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.

from the EEVC newsletter

I found out about the MINI E field trial as it would come to be known in November. i applied online with many other EV enthusiasts in December. The application process took about an hour and at one point i almost quit. My screen went blank and said all my info has been lost. It said would you like to quit now and forget about it or continue on and retype all the info. I said Id re-enter all the data. Im glad that I did, it was only a test by BMW MINI to see if i was ok with a car that might have some hiccups along the way. I patiently waited for a response to see if i was accepted. Weeks and months went by. Then i got an email from my sales rep Adam at Princeton MINI. I needed to fill out a credit app to further qualify me for the MINI E. I thought that would be the end, beings that the car is $850 a month and im no millionaire. To my surprise, I qualified. My next step was to get an insurance quote from their provider(they pay the comp and collision, i only pay liabllity.) My driving record was fine, and it actually looked like i was really gonna get the car! A little while passed and i was scheduled for an inspection with an electrician. The electrician came out to verify that i had at least a 240v 40amp service in my garage. I had the required juice, but i needed to upgrade my panel as i had no spots left for a breaker. I upgraded my panel myself to save some money and notified BMW MINI. It was now June and the cars would be ready anyday. The electrician notified me he would pull the permits for the wallbox and would be out to install it without the charge cable because there was a delay getting them. I got the call from Adam that my car was in and i could pick it up on June 18th. I had quite a few people volunteer to go with me to pick up the car. When we arrived, I had to sign a bunch of paperwork relating to the MINI E's limitations. The main one is that I absolutely have to give it back at the end of the lease. After securing insurance and paying the first months lease payment, I was headed to the service department to check out my new electric car. Adam explained everything that was different about the MINI E. The guys at Princeton MINI were awesome. I like to think that he learned a few things about electric cars too :) We snapped some photos and i was off. Its a shame it was raining or I would have probably have went faster than the 75 mph i did on the way home. The car was remarkably quick and very smooth. The regen braking although different felt very natural. I tried out the AC and the heat on the way home. The radio also worked great. The one thing i wanted to check out was if the brake light came on when the regen braking was happening. I let off the accelarator and called my friend Brian who was following me home with my other car. Sure enough the lights do come on as soon as you let off the pedal. He also told me i should slow it down as i didnt realize i was going 75 mph in the rain. I drove to my house to drop off my other car and then proceeded to my work. I popped the hood at work and also the "gas" door to show everyone the car. A few pics were taken and then i was off to my parents house. My mom and dad both went for a ride and couldnt believe how fast the car was. I and also showed them under the hood. It didnt sit still for long though. I was off to my house to take my wife for a ride. It was now late, but there was still enough charge left to  take her for a few laps around the block. She also was impressed. I did 115 miles that first day. i drove from Princeton to Deptford to Woodbury to Franklinville back to Deptford. And people say electric cars have limited range. i dont believe so. Ive had the MINI E for not even 4 months and it has 9 thousand miles on it. Its  been to many events like the Power of DC, the Kempton Alternative Energy Fest, Energy and Sustainabilty 2009 at the University of Deleware, Jenny Isaac's Bucks County Renewables EV conversion workshop(www.buckscountyrenewables.com), and three EEVC meetings. If you see me in the MINI E, dont hesitate to ask for a ride. But dont blink, you might miss me.

August meeting of the EEVC

These pics were taken at our informal August meeting of the EEVC eastern electric vehicle club(www.eevc.info). I believe we had about 5 electric vehicles on display. Many people got their first look at a MINI E and got to go for a ride in it. Everyone loved the MINI E and the other electric cars on display. I brought the MINI E and my electric Geo Metro Convertible. Al brought his awesome VW Rabbit pickup, Bill his Honda Civic conversion, and Ollie brought the Olympian, a converted Ford Escort that won the Tour de Sol in 2006.

Bucks County Renewables EV Conversion Workshop

One of the first long trips i took in the MINI E was to Jenny Isaacs Bucks County Renewables Ev conversion workshop. Jenny holds a workshop that anyone can sign up for. Its held over the course of a week and at the end you helped complete the conversion of a gas vehicle to 100 percent electric power. She owns a VW Vanagon that is electric and also a Dodge Colt electric. My friend Al from the Eastern Electric Vehicle Club and I brought our EV's to Lansdale, Pa to show some of the students what a great conversion and a production EV looks like. If i remember correctly it was almost a 100 mile round trip that day with no problems. About 15 people got to try the MINI E that day and all had big smiles on their face. There is more cool pics at her
site here   http://e-vanagon.blogspot.com/2009_06_26_archive.html