Announcing… The new blog title

Since I first started publishing my thoughts on this blog, I had chosen the title

My ActiveE made me Accidentally Environmental

The trials and tribulations of a BMW ActiveE driver in Southern California

Well…

As I indicated in a previous post, we’re adding to our focus… I would have been happy to pursue more experiences with the Active E, solely, alas, I am finally letting go of the idea that I may be able to keep my Active E. The i3 is launched and scheduled for delivery in the United States (if my source at one of the local LA dealerships is to be trusted) on March 18, 2014. (Yes, the day after Saint Patrick’s Day.)

So… Without further delay…

My ActiveE made me Accidentally Environmental

And Tesla made me a rEVolutionary!

It was either that or

And Tesla Model S is the vehicle that BMW should have made

Pictures of our Model S getting the Glistening Perfection treatment!

The second stage of taking delivery of the vehicle was to protect the aesthetics of the vehicle.

So, click here [warning, not for the faint of heart], to see some of the work that’s being done on the Model S.

Glistening Perfection is doing their thing, but man it’s a little strange to see the car in this state as it gets taken care of.

So… Just had one full day of S getting the “treatment”

Today is the start of the second day of no Model S… And it’s going fine…

Instead of opting for the factory installed Paint Armor, we decided to follow Mark and Anna‘s example with their Model S and had Moe Mistry of Glistening Perfection apply the Xpel Ultimate wrap on our car.

Here are our cars, side by side at Glistening Perfection on Sunday…

Theirs is the one with the plates…

We opted for the whole car wrap and tint.

What that means is that we wait for the car to be serviced, then we get it all nicely detailed, wrapped, etc. No worries of paint chips for at least the ten year warranty of the Xpel Utlimate.

One of the cool things that I found out is that Moe removes the badges from the car, wraps it, then reattaches brand new ones to the car. This then provides the best protection as the film does not bunch up around the badges.

It also provides an opportunity…

I’m thinking of removing the 85 on the bottom right of the rear. I figure, no need to really advertise what model of the S that we’re driving. It’s an S. If one isn’t driving the P85 or P85+, no real need to have any other badge than Model S and the Tesla logo.

What do you think?

Third Day of Tesla Model S Pickup Weekend – 1430

So, dropped off the Model S for Moe Mistry of Glistening Perfection to do his “thing” with it.

We’re hoping to get the car back by Thursday night.

Caught up with Mark and Anna and their SPRKPWR Blue/Tan P85.

Third Day of Tesla Model S Pickup Weekend – 0535

Been home for about 30 minutes.

Going to sleep, then bring the Model S to Glistening Perfection.

Good Night. More photos later.

Third Day of Tesla Model S Pickup Weekend – 0410

Decided to top off to have enough charge to do all the errands this morning before we bring the car to Moe Mistry of Glistening Perfection.

It’s been a great ride.

Some defects that the Service Center will need to correct (misaligned driver window and check the pano roof). Otherwise it’s been great to get firmware 5.6 pre-installed.

I’m not missing XM. Using my iPod for the “satellite” tuner works fine, as long as there is good Internet. Additionally the included Internet TuneIn and Slacker is quite entertaining.

I decided to save some English language radio from other countries.

The supercharging is quite impressive. It really is the future.

Now to have the “extras” done to the car and get it finished correctly.

[Updated 2013-11-10 around 23:00]

Third Day of Tesla Model S Pickup Weekend – 0130

Hopefully our last supercharger stop for the evening before we head home. Looks like perhaps by 0400…

Took a quick catnap, and on our way.

This 101 route gets somewhat foggy. Great to test the new Model S fog lights…

[Updated for pictures, etc. 2013-11-10 23:00]

So, this was the Buelton, CA Site

It was somewhat foggy, as I previously indicated, and the pictures have a cool effect from the moisture.

Once again, if you want to see more, go to Flickr Tesla Model S Delivery Weekend Set.

Second Day of Tesla Model S Pickup Weekend – 2251. Third Supercharge

Stopped off at Gilroy on the way to Atascadero…

Had to do some shopping at Gilroy. Outlet stores are ideal for charging for long trips.

This stop has a Denny’s next door and movie theaters across the way.

Had some fun with the included Slacker Radio and TuneIn for the car… Really enjoying the seamless way that the car uses Internet Radio while streaming. Wonder how it handles when 3G drops off.

[Added content after 2013-11-10 22:40]

A few Gilroy shots –

A few Atascadero shots –

Once again, if you want to see more, go to Flickr Tesla Model S Delivery Weekend Set.

Second Day of Tesla Model S Pickup Weekend – 1740. First Supercharge

Ok…

Made it back down to the Fremont Factory and Supercharging…

One word – AWESOME.

We arrived with 70ish miles and Supercharging here because I figure that Gilroy would have greater demand.

Decided on a 101 Route, so next Supercharge stop should be Altascadero.

On the Flickr Tesla Model S Delivery Weekend set are pics around Sonoma area.

[updated 2013-11-10 22:05 for photos and additional content on where we went in Sonoma. The following pictures and content are all new.]

So, first are some Sonoma pictures.

First stop for me was the Sonoma Country Drive for a quicker J1772 charge than the 110V at the Hotel. Sonoma County Drive was less than two miles from the hotel. It has a few CONVERTED Prius to Plug-in as well as a current Plug-in Prius.

I drove over there to plug in while the better half took time to do some work and get ready. Was able to get some additional miles buffer.

If you want to see more, go to Flickr Tesla Model S Delivery Weekend Set.

We then went to the Peay Vineyards Open House.

The Wine was great but no charger.

Lunch was the order of the day at the Francis Ford Coppola Winery, where there was a 30A Chargepoint Charger (minimum $3 at $2.50 per hour) and the food was good, but the Wine does not agree with us. Great building and views… The home of two of my favorite Model S shots this weekend.

and

The one with two of my favorite things…

And lastly, the Fremont Factory…

Once again, if you want to see more, go to Flickr Tesla Model S Delivery Weekend Set.

Second Day of Tesla Model S Pickup Weekend – 0830

As always, everything is in Pacific Standard Time…

So, did an overnight charge at Hilton Sonoma Wine Country. Nice hotel. They’ve provided 110V to overnight guests in the past and I added the information on Plugshare

Saw another Model S at the lobby driveway when we checked in. Apparently another Model S was staying the night and charging at 1 of 3 110V plugs that were EV accessible.

Added about 42 miles to the rated range.

It IS important to note that the lamppost that I was plugged into has to be ON for the plug to be available for use.

This is how it looked in the morning light…

[Updated 2013-11-11 0740]

Here is the OTHER Model S that was parked by reception…