Hey now these EV's are starting to make sense!

[westwall]

Not really! Just kidding, no really I am. Here is an enlightening story about how a BBC reporter took a more common EV based on a Mini Cooper and how he was able to average a whopping 6 MPH on his test trip from London to Edindurgh. Kryton (from Red Dwarf, a truly funny show) and Tesla got bent out of shape so they replicated the test and the Tesla was able to do the trip in a much more competitive 20 MPH!

I think I'll stick to my Subaru, I can average around 60 MPH over the same distance.

Who are the biggest electric car liars - the BBC, or Tesla Motors? ? The Register

 

[Zander]

Hybrids and Electric cars merely move the tailpipe. If someone really cared about the environment they'd buy a Hummer.http://cnwmr.com/nss-folder/automotiveenergy/DUST PDF VERSION.pdf

 

[Old Rocks]

My Weekend with the Electric Mini Cooper (Mini-e) and my review, photos, and videos.

Let's start with the fun stuff. I shouldn't be surprised, I've read about the Tesla, but this thing moves. It isn't so much its 0-60 (officially 8.6 seconds) or its top speed (officially 95 mph), but that no matter how fast you're going on any hill, if you give it gas, it instantly accelerates.

I think another thing that makes it seem fast is that the engine sounds that you're used to hearing when you floor a car aren't there. My brain expects that typical straining sound of an internal combustion engine when I press the pedal to the floor, but you don't get that with the Mini-e... just speed. There is a little electric engine 'whine', but that certainly isn't the same thing.


And here's the first possible drawback... when you do floor it, it starts to feel like you could lose control. The slightest movement of the steering wheel at maximum acceleration feels like the car is going to veer wildly off course. But that's why this is a field test. BMW will be working out the kinks before this car comes to market.

The Mini-e's top speed of 95 mph is because of a governor (or, "electric cut-off"), but I didn't push it much past the speed limit on PCH anyway... that's where Ferraris get split in half! I'll ask my brother-in-law (who loves his motorcycle) about top speed later, after he's had a chance to let it loose. (Actually, he did compare the Mini-e's feeling of acceleration to that of his motorcycle.)

You can get a sense of the acceleration, among other things, in the videos later in this review.

..........................................................................................

In Conclusion:

The Mini-e is a blast to drive.

There are a couple things to get used to: the immediate slow-down when you take your foot off the gas and rolling backwards on an incline. But they are no more difficult to get used to than switching from driving a car with automatic transmission to one with a standard transmission.

You aren't going on any road trips in this car. Actually, you're not going anywhere more than about 70 miles away. With a ~150 mile range and a 20+ hour charge time on a regular 110 volt outlet it would make for a very slow trip across the country. The 2 person capacity and minimal storage area are notable limits as well, but it is a perfect second car to be used for your daily commute.

BMW/Mini will learn a lot more about this prototype by leasing it to 500 real families than they could on a test track. A very smart move. It will help them immensely in bringing the final version to market. And hopefully in that time battery capacity will increase and size will decrease.

BMW/Mini was also smart to put the electric motor and batteries in a standard Mini-Cooper S body. It is a popular and established look. I've heard several people comment on the ugliness of the Prius and that Toyota would have been smarter to put their first hybrid engine in an established model like the Corolla or Camry.

My 77 year-old dad was profoundly impressed with this car. After he got back from his first time driving the Mini-e he got out of it and said, "This is the car of the future."

Several friends and family drove Mini-e #150 during its first weekend in LA and each of them got out of the car with wide eyes and a big smile.

In short, I'm pretty damn jealous of my sister for having this car. I wish I lived in LA so I could drive it more often (or lease my own). I look forward to the day when the Mini-e is available for purchase everywhere.

 

[Old Rocks]

Hybrids and Electric cars merely move the tailpipe. If someone really cared about the environment they'd buy a Hummer.http://cnwmr.com/nss-folder/automotiveenergy/DUST PDF VERSION.pdf

Even were all the electricity for hybrids and EVs to come from coal fired plants, they would lower the emissions simply because of the efficiency of the EVs and hybrids.

The luddites here will hardly have an effect on the increasing numbers of hybrids and EVs we will see.

 

[Wry Catcher]

The conservatives at the turn of the century (19th to the 20th) had a negative view of the horseless vehicles too; and the conservatives in the 15th century were apposed to autopsies as an affront to God. It's nice to see conservatives are consistent.

 

[westwall]

The conservatives at the turn of the century (19th to the 20th) had a negative view of the horseless vehicles too; and the conservatives in the 15th century were apposed to autopsies as an affront to God. It's nice to see conservatives are consistent.

Once again you completely mis-interpret our point of view. Typical, the progressives of the past couldn't understand common sense either so it's nice to see you're consistent.
The world of today travels a lot. To require everyone (the eventual goal) to drive an EV is ludicrous given their level of technology.

To make the claim that they are as efficient as a ICE vehicle now is stupidity on a grand scale. Even the vaunted Tesla requires two days to travel 400 miles. I can do that same four hundred miles in 6.5 hours. It will cost me 48 bucks. It will cost the Tesla user 60 bucks. My vehicle new cost 32 grand and is the most expensive Outback model. the CHEAPEST Tesla is 60 grand.

That is the problem with EV's as they sit.

 

[Douger]

Not really! Just kidding, no really I am. Here is an enlightening story about how a BBC reporter took a more common EV based on a Mini Cooper and how he was able to average a whopping 6 MPH on his test trip from London to Edindurgh. Kryton (from Red Dwarf, a truly funny show) and Tesla got bent out of shape so they replicated the test and the Tesla was able to do the trip in a much more competitive 20 MPH!

I think I'll stick to my Subaru, I can average around 60 MPH over the same distance.

Who are the biggest electric car liars - the BBC, or Tesla Motors? ? The Register

 

[westwall]

Not really! Just kidding, no really I am. Here is an enlightening story about how a BBC reporter took a more common EV based on a Mini Cooper and how he was able to average a whopping 6 MPH on his test trip from London to Edindurgh. Kryton (from Red Dwarf, a truly funny show) and Tesla got bent out of shape so they replicated the test and the Tesla was able to do the trip in a much more competitive 20 MPH!

I think I'll stick to my Subaru, I can average around 60 MPH over the same distance.

Who are the biggest electric car liars - the BBC, or Tesla Motors? ? The Register

Yeah? So?

 

[Zander]

Hybrids and Electric cars merely move the tailpipe. If someone really cared about the environment they'd buy a Hummer.http://cnwmr.com/nss-folder/automotiveenergy/DUST PDF VERSION.pdf

Even were all the electricity for hybrids and EVs to come from coal fired plants, they would lower the emissions simply because of the efficiency of the EVs and hybrids.

The luddites here will hardly have an effect on the increasing numbers of hybrids and EVs we will see.

If you want to drive an electric or hybrid car go for it!! But at least do it for the right reasons. The manufacturing of the batteries uses far more fossil fuels to create than the batteries save in fuel. The break even point is about 500,000 miles. Maybe you are the one in a million person that keeps your car that long?? Otherwise the hard reality is hybrid and electric cars are an environmentalists nightmare!

Personally, I don't give a fuck what you or anyone does for transportation. When hybrid and/or electric cars become economically feasible, I will consider one.