Frost Warning Or Range Warning?

(frost warning in mid Oct - terrific)

Well I had my first taste of winter today in NJ. We had some snow and I got the frost warning on the MINI E dash - now that's cold for mid Oct. It actually got down to 35F during the day.

So what is the worry you ask...it is range or lack of it. Today on my 40 mile round trip commute I ended up with just under 80 miles of range and that was with the heat at low. I had the heat on with lights going to work and on the way home heat, lights and wipers. I avoided highways to maximise distance. I arrived home with 36 miles left and 40% capacity - ouch!! During late summer I was usually at 75 to 80 miles left with 70% or higher. I was unable to keep resetting the recirc button because the windows just fogged up instantly so I was forced to let the cold air flow in forcing me to turn the heat up and use more energy. MINI/BMW, hear my plea - do NOT take control away of the recirc button from the driver in your next EV - not to mention reaching for it to turn it back on every 2 mins could be considered a safety issue.

What the shortage of range means is I'm ok with my commute, once the wall box arrives, but that is it. I won't be able to take regional business trips, go to Newark airport much less NYC without arranging a charge somewhere along the line. Is this a MINI E issue...no. This is an EV issue that manufacturers will be challenged to address for us snow belt peeps. The heater absolutely draws a large amount of energy...it may not look that bad when the car is sitting but once you begin to drive you are adding load and that is when you see your energy fly out the window so to speak. So the frost warning icon is really a range warning icon.

Snow belters with MINI Es you know what I mean. Still love the car and do look forward to improvements in the technology.

Getting Cold

This morning it was 42F so I think over night we may have gone below 40F. In an earlier post I asked the question as to whether the MINI E will allow its batteries to go below 40F because this would cause recharging to stop as well as regen braking. I'm happy to report the batteries stayed at 50F even when the car was not charging. Does keeping the pack at 50F use any juice while sitting I'm not sure, I'm sure I'll notice that once we get down to 5F or less.

I did get a temp warning light that lasted a second or so and that was it. What is turning out to be an issue is using the heater, it is sucking the juice. Today after a 40 mile drive I was down to 58 miles and I only used the heat half of that drive. Now if I had the wall charger this would not be a serious issue for commuting, traveling over 100 miles yes, but for commuting no. Since I'm still on the 110 this quick depletion of the batteries is becoming a concern.

I predict that once I need to use the heat continuously the car will need to sit home half the week as I won't have enough hours in the day to catch up. I do have a back up car but it does not even like the rain so I'm kinda screwed. Thanks New Jersey for making EV implementation so painful. Here we have a car that is paving the way for the future with a company investing time and money, with the drivers, into this technology - an you dump all over it.

For those not aware, it is NJ bureaucracy that is preventing the rest of us from getting the wall box. Of course where would NJ be without corruption, ignorance and self centered thinking.

The Coolest Thing About The MINI E Is.......

The coolest thing about the MINI E is the fact it does not look like an EV. Think about it, there are very few EVs or alternative fuel vehicles coming in the future that look like your every day car, they look like concepts or prototypes - like the EV-1 did. The MINI E is a MINI Cooper and drives like one too, sure people don't even know it is an EV, some get close by calling it a hybrid but that is part of the charm.

I for one love the idea that it looks like a regular car...it just needs some subtle EV badging and we have a winner.

110 Shuffle With No Highways

Yesterday I had to take a longer trip than I was used to in the MINI E. 100 miles round trip and near the end I knew I would need lights and heater. I was heading to a business meeting in Englewood Cliffs NJ, start point was Mendham NJ.

The day before my trip I could feel the anxiety setting in, I need a plan. I'd stay off the main highways, stick to 46 and stay off of 80 to extend range and while at my series of meetings I'd plug in the car where I could, to get a little extra boost.

On my first leg of the trip, about 48 miles I was doing pretty well, the computer said I had 70 left to go. I was feeling pretty confident at that point and one of the buildings where my meetings where held was kind enough to let me plug in for about an hr and I got a 4% boost. This was 4% after the 3 to 4 times I plugged in as the buildings I was meeting in were separated so I had to drive back and forth between them interrupting my charging - I left the cable at the one building and plugged in there when I could.

So now I am reading to head back home, the distance meter on the MINI E said 77 miles....of course I had to give one "thank you" ride to the building maintenance guy who let me plug in...that ride took the 4% he gave me ;)

On my way back I figured I'd jump on the highway to see how it goes, after 3 miles I could see I was going to eat up a lot of juice and I wanted have plenty left for heat and lights and anything else that comes my way...being in NJ a lot of things can come your way unpredictably on the roads.

I jumped off 80 and got onto 46, range ticked up a bit and I was moving along. Thanks to phantom NJ road signs I ended up on some other branch of 46, that cost me 10 miles and 15 mins before I got back on track. Now it was getting dark, I switched on the lights, range said 34 miles and I had about 25 to go...hmmmmmm. I will say it is interesting how adjusting speed and resting the battery at lights can play with the range indicator, in your favor I might add, but having a 10 mile buffer in Joisey is not the most appealing.

So I decided to pull off 46 and hit smaller roads, that did increase my range. Now I'm getting close to home, about 12 miles to go, range says 21 and I'm starting to crave heat as it was 58 degrees outside plus I was heading to a section of road that eats EV battery capacity for lunch. No EV soldier hold off until you are close enough to coast home, I thought to myself. Well, when I got to with in 10 miles I put the heat on, settings were 1 for fan and heat...by the way, very toasting. I think the heat index of setting 1 is pretty good, seems stronger than a gas car. Of course in the blink of an eye my range went from 19 to 16 but it then held for the next 8 miles and I actually pulled into my driveway with around 17 mile left and 17% at 99.3 miles total, there is long slow section followed by a good downhill before my house that usually gets me 3 to 4 miles back.

In conclusion, I probably would have made it without the boost on the 110, but it would have been close, I have not gone past 0% as others have so I do not know if I could have gone farther. Granted I really don't want to be down to crumbs becasue if I run out of juice on the roads where I live I could be there a very very long time before I'm found. ;) In the heart of winter I expect range to really drop as I will be forced to keep the heat going all the time and I will be taking this business trip again.....stay tuned.

PS - I'm still on the 110, so over half a day later I'm just at 70%, 110 does take awhile to get back to 100% when near 0%. Added, just got my electric bill with an actual read, wow, as in high. I think the 110 is not efficient as it is a long continuous 12 amps. I'll have details on this later after I speak with the utility.

You Want My EV To Sound Like WHAT??

Ok people, this may come off as a rant or the beginning of a flame war, so be it....flame on!! But I will not accept this garbage about putting audio systems on EVs so they sound like gas cars. I'm sure you have all read the articles about how EVs are too quiet and a danger to the public....baloney. I'm sure more pedestrians will be taken out by bicyclists or rad skateboarders then EV hits. Didn't parents tell these pedestrians to look both ways before crossing the street? People still cross the street even if they hear a car....maybe pedestrians would be more cautious if they weren't sure if they heard a car or not...hmmm, there's a thought.

I for one enjoy the quietness of the MINI E. It is really soothing and there is something to be said for noise pollution, we have way too much of it. Wouldn't it be something if all cars were as quiet as EVs, don't you think that people would notice and hear a 3000lb EV coming down the road then?? It is amazing what you hear when it is quiet.

So where is the logic in making an EV sound like it has straight pipes or the engine is revving or what NISSAN says it will do with the LEAF, make it sound like the flying machine from Blade Runner.

Maybe I'll have my EV sound like the Good Humor Truck or Sammy Hagar's "I Can't Drive 55" or better yet "The Flight of the Valkyries".

Almost T-Boned - Missed Me By That Much...

As luck would have it I was almost t-boned by a Ford Explorer today, and in my own town no less.

I had just left my bank's drive up window. I had a nice conversation with the drive up teller, she was commenting on how cute the car was and I informed her it was all electric. She thanked me for being a loyal customer and being green. Anyway, let me get back to the near carnage....I was heading west on Rt 24 and was about to make a left onto Tempe Wick (for those who know the area). I saw the Ford on Tempe Wick at the stop sign waiting to make his left onto West bound 24....yes, I have the right if way. So as I approached my left I kept my eye on that Ford, as this is a pretty hairy intersection, he did not move. I did not need to stop to make my left as the oncoming traffic was well away so I began to cut left....as soon as I did the Ford shot out.

Now let me tell you, all I saw in my peripheral vision was that huge gaudy chrome grill, I had the window open and it was like that grill was about to comb my hair. My brain went into action, I cut a hard right back into the oncoming lane and then cut hard left back into Tempe Wick. All of this allowed the MINI to keep that grill out of my hair and slide its rear left butt cheek out of imminent danger of being trampled by that SUV. All happened in a split second but I recall waiting for that awful sound and jarring motion that comes from a bad hit. I did a hard stop and looked back to see what kind of fool was behind the wheel of that SUV. A pretty big one since he stopped in the middle of the intersection to digest what he just did. I yelled "are you crazy", he said something stupid like "you are ok" and then drove off into traffic not even looking - again!

Now I'm in a small town and I will see this guy again, maybe he is reading my post. Either way it was a 2007/2008 dark blue Ford Explorer, gaudy chrome package with a dark haired dork behind the wheel. MINI E #402 will have retribution.

Regardless of whether the MINI E is a MINI Cooper or EV it did save my booty. It reacted when I did and a more casual car would have been kissed by that Ford. The fact that this EV can handle makes zero emission driving that much more enjoyable and survivable. In addition electric motors have instant response, no downshift or engine rev. You press the accelerator and they go NOW....that also helped me out of a bad situation.

Cool Is Good - 120 Plus Miles

My MINI E loves the cool weather. When driving in the morning I am consistently at a range of over 120 miles according to the computer. My commute, one way, ranges from 17 to 21 miles depending on the route and the range computer usually lists 106 miles left. Today I did 17.4 and the range computer listed 108 left...pretty good considering I am driving it like a normal car, I actually accerlate.

I've also noticed my start range is increasing, this is what the computer displays after a full charge and the first drive of the day. This morning it said 117 miles and stayed at 117/116 for a good 5 miles.

Yes, cool is good, but what will freezing bring? I've noticed my battery has been as low as 59 degrees even when the MINI E was plugged in, though not charging, and it did not get above 63 after an 18 mile drive. Keep in mind our MINI Es are not supposed to recharge if the battery temp drops below 40 and we certainly won't be able to do any regen. Us Easterners get weather in the negatives so winter might not be the MINI Es best friend. It does not look like the battery pack tries to warm itself up, maybe it will in extreme cold but we will see.

Some tips I'd like to offer to MINI/BMW elite and other EV manufacturers out there.
> these batteries produce some decent heat when really used, such as highway driving, find a way to recycle that heat by pumping the warm air into the cabin. This will extend range during winter months as the driver will not have to use the electric heater as much.
> during winter months if the car is plugged in there should be a way to keep the battery pack at a good operating temperature (though this may be in there already I have not witnessed it yet)
> is there any air being pulled from outside the cabin to cool the batteries? I know the MINI E is not purpose built but it may help cool the batteries better if the cabin is still really hot which in the sun is common. Or add small solar panels to power a fan to vent the cabin.

Either way, EVs are the way to go. For commuting with smaller cars, perfect! As technology improves so will these cars.

Happy EVing

MINI E Northeast Gathering

(Looks like a MINI E dealer....hmmmmmm)

On August 22nd Tom, #250, was kind enough to arrange a gathering of MINI Es at his restaurant Nauna's Bella Casa in Montclair NJ. Good food, good talk and good fun!

(Paul (left) and myself, Paul is Mr. EV and V2G - Paul, that's a lot of MINI Es, what if we all plugged in at once ...)

It was a great turn out with about 9 drivers and a representative from MINI USA joining us. It was so good to see the faces of the drivers I've been chatting with via blogs and Facebook, for example, I got to meet the 'drag racer' in person ;) . You can find more info on the gathering at Tom's blog

I think all attended would agree that this is a program we are happy to be a part of, we love driving the MINI E and look forward to what BMW/MINI creates out of this field test. Thanks again Tom.

After the event I met up with some old friends that live in town. It was the first time they've seen a MINI E and of course I had to give some demo rides. This time I warned each one that the car is faster then they might think so be prepared....after the drive all 3 of them gathered among themselves to talk about how fast it really was and I was NOT kidding....I love that!

I also tried to charge up a bit at my friends house and as soon as I plugged in I got a Power Fault error on the yellow cable box, we tested the outlet with a vacuum cleaner and it worked, just not the cable for the MINI E. I guess that line did not have enough, it was an old house. No worries, I headed home around 10pm with no issues. I did 58 miles that day, with 3 aggressive demo drives and still had 54 left, use of headlights and rear defroster but no AC, acceptable range.

EV Thursday

Got a few cool EV related news links

Autobloggreen: Germany Setting Sights on One Million Electric Cars by 2020?

Autobloggreen: Second Edition Emart Ed Will go into Series Production in November

NY Times Wheels Blog: Electric Mini Zips Along After Early Speed Bumps

1,500 Mile Wrap Up

Tomorrow I hit 1,500 miles. #402 is my daily commuter car and I drive it just like any other car, sometimes harder. Below is sort of a wrap up of how I got into this program, what I do and if my experience is going well…so while you are reading don't forget to take advantage of the recharge time and plug in your MINI E if not already.

Here we go……

Why did I apply to lease this car?

Ø I’m in the energy business and I’ve been around some pretty cool EVs such as a modified eBox which is a true (V2G) Vehicle to Grid EV. After a ride in that car I was hooked. When I heard that MINI USA was leasing 500 electric MINIs to consumers I jumped at the chance. I applied on behalf of my company and we ended up getting 4, 3 for personal use and 1 for employees to share. #402, #438 and #484 are leased by employees, #365 is used by the company. June 15 these cars had a home.

What industry am I in?

Ø Energy management and demand response

Ø I’m in charge of corporate marketing

What other cars do I have or drove before the MINI E?

Ø 2006 Mercedes CLK – returned at lease end last month, #402 replaces it

Ø 2007 Mercedes ML320 CDI diesel – all mid size SUVs should be diesels, drive one of the new ones and you will agree, they are quiet, powerfull, efficient and they are clean

Ø 1990 Porsche 944s2 Cabriolet

How has adjusting to the MINI E been?

Ø Other then the lack of storage space and range it has not been as bad as I thought. Yes, I miss the CLK, it is a wonderful car, but I’m totally smitten with this MINI E. I look for excuses to run errands for my Wife just so I can drive it somewhere.

Have I had any unexpected surprises?

Ø Yes
o The day after taking delivery I was headed to a car show in Jersey City. While waiting at a traffic light the car just turned off, I don’t mean going into neutral, it turned off. The battery indicator swung to zero and the warning beep sounded – no power, dead. I tried to restart by pressing the start/stop, no luck. Finally did a Windows and pulled the key out for a full shut down then went through the process of starting again, success. A real mystery and has not happened since.

o That same day the 110 cable died, which was a bit of a problem since I was hoping to recharge at the car show as I was low on juice and had miles to go. I called MINI E roadside, they offered to tow me, but I declined and said I was going for it. Well, I was returning from the show I could see clearly I was not going to make it, my first experience of severe range anxiety, to make it worse I had a co-worker with me, so two of us would be stranded. I called ahead to the dealer and said clear the 50amp I’m coming in. They took me, recharged me, made a few calls to MINI USA and gave me another cars cable. I was off and all is good in EV land again.

o I still do not have the wall box, I’ve been 110ing it. Fortunately my round trip commute is just short enough so that if I plug in by 7pm I’ll have a full charge when I leave by 8am the next day. Currently I’m in discussions with the installation company as I needed an upgrade and during the inspection I received a verbal estimate. When I finally got the actual estimate it was way more….this is not holding up the wall box install as all our cars are still waiting for wall box install dates. But as I mentioned earlier, right now, I’m surviving with the 110.

o I thought I’d be getting better range right away, it has taken a lot of practice to get where I am today which is around 120, but that is a real stretch. Not sure how the EPA pegged this car at 150 but that is in a dimension I have not had the pleasure of visiting.

So what do I like about the MINI E?

Ø Where do I start, I love it. The silky delivery of power is intoxicating and the standard great handling of a MINI Cooper does not hurt either. The car accelerates like no combustion engine can, if you are cruising along at 30 or so and some dork comes along side or tailgates to play you simply punch it. There is no delay, no revving of the motor, no downshifting, no loud roar or straining sounds coming from the engine bay, you just go and any car nut knows that is simply amazing.

Ø I actually like the sound of the electric motor, I don’t miss the throaty exhaust of my old car. Today, when I hop into what is considered an ultra smooth gas car it feels rough to me.

Do I have any suggestions for improvement on the MINI E or EVs in general?

Ø Sure do but not for the MINI E as this is a ‘mule’ so to speak

o Put a battery charge indicator on the car that can be seen, would be nice to see the % of battery power without having to start it up. Nissan has the right idea by sending a signal to an iPhone. However, not everyone has one of those, no really its true, better bet is to integrate with the home/utility using ZigBee so you can see % of charge and cost to you in real time on your network.

o Give us a choice if we want to use regen braking or not. The eBox has a lever on the dash that adjusts the regen intensity, full regen to no regen. I live in the ‘snow belt’ and I for one am not looking forward to training myself on how to drive a car that wants to brake no matter what in snow.

o Make the connector for the charging cable more user friendly. It should be a cartridge type slot system with an LED that tells you a good connection is made.

o Liquid cool the batteries, our planet is getting hotter so EVs will need to keep pace so as not to overheat.

o Please be more realistic with the range. I’m sure it is up to the EPA to produce a better formula, just like the recent change for combustion engines, with more logged real miles they will have to.

o Bring the price down, these are still too expensive, even the ones coming. The Nissan LEAF sounds reasonable until you realize that batteries are not included…that’s right, you lease the batteries separately. I want to be green but I also want green in the bank and I do not feel comfortable spending $40k or more for what is basically a commuter car as cool as it is.

What do I think about EVs for the future?

Ø The technology is here to stay, I really believe that. I have the luxury of working with utilities so I hear all the talk about these cars which is finally being taken seriously. Without the support of the utilities to support an infastructure, these cars won’t make it.

Ø These cars are perfect for commuters, 100 miles is more then enough, as long as you can recharge in under a few hours it is a non issue. With current battery technology I can’t see these cars being a families only car…but that will change…later.

Ø Besides the fact that these cars produce no emissions (coal fired power plants are far more efficient overall then cars burning gasoline or diesel) they also reduce noise pollution and another wonderful byproduct, heat pollution. Yes, the batteries get hot but nothing like an engine or the heat from the exhaust…anyone who has been in a traffic jam knows exactly what I’m talking about.

Ø As a driver we will certainly need to make adjustments, but it is for the good of our planet, not a big deal and well worth the effort. Just like anything else it will soon become a habit.

Summary

Ø It has been 1,500 miles of fun and I look forward to the rest of the year whirring around knowing I really am doing my part.

Thanks for reading

Chris

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

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

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