Handwriting Recognition For The Car

This is not MINI E related but I had to post this...I find this totally insane. Handwriting recognition for the next-gen Audi A8 interface....come on people!!!! Has it not been shown txting while driving is more dangerous than drinking under the influence, can you imagine people trying to write, even one letter, while driving?

Please keep this as a science project for the safety of us all - link here AUTOBLOG

Does Edmunds Know What They've Got?

I know the team at Edmunds know how to review a car, I'm a daily reader of the site, but from the initial postings on the long term blog I'm not sure they understand what the MINI E is. For certain they did not read the owners manual, in their defense, who does? They were not aware the brake lights come on under hard regen...they blew circuits in a house because they used an extension chord, big no no, and they trucked the car 62 miles to a test area.....ummmm, you will make the 62, a bit of a stretch yes, but grab a bite to eat or sleep on it while recharging then drive the 62 miles back. We've all been there ;)

This is the type of stuff that could give EVs, any EV, a bad start. Anyway, good to see it in the hands of Edmunds and in the long term fleet which will be a serious test. I heard their wall box is coming which will make the longer drives less tense.

Click here to go to the Edmunds long term review

MINI E And The Hail Stones

No, this is not a new 'one hit wonder' but a follow up to one of our MINI Es in severe weather. I've got a couple pics from MINI E driver #484 MAGICCman whose MINI E was protecting the asphalt from falling hail. MINI E took a few hits that left a mark, but is still charging on....oh yes that pun was definitely intended.

(MINI E #484 taking it good - notice the guy across the street going for the Darwin award)

(that left a mark)

All Hail MINI E

Most have read about the chatter on the MINI E fender benders saying MINI Es are more susceptible to rear end accidents due to the nature of the regeneration braking. This is something I do not agree on...but this is not the point of my post....read on.

Sunday night in parts of NJ we had severe storms, some with giant sized hail. Well, as luck would have it, those hail stones found MINI E #484. #484 suffered some dimple marks on the roof and that was about it...can't say that for the Lexus that was trying to hide under a tree, ouch.

Let's call this one a love tap from Mother Nature.

EVs Produce Less CO2 Overall - Mini Study

Most of us have heard the argument that EVs really aren't any cleaner then their gas counterparts becasue it is a coal-fired power plant they get their juice from...and those belch CO2.

While the argument rages on here is another study showing EVs are a cleaner drive overall when it comes to CO2.

Sure you can argue about the toxins in the batteries, how much energy it took to make them, etc...but we are only talking about the actual drive here.

Check out the mini study at DVICE

1000 Clean Miles

Finally crossed the 1,000 mark and my range seems to be improving. According to the computer I should be able to do 115 miles, drove 42 with 73 left...not bad.

Happily EVing

MINI E Missed / Crash

Today I drove my old dino sipper, mostly because it is going back this week due to lease end and I wanted to say good bye. It is a fantastic car, an '06 Mercedes CLK 350 Coupe, I'll miss it, but not as much as I thought. I really like that MINI E.

We had an accident with #438 over the weekend, a co-workers MINI E. Was not related to regen or anything a car like the MINI E could have caused, just slow stop and go traffic with someone behind that kept going. A large white van kissed the MINI E hard enough to kink the rear hatch...terrific.

I just caught online that Edmunds/Inside Line got a MINI E as a long term vehicle. This WILL be interesting.

EV Friday

Today brought a plethora of EV related articles, so get the JUICE flowing link below on the few I thought were cool

300K EVs on the road in 5 years, possible, maybe - MSNBC

Tesla's new showroom in NYC - AutoBlogGreen

What is better for EVs, DC or AC? - AutoBlogGreen

BMW working on an electric scooter...hmmm - TwoWheels (english) / originally - SoloScooter

Now This Is What I'm Talkin' About - Range And No Ticket

(In front of Opportunity Green event in NYC - #402 is with me)

I attended the Opportunity Green event in NYC today, met a few MINI E 'Pioneers' and some MINI USA peeps. All in all a cool event and was fun to park #402 on the street and have people come by to talk to us about the car. I was impressed with how many people knew it was a MINI E.

(safe and sound - parking permit)

Opportunity Green arranged with the city to allow some of us to park on Broadway...well I showed up early and parked as directed. I was taking a walk to the other end of the block, could not have been more then 3 mins, when I turned around to see an officer giving me a ticket. I ran over to plead my case expecting him to ignore me...instead he paused to listen and the host of the event also ran out saying she would be right back with the parking permits. The officer was a nice guy and did not push back, he stayed a little while and let me talk about the car...whew!

(Taken as soon as I got home)

What I'm most excited about is the range I got today. For some time I've done short 40 mile runs and the computer told me I could do over 100 but I never pushed it. Today I pushed a little harder. I did 72.8 miles from a 99% charge and I had 36 miles left! 50% of my drive was highway and I'm talking Route 280 and the Turnpike in NJ (60-65mph)...not inviting for any car. I tried the A/C a bit once in the city and was using head lights all the way on my return trip, plus I had a passenger both ways.

I was really pleased. Go Go MINI E

More MINI Es To Be Built For Europe

So most of us know a total of 500 MINI E cars were built with 450 staying in the US and 50 heading to Europe...looks like they are building another 55 for overseas tests.

Article on AutoBlogGreen

Cool!

EV Only Parking With A Large Shake

Now this is cool....sure would be nice if we had some EV only parking spaces that were easy to locate and convenient in NJ. See what McDonald's is doing in North Carolina.

Got The Charge Box Inspection

Was inspected last week and I will need a panel upgrade, I need one anyway. But I've got the 200amps leading to the house and will be able to run a line from the panel to my garage.....can't wait.

So far I've survived with the 12amp life by charging up each night. With the daily miles I do if I plug in by 7pm the car will be fully charged by around 7:30am just in time for me to go to work.

Cool MINI E Blog Links - Update

I made some changes to my 'Cool MINI E Blogs' links by adding the number of your car before the name of your blog...I will still try and maintain the name of your blog, after all you thought up the name so it is important. If I got any of them wrong please don't slap me too hard, I bruise easy.

I listed your blog because I found your material interesting as I'm looking for others that are excited about their MINI E and the idea of just having an electric car. This is cool stuff!

Yes, I've read the negative comments about the CARB credits and cars being given to groups or organizations at very low rates...well that does not bug me...fact is we all got into this program because we are passionate about driving an EV and being environmentally concious. So here we are, lets enjoy it and learn from and educate others the value and cleaner future EVs could bring to our world. We have 1 year to make history!

Thanks and happy MINI Eving.

Second Sighting Of A U.M.E.

It was just the other day, I was in Madison NJ on Main St sitting at the light and spotted another MINI E. It was crossing Main St, coming from Central Ave and heading toward Green Ave. I'm pretty sure it was not one of my companies so I'll tag this as my second sighting of a U.M.E. (unidentified MINI E)

Easy Does It

I've got almost 500 miles on the car (now - not when the pic was taken) and wanted to share a new number with other MINI E readers, my energy consumption or how much energy I use to go 100 miles is getting better. My understanding is if you can keep it under 60Ah/100mls you are doing great, my first week with the car I was at 61Ah/100mls

I drive normally with a little aggression sometimes, but, I am very focused on maintaining momentum.

Anyone out there in a similar range?

No MINI E For A Few Days

Off on a long weekend with the family so needed the dino sipper to haul the goods. I really miss driving that little EV.

Everyone have a great Holiday and we will catch up next week.