
TOTAL COST for the Year May 31, 2009 to May 31, 2010!
Just some rough Math to round out the cost of driving this Electric Car.
My total mileage for the year came in at 14,000 miles on May 31, 2010.
I was a few miles short so drove around the block some to make it exactly 14,000.
Divide 14,000 miles by the cost of the Lease at $927.50 (incl Tax) for eleven months
( I was given one month free in the beginning).
Total Cost of lease - an Expensive $10,202.50 for eleven months (those who adopt early pay the price)
Total cost of Electricity (Energy) - TOU off peak - an INexpensive $540 for the 12 months.
Insurance (the part not covered by BMW) $286 for the 12 months.
Total cost of operation (based on 14,000 miles of use),
Lease, Tax, License, Electricity and Insurance = less than 79 cents per mile!
Total cost of Energy (alone) = less than .03 cents per mile!
It is the most expensive CAR PAYMENT I have ever had.
However, it is the CHEAPEST CAR (and most fun) TO OPERATE I have ever driven.
My total mileage for the year came in at 14,000 miles on May 31, 2010.
I was a few miles short so drove around the block some to make it exactly 14,000.
Divide 14,000 miles by the cost of the Lease at $927.50 (incl Tax) for eleven months
( I was given one month free in the beginning).
Total Cost of lease - an Expensive $10,202.50 for eleven months (those who adopt early pay the price)
Total cost of Electricity (Energy) - TOU off peak - an INexpensive $540 for the 12 months.
Insurance (the part not covered by BMW) $286 for the 12 months.
Total cost of operation (based on 14,000 miles of use),
Lease, Tax, License, Electricity and Insurance = less than 79 cents per mile!
Total cost of Energy (alone) = less than .03 cents per mile!
It is the most expensive CAR PAYMENT I have ever had.
However, it is the CHEAPEST CAR (and most fun) TO OPERATE I have ever driven.
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