One Door Closes, Another One Opens

JANUARY 16, 2012
It has been an exciting ride, but the time finally came to give up my beloved MINI E and trade it in for the next car in BMW's field trial and effort to get production EV's on the road, the new BMW ActiveE.  I am certainly sad to see the MINI E leave my driveway as it gave me and my wife many reliable and fun filled miles on the road.  The effortless and smooth driving experience will not soon be forgotten, nor will the countless hours of sharing my experience with onlookers and passersby.  I have come to believe that once people experience an EV firsthand, there will be many converts - it's just going to take some time.

I am told that my MINI E was destined for London to play a supporting role during the Olympics this summer.  I hope the driver(s) were not confused with the location of the steering wheel relative to the proper side of the road.  Eventually, all MINI E's were scheduled to be returned to the mother ship in Germany where they will be closely examined and perhaps autopsied in the name of progress and science.  Photos, videos, press releases, a packed scrap book, and vivid memories will never allow me to forget MINI E #111.

No time to be sentimental.  I got to Bob Smith BMW (great folks) and jumped behind the wheel of my new BMW ActiveE and my love affair with the MINI E was a faint memory.  WOW! What a car.  It not only has 4 seats (the MINI E only had 2), but it's all BMW inside and out.  More refinement.  More gadgets, More BMW.  The MINI E was great, but the BMW ActiveE was a step up to be sure.

A friend pointed out to us that the badging on the ActiveE looked like something out of the movie "Tron".  So, we named our car Tron and got a license plate that says "TRON EV".  Everyone gets it right away.

We get the same range as the MINI E with similar, but slightly slower, performance.  So, about 100 miles of range with a 0-60 time just under 9 seconds.  Plenty fast and predictable range.

So much more to write about the BMW ActiveE and probably cause for a new blog, but for now a great addition to the family.  Be sure to check out BMW's site dedicated to the ActiveE here.  BMW has announced plans to release it's full production EV at the end of 2013 under the name i3 which can be found here.  A whole new design which promises to be an amazing car by any measure.  If you have more cash than most, then you might want to consider the BMW i8 which can be found here.  A search on YouTube will surface numerous videos of all of these cars in action.

Safe, clean driving to you all.