First, I hit the Off button. Then I tried to turn the car back on and realized I was still in Drive so I had to start all over again. The line behind me started getting impatient so I put on the four-ways. Then I shifted to Park, restarted and shifted to Drive. As the pissed off truck driver tried to maneuver around me, I finally got out of his way and made my left turn.

I hope the computer recorded the event and that this problem, which happened many times to other Pioneers, will be fixed with a software update at check-up time.

I needed to get home so I didn’t follow him and since my turn was coming up I didn’t get a chance to read the magnetic sign on his door. I, therefore, have no idea who this is. I don’t see 337 listed on any blog or Facebook. Hopefully, I’ll spot it again or the owner will read this blog and contact me.

Perhaps my new license plate will make a difference when it arrives. I applied for “NOPETROL” and expect it in a few weeks. In the meantime, I’ve realized that not having the car recognized might be frustrating for me but it’s good news for MINI.

If people don’t know the car is electric powered, it means that to them it is just like any other car. I’ve gotten no beeps from cars behind me so the other drivers must find the brake lights coming on due to regenerative braking natural. So, for now, I’ll just keep driving around, wave at the occasional MINI driver I come upon and hope that the MINI E gets more media attention. I’m also considering a license plate frame that says “It’s Electric” on top with my blog address on the bottom.

The reactions by passengers and one test driver have been enthusiastic. Everyone says they want their future car to be this responsive and quiet. Imagine a highway with nothing but electric cars whizzing by. Less noise, less smell. I look forward to that future time and hope I’m not too senile to enjoy it.

One thing I did notice was a feeling everyone is calling “Range Anxiety”. I keep looking at the meter and wondering whether or not I’ll have enough juice to get through the day. I have to admit that this is my fault more than the car’s. I simply don’t know how far anything is from my home. Yes, I know how long it takes to get places but the actual mileage never concerned me. Is my Range Anxiety is totally unfounded?

One evening I stopped at a diner on my way home from work. The gauge said I had 26 miles remaining. “That’s not much,” I thought. “Maybe I should check Google maps on my iPhone and see how far I am from home.” I did just that and discovered I was 7.5 miles from home! I just never needed to know before.

As it turns out, I’ve never dropped below 19% charge in all of my travels. The Range Anxiety is mostly in my head. Of course, the other aspect, conserving power because of the long charging times, is real. It will go away once the charging cable arrives.

As for the 100 mile range, I’ve seen some discussion about being misled by MINI’s claim of 150 miles. Nothing in MINI’s literature says that the 150 mile number is anything but an ideal figure achieved on a test track. All of my advanced reading about the car accurately put the range at around 100 miles. The actual mileage will vary based on many factors including traffic conditions, overall speed, amount of hills, etc. There’s also some miles in reserve at reduced speed once you get towards empty that have to be counted but not relied upon. I have never had any illusions of getting more than 100 miles on a charge.

Hopefully, this week will bring better weather and more drive time.

Saturday, I gave up on the weather and put 277 on charge from afternoon through the night. So she was up to 100% for Sunday morning. The second and last Sundays of the month from May to October I run miniature trains for the public in Southaven Park. I took 277 there and showed her off to the membership briefly and started running trains. No one seemed notice the car very much as they walked by. Although there were a few glances. I did find out how to get people’s attention.

All I had to do was plug 277 in and people stopped to look. Some other members fielded a few questions since I was busy running my train. I answered a few and opened the car up for inspection after I put my other toys away. Finally, some recognition.

Over the weekend I managed to give a few rides. My neighbor kept repeating, “This is the future. They’re all gonna be like this.” My friend at the train club reacted the same way. My mom liked how quiet the ride was. Everyone was surprised at the power of the car. They never thought an electric vehicle could drive better than a golf cart. I also answered some questions from the fellow who brought out my food for curb-side service at Outback. He was bright enough to properly interpret the Mini E logo and asked if it was an electric vehicle. He even peeked out the door as I left, problably checking out how little noise the car made.

I’m glad I read the Owners Manual because I was suddenly confronted by a chime and indicator light. It was the battery indicator warning me I had 30% power left. No biggie.

I will need to have the outlets checked in my home, though. The outlet I used at the park had GFI protection. So that settles the theory that the low voltage charger didn’t like GFI outlets.

Today I get to do my first MINI E commute. That should be fun.

277's Scuttle

I picked up my MINI E today. MINI christened it 277. My friend Raj took me to the dealer but although he road shotgun for a few minutes, he passed on driving the car himself. I then drove to visit friends on the way home but they were out. By the time I got home it was dark and no one was around. So I set about the task of bedding 277 down for the night which proved to be no easy task.

First I unpacked the charging cord and tried the outlet in the garage. Sure enough, just like Robert encountered, I got a ground fault indication. I pulled off the multi-outlet unit and discovered that my underlying outlet was a GFI. I tried the outlet in the bathroom just inside the garage door. It showed a ground fault without a GFI. I grabbed a tester and confirmed that a ground fault is indicated. So I moved to the next closest outlet in the kitchen. Bingo! I got a winner. However, I’d have to back the car into the garage to have any hope of the end of the cord reaching the car’s socket.

I had to rearrange some things in the garage but I finally got it all hooked up. I still have some… I’ll call it stuff… that has to be trashed and I need to put what’s left up on shelves. The good news is that 277 was easy to maneuver into place. I’ll have pictures of the tight fit tomorrow.

I only put about 30 miles on 277 today which is about my normal day’s commute. If I get a full charge tonight, I should have no trouble using the car every day in spite of the lack of a high voltage charging cord.

As you might expect, I loved every one of those 30 miles. I went most of the way in silence with the wildows open. I don’t think anyone noticed the car was unusual. We’ll see what happens tomorrow when friends and neighbors get to see my 277.

I notified Habberstad MINI of the installation and now know the VIN for the car but it has yet to arrive at the dealer. New Jersey Pioneers have started to receive their cars so I shouldn’t have too long to wait.

I also found out that there are two other Pioneers not far from me. I hope to find out who they are. Perhaps we can get together sometime and celebrate.

Unlike the first MINI E delivered in LA, the east coast deliveries have not been accompanied by a big media blitz. I have to admit that I’m disappointed. Will the car be noticed as often without the fanfare? Well, if BMW/MINI doesn’t mind I might do a little drumbeating of my own.

In other news, at least two of the MINI Es in California have been sent to the shop. It will take about a week to get them back on the road. I hope this isn’t a widespread problem. Also, the list of blogs keeps growing. If anyone knows of a blog I don’t have on the list or if you have one of your own that I missed, please let  me know.

MINI’s Plugged-In newsletter was brief this week. They wanted to make sure we knew that the cars are on their way to the east coast. I’d love to get a glimpse of those trucks loaded with MINI Es on the interstate.

I heard of two problems with the car so far. Todd and Kari reported that their high temp indicator on the batteries keeps coming on. This disables the regenerative braking. David Fliegler Tweeted that Jim Dow needed to reboot his MINI E at a stoplight.

The only other complaints I’ve heard is that the car isn’t being recognized. Without the lettering on the doors, everyone thinks it’s just another MINI. I’ve heard that the lettering will be offered at no charge. I hope so. I’ve also been considering ordering a vanity plate and putting the URL to my blog on the rear window.

I can only assume that the real reason I and so many other Pioneers love the MINI E so much is that we haven’t driven other electric vehicles. Mr. Voelker compares the MINI E to several other EVs. He was particularly critical of the regenerative braking.

“Where to start? Perhaps with the regenerative braking, which replaces engine braking and slows the car while recharging the battery pack. In the Mini E, on lift-off, it took half a second to kick in–and then came on so strong it threw us forward in our seatbelts.”

Mr. Voelker also criticized a lag he noticed when first accelerating. I have to admit I didn’t notice this and will check it out when I get my MINI E. It could be because of the detuning necessary to use the existing drivetrain. An addendum to the article from AC Propulsion says that the test vehicle may not have had the latest software and that this lag has been reduced.

On the plus side, Mr. Voelker liked the interior and the rest of the car. All in all, he wants a car that is “easy to drive, so much so that it was easy to forget that we were driving an EV at all,” as he said of the Volt, Focus EV and Nissan EV. I’m not so sure that an EV should drive exactly the same as a gas powered car. Personally, I think we drive our cars incorrectly and inefficiently.

So why am I giving this article so much attention? Because everyone is entitled to his opinion. I’ve loved movies that had gotten bad reviews. BMW shouldn’t expect to please everyone. In addition, Mr. Voelker has one advantage over me, he test drove several EVs while I’ve only driven one. However, his article doesn’t change the fact that I love the one I drove!

Ultimately, this is what the field trial is all about. BMW will collect these opinions and use them when designing the next generation of their cars. However, I doubt that Peter Trepp, the first recipient of the MINI E, needs the pity Mr. Voelker offers at the beginning of his article. He seems to be doing just fine.