First teen to get his drivers license in an electric car!

On Monday November 16th, 2009 Ryan (a friend of mine) passed his driving test in the 100 percent elcctric MINI E. Im not 100 percent sure, but i believe he is the first to do so. At least he is in very exclusive company. The MINI E made a perfect choice for a driving test car because it has an automatic trans and an emergency brake in the middle of the car. It also is extremely easy to drive and only 12 feet long ( we are allowed 25 feet to parallel park). I thought it would be cool to show todays youth taking their roadtest in todays car! Maybe Ryan and his friends will drive electric cars from now on and never know gasoline burning cars. Not likely as he has a Mustang, but he did inform me he likes the MINI E much more. This was the first electric car that the employee from the NJ DMV has ever seen. It was quite funny to hear him tell Ryan to start the car and hear Ryan tell him its already running. He said its really quiet and Ryan informed him it was electric. The test giver said Ok then proceed to the stop sign. He said this with a hint of sarcasm as if he didn't believe as though the car was really already running. Another moment came when he asked Ryan to stop at an intersection and was confused when the car slowed down without hitting the brake pedal. Thats the regenerative braking slowing us down, said Ryan. The tester was impressed. Ryan later told me that the tester took him on a much longer loop than he took the other teens because he was enjoying his time in the electric car. Ryan passed with flying colors and returned to the inspection station. When they both arrived, we popped the hood, trunk and "gas door" so the tester could see the workings of the electric MINI E. He asked all the normal questions like how far, how much, how did you get it ? He also asked a few new ones like how soon could he get one? And when would they be on the market for everyone? He seemed very interested even though i told him the car would sell at a premium. He took one of the neat little business cards that MINI gave me to hand out and we were on our way. Maybe one day, he will  be able to purchase his very own MINI E.