Electric Mini Cooper - Ride Along

[snootzie78]

A couple friends of mine drive mini coopers. Neat!

[davepamn]

What is the prices range? 200 hp is impressive and 100 mpg equivalent in city should be popular. However, I don't like the 3 hour recharge time. I was hoping for 8 minute recharge times.

[DanFrederiksen]

looks quite quick even though the bastards limited the acceleration. I'm guessing they knew that if people got the full power of the acpropulsion drivetrain they would like EVs too much.

[RobertGMuller]

@DanFrederiksen: They may have limited the power for a couple of reasons that I can think of: 1. They were test vehicles, so allowing for too much speed might have liability concerns 2. I am sure they wanted to avoid too much concern over range ("range anxiety"), and limiting power increases range. At higher speeds, the power usage goes up (probably partly a function of the battery heating up). I would expect EVs to become faster with time and technology.

[DanFrederiksen]

@RobertGMuller a stronger accleration capability doesn't affect range significantly. high speed does but I wasn't talking about high speed.

don't look for excuses for the bastards. see them for what they are or they will forever betray you. there would be no electric cars if it weren't for good men forcing these bastards to do the right thing. they are hardly doing this of their own accord

[RobertGMuller]

@DanFrederiksen I'm not sure that the acceleration was governed in any way, as the car always wanted to spin its wheels (it would be undrivable without traction control). The top speed was certainly governed, though. You don't think BMW is trying these cars because they think there might be a market (read: profit) for them? The many conversations I had with people in my year in the car seemed to indicate that there is a market for such a car.

[DanFrederiksen]

@RobertGMuller iirc it was officially stated that they had reduced the acceleration. down to something like 60%. remember it's basically the same power train as the tesla roadster has and the mini is not that much heavier. you would notice if it went to 100km/h in 4 seconds : )

and I think you have to understand that the decision making at the top of a car maker is surprisingly incompetent and incoherent. remember GM built the EV1 and then they killed it because the retards were afraid of it.

[DanFrederiksen]

@RobertGMuller if BMW actually believed in electric cars they would not have hired the very expensive ACPropulsion company to make a few conversions as a way to circumvent california eco laws. all you have to do is look at where the cars were placed to know why they did it. they are full blown super assholes. top of the line. cliche bad guys. and they don't actually know what they are doing. remember that Audi USA said electric cars are for idiots and a few days later Audi germany showed E-tron

[DanFrederiksen]

@RobertGMuller if BMW actually believed in electric cars they would not have hired the very expensive ACPropulsion company to make a few conversions as a way to circumvent california eco laws. all you have to do is look at where the cars were placed to know why they did it. they are full blown super douches. top of the line. cliche bad guys. and they don't actually know what they are doing. remember that Audi USA said electric cars are for idiots and a few days later Audi germany showed E-tron

[BMWpower414]

WOW this is surprisingly very mini. would like to drive it my self. so you said thay are pretty fast. how much do you think it takes to go 0-100?

[RobertGMuller]

@BMWpower414: I don't think I have seen any acceleration stats. They are limited to 90mph (or so I am told). It has a slight hesitation off the line, as the motor gets past the inertia, but it pulls hard from there. It is definitely sporty (Just so illustrate my idea of sportiness: I have been a motorcyclist for years and currently ride a Honda CBR1000 and Ducati S2R1000, both fairly fast bikes).

[Nefariouz]

Interesting car, guess I'll have this to look forward to when its time to trade in the current Mini =) Charging on a daily basis sounds like a bit of a hassle though, but 90miles per charge is pretty good seeing as I only get around 400miles a week.

[malgacho]

cool car, I wish it was a production vehicle .

[RobertGMuller]

@malgacho: They might do it after they take these back and evaluate the trial program. All it needs to be a great car is more range. It won't be cheap, though; probably out of my price range.

[katakisLives]

We're the elec-trif-ication society!

[SOPM2007]

I often ask myself If and when I'll have the chance to drive an electric car. Hopefully it will happen one day - would love it for sure. My dream of a e-car so far is the Model S from Tesla Motors. A 5-seats sedan with up to 300 miles of range and sporty driving performance. Can't wait to see the first one on german streets!

[RobertGMuller]

There are some electric cars starting to show up now. I think Nissan has one (the Leaf?). It will be interesting to see how they do. The Mini is not so great in the NY winter. I will try to do a new video soon and give a 4000-mile, cold weather update.

[Raven00088888]

I love all electric cars... love it so much....

[RobertGMuller]

Aside from the short range and lack of space, there's a lot to love about this car, and the production models should be better. It's a blast to drive. I have over 3000 miles on it now.

[Raven00088888]

wow.. really cool car you got....

its so different than my car,,

My car is very wasteful of gasoline.. :-(

i'm so tired with refueling over and over again, it very draining my money...... X(

so next year or in 2012 i like to buy an electric or hybrid car.. :-)

[ratryu]

Let's wait till at least 2010 or 2011 and see if they will sell electric versions of their cars. This is their data collecting car after all.

[RobertGMuller]

There have been some bugs in the six cars we have under the trial. I will post a video update soon. BMW is being smart by doing this trial; I think they are going to learn a lot, which will help them produce a better production vehicle.

[ratryu]

Yeah, I agree. Getting test data will help them a lot. Tesla Motors had so many bugs when they were building their prototypes. Bad transmission, etc. Finally Tesla Motors spent a few years to get it right. So BMW is doing the same thing except they are leasing it to get customer data too.

[moreboost]

Very nice video, I hope they plan on selling the cars in Hawaii. Thanks for sharing... more videos please hehe :)

[ratryu]

I don't think they will be selling this car. This their trial data collecting car. I think they plan on making one of their other cars electric.

[scorpion160]

I have had the pleasure of driving a gasoline version of this car and loved it! I could fit two of these end-to-end in one bay of my garage! I would also have the option of both 15a and the 50a power outlets for charging as that would be too easy for my to set up. Nice commentary btw...

[RobertGMuller]

A 50A outlet and cable would make this car much more convenient. We're supposed to be getting that set up soon. The long charge time with the 15A circuit is brutal in real-world conditions.

[KAESMC]

Very cool - great video!

[RobertGMuller]

Thanks. It's a fun car. I'll try to post more about it soon.