First full month of new TOU-EV-1 rates

On October 1st, Edison dropped their TOU-EV-1 rates for folks charging "Off Peak". Now that my bill has come, I can report that with all taxes and fees included, we're paying 10.9 cents per kwh for charging the MINI E between 9pm and Noon. With charging at work via the 110 cable an average of 6 hours, I find myself using 21 kwhs on average to drive from Long Beach to Burbank, CA. This drive is 83 miles or so and is made up of approx 45 miles of highway driving 70 - 75 mph and the rest mixed stop and go. This brings the cost of the average trip to $2.29. Can't complain about that. Thank You Edison and MINI.

Great time in Culver City & MINI E articles

Enjoyed the latest MINI E get together on Sunday November 8th in Culver City. John O'Dell from Edmunds.com was there and wrote a short article about his visit with the Pioneers. The group picture was taken by John. Here's the link:

Edmunds visits with MINI E drivers

There's been a few articles about the MINI E of late and thought I'd include them here. Here's one from WIRED. Be sure to click on the PDF link near the beginning of the article for Richard Steinberg's presentation materials. He discusses the MINI E program and how it's been going.

WIRED article on MINI E program thus far

Here's another one from Car & Driver:

Car & Driver article

#140 is quickly approaching 10,000 miles. The quirks seem to have been worked out and the miles are flying by. We would love a lease extension and the opportunity to continue providing BMW all the research data they'd like. :)

No Fluids, No Leaks

Another reason I love the MINI E, no fluids. With no fluids, it's hard to have a fluid leak. Why do I bring that up, you may ask. Well, the past few days we've been driving our Ford Freestyle more than we have been. I started noticing a leak underneath and today took it in to get fixed. The service advisor noticed we hadn't put many miles on the car since our last visit to fix a transmission leak and asked what was up. Perfect opportunity to talk about the MINI E. He was very interested in the car and we had a nice chat. As I headed back home, I realized this type of problem is something I'll never have to worry about with an EV. Sure, there might be other problems that arise, but leaks will soon be something of the past. :)

Back from 8000 mile service with Plug Decal!

Everything went smooth at the 8000 mile service. Was able to chat with Nelson, the Flying Doctor, serving Long Beach MINI. We were discussing brake wear and he mentioned they have a MINI E with 48,000 miles on it and the brakes still look great. A regular MINI, I'm told, needs brakes around 20,000 miles. During the visit we had the Plug Decal applied. It looks great. Since we had ELECTRIC put on both doors and the back hatch we thought using just the plug would look a little different. Double click the photos to enlarge. Glad to have #140 back on the road.

8000 Mile Service

The miles come quickly in the MINI E. Currently in for 8000 mile service. Next service will be at 13,000 miles. As the miles climb so does my love of driving electric. Was able to pick up a Maintenance Checklist. Click on the photos to enlarge. (There should be two photos...I noticed one disappears sometimes)

The decals should be in soon.

Alternative Car Expo 09, MINI E get together and ELECTRIC emblems

Had a great time this past Saturday with other MINI E folks checking out the Alternative Car Expo in Santa Monica. Rich Steinberg, Manager of the MINI E program, was there along with some other MINI folks. Rich took the time to visit with all the MINI E drivers and it was great to have him there. He mentioned that the decals should be showing up at the dealers shortly. He also said he understood the interest in extending the leases that many drivers have expressed and that is in discussion. Sounded like a pretty good possibility. He also understands that the price is in issue as well. While he couldn't comment about pricing particulars, my personal opinion is that any lease extension will have a lower lease payment. Current $850.00 payment is based on a closed end 12 month lease. I mentioned to Rich that with a price adjustment, I'm very interested in a lease extension that would perhaps bridge to the next BMW/MINI electric vehicle.

You may have seen other MINI E drivers that have added the word ELECTRIC to their E. Here in the Southern California area many have had it done by Michael Wittman from Third Planet Energy. I was happy to see Michael at the event in Santa Monica and asked him to set me up. You can see the result from the pictures. Before he applied them we measured to make sure that I can still apply the full decal (MINI + the plug symbol) if I wish to both doors. I'm still not sure if we'll go with the full decal or perhaps just the plug centered on each door. Michael can be contacted at www.thirdplanetenergy.com The cost is $40.00 for one or $99.00 for all three. Tax is added and this includes installation.

I'm quickly approaching 7500 miles in #140. At the expo and now hopefully with the ELECTRIC emblems, I'll continue to have more frequent discussions with folks about the E. Along with the talk of range, electricity costs, etc I have to remember to remind folks the central thing about driving the E....the driving experience itself...it's a MINI for heaven's sake. What MINI has done is create something that's Zero Emission but also a blast to drive. Fun, Quick, Earth Friendly, Low fuel costs...just a few words that describe my experience with the E.

New TOU-EV-1 Rates start Oct 1st

Was super happy to hear that the new rates start tomorrow and if you charge off peak and live in the Southern California Edison area, you'll be saving money. The meter rental fee of .18 a day is also being dropped. Might not sound like much but that's $5.40 a month. The on peak rates are going up. All the more reason to chage off peak. Thank You Edison!