Reflections on the Model S Fremont Factory pickup experience…

It has been two weeks since we first got our Model S.

So… would we do it again?

A resounding Yes.

Unfortunately, I as with other members of the public that have gone on the Tesla Factory tour, I have agreed to a non-disclosure. I can disclose that it was very interesting and quite impressive. The gentleman that led the tour, Anish, was very informative and engaging. He addressed fellow tour group members questions, pointed out interesting things in the factory and was lively.

As for the Model S pickup experience. There are definitely things that can be improved. I lucked out in that Anish, our tour group leader, was actually the Delivery Specialist to hand over the keys to us. He was a good sport regarding the last $1 that I owed Tesla being paid in cash. He took some time with us throughout the process but it definitely felt like he was hurrying us along.

Wanting to learn from previous Model S owners, I printed out the very handy Delivery Checklist that was compiled by @NickJHowe. Anish saw the list and was dismissive of it and told us to just “get him at his desk” after we’re done doing the presentation “his way.” Though I appreciate his time (as well as mine), I had a few things on the list I wanted to cover and I felt that the guide was a good way to tackle this.

My wife had a question on the way the Panoramic Roof was installed and Anish brushed us off and said that this was a minor thing that should “settle”, if not, take it to the Tesla Service Center for repair. Guess what… That turns out to be a two day job that we now have to schedule and do when the Service Center can get to it.

[added these photos November 27, 2013]

[The glass does not sit in place properly and the gasket is sunken in.]

Lastly… The downside to the “soft-sell” aspect of Tesla’s program is that I didn’t even realize that there is a 4 year or 4+4 year Service Plan (or 50,000 to 100,000 mile Service Plan) that Tesla offers. As well as an extension of the warranty for an additional 4 years. Apparently this option has to be exercised at up to thirty days after taking delivery of the car. I stumbled upon this when I logged into my account and now have to figure out what that means and whether or not it’s worth it for me.

Taking the long drive last weekend from Fremont to Santa Rosa and back down to Southern California is definitely a good way to “shake down” the car and get the feel for it at distance (as well as some traffic.) We encountered some “wind noise” from the front driver’s window that turned out to be a misaligned glass. After less than two weeks of driving the car, this is what the glass has done to the gasket around the window.

We’re on waiting for parts and service tech mode, so it’s going to be another couple of weeks to resolve this as well.

I have a few nits that will probably continue to reiterate itself as I write about the Model S ownership experience, so please bear with me. (I will probably keep complaining about the missing coat hook.)

The entertainment system is very well integrated. However, it seems strange to me that it only handles one bluetooth input. The Active E and other vehicles can handle multiple bluetooth devices connected at a time and it is disappointing that the vehicle can only handle being connected to one device at a time. Now, I am not saying that the Active E can play two different bluetooth sources at the same time. What I am saying is that the Active E can connect and switch between two devices at a time. Whereas the Model S has to be manually connected and disconnected.

We took the 101 route back to Southern California as an overnight drive and we could have done this drive quicker had I pushed the car and hit only a couple of Superchargers along the way and not the five stops that we took.

The only real negative as for the pickup experience has been the “one on one” with Anish. We felt hurried and that he didn’t really adress concerns. I felt that my mother had a better experience with Jeb from Nissan of Duarte when she picked up her Leaf a few months ago.

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

I really like palindromes… 47474 miles today…

It’s about a week before the LA Auto Show event for Active E Electronuts and I hit a fun palindrome. As many long-time blog readers have picked up, I’m a big Lakers fan. But that also means NBA basketball in general and the #47 is Andrei Krilenko’s number… Now, he’s NOT a Laker, never been a Laker, but I always liked his nickname of AK47 (since he’s Russian and the assault weapon.) It’s a somewhat memorable nickname. So, when I saw that I was nearing this number, I thought to take a photo of it.

Besides, I also shows that EVs are no push overs and can hold their own on the open road.

A few things to note in the half mile that I travelled between these two shots is the relative ease that the BMW Active E handles the speed. It’s barely pushing the eDrive motor.

Additionally, it was one of those sunny Novembers that make folks move to Southern California… that’s 86 to 87 Fahrenheit (30 to 30.5 Celsius) at 10:40 am.

As much as the Teslas are so fun to drive. I really will miss my Active E.

The importance of Telematics…

After over twenty months of driving electric vehicles (EVs). I was thinking of advantages that EVs have over internal combustion engine (ICE) cars.

One of the things that I feel is critical to have in a production Electric Vehicle is proper telematics. Telematics is the intersection of telecommunications and information. The ability to monitor and get feedback as to the status of the vehicle is a feature that I think should be supported by all EVs.

What are some baseline features of Telematics that I would like to see from EV manufacturers.

1) Support for Multiple Mobile devices as well as the Web.

2) Near real-time status updates of the vehicle and its current state.
A) Battery Charge Level
B) Charging/Not Charging (Plugged/Not Plugged)
C) Estimate of how long charging will take

3) At least several years of access to the systems should be included with the price of the car.

Granted, this post is occurring before we’ve picked up our Tesla Model S, so I’ll have to provide an update with that one later.

As many of you know, I recently installed the Open Vehicle Monitoring System on my wife’s Roadster. So, I can now compare BMW’s My Remote with the OVMS system on a Tesla Roadster 1.5. Additionally, I have been experienced with the Nissan Leaf Carwings system as a function of being “tech support” for my 60+ mother in her 2013 Ocean Blue Nissan Leaf SV (OB-8).

First, I will be using the iOS version running on an iPod Touch and/or iPad, unless I specify otherwise.

So, how do they compare?

First, the My BMW Remote Application and Active E.

1) BMW has an application for iOS and Android. No access via the web or Blackberry.

2) Near real-time status updates of the vehicle and its current state.
the My BMW Remote provides good feedback of this status on the iPod Touch version by giving the user the “Status from: Date and Time” on the upper right of the application. The iPad version only gives the “Status from: Date” on the same location. It makes the iPod Touch version an edge even between the same mobile OS.

As above, the iPod version

and the iPad version [NOTE: I edited out the map on the left corner for the location]

A) Battery Charge Level

BMW does provide this, but it’s been somewhat unreliable. For example, most recently, I was unable to get any of this status on the iOS application from October 23, 2013 to October 29, 2013. It finally started working again.

if the status is frozen, have to hit the refresh button to get a refresh. And it’s hit or miss whether that works.

B) Charging/Not Charging (Plugged/Not Plugged)

The My BMW Remote does show this status and enable one to change the scheduled time of charge as well as initiate a charge directly. It also monitors whether or not the car is plugged in at the location.

C) Estimate of how long charging will take

The My BMW Remote does a good job of providing this feedback in the same manner as the vehicle does as far as when it expects to complete the charge to 100%. It Actually provides the hour:minute estimate of how much time is left to complete the charge. However, this algorithm is actually toward 99% charge and not full stop as the slow down for the last few minutes can last a while if the user wants to unplug when the car is completely stopped its charge.

3) At least several years of access to the systems should be included with the price of the car.

This is not an issue on the Active E as the close end lease from BMW will run out before access to these systems are in place.

OTHER FEATURES AND OBSERVATIONS.

The My BMW Remote App requires the end user to enter a PIN code every time the application is launched. This can be annoying, but the more paranoid would enjoy the security of such a feature.

Additionally, the vehicle’s GPS coordinates will be provided ONLY if the vehicle and the mobile device are “close” to each other (

Older versions of the application allowed the end user to unlock the vehicle, this has since been removed. [added 2013-11-07 The feature still shows up but directs users to CALL BMW Assist]

The end user can start preconditioning of the vehicle remotely, once again the challenge is the actual connection between App and vehicle can be unreliable. [added 2013-11-07 The end user can also SCHEDULE the preconditioning and charging behavior through the App, but it is somewhat unreliable, I personally set these before I leave the vehicle which is why I had an oversight.]

It’s nice that the Application tells the end user the battery temperature, the outside temperature, and the inside temperature of the vehicle. In SoCal, this is used to COOL the cabin down before picking up the car, I’m sure in other parts of the country it is used to HEAT the cabin before getting to the car.

[added 2013-11-07 The user can also link their vehicle to their Google account and send Map destinations to the vehicle via the registered email address of the car. I believe this is a capability of newer BMWs, not just Active Es. I use this feature sporadically, as the others which is why I had the oversight. The Address is received by the vehicle as a “Service Message”]

Lastly, the end user has the option of loading the office and home locations and the application automatically computes whether the end user has enough range to get to either location with the SOC of the vehicle.

Second, the OVMS Application and the Tesla Roadster

The Open Vehicle Monitoring System was launched approximately two years ago (November 2011) and constant improvements have been occuring. In fact, there is a thread on Teslamotorsclub.com that discusses the Technical improvements to OVMS.

I recently chronicled my install of OVMS on the blog.

I installed the formerly current release I believe it was 2.3.2 (prior to the release of 2.5.5 on October 28, 2013) of OVMS firmware in our Roadster 1.5. The behavior and features available to each instance of OVMS is constrained by the vehicle that you connect it to and the firmware release of OVMS.

More information on OVMS can be found on openvehicles.com.

1) Support for Multiple Mobile devices as well as the Web.

OVMS has Apps for iOS and Android. Additionally, it can be configured, controlled, and monitored using SMS.

2) Near real-time status updates of the vehicle and its current state.

OVMS tells you on the upper right hand the status of the data. Live means within a minute of looking at the app. The product updates to a server graciously donated by the teslamotorsclub.com for folks to host their OVMS status. When the antenna is green and lit up, it’s good.

A) Battery Charge Level
B) Charging/Not Charging (Plugged/Not Plugged)
C) Estimate of how long charging will take

OVMS does a great job on A) and B) but C) is constrained. This is probably a vehicle by vehicle challenge as I don’t remember seeing whether our Roadster tells us how long it will take to charge to “full” (i.e. based on the mode that you have the Roadster set to (Storage, Standard, Range, or Performance).)

3) At least several years of access to the systems should be included with the price of the car.

Nothing is free on OVMS except for the development effort (which one should really support AFTER purchasing the necessary pieces, etc.) Give what you can to the guys. They really made the Roadster a more modern EV with the Telematics that was added.

I’m still discovering what we can do with it and I do enjoy the difference in the interface between the iPod and iPad. In the iPod, the screens are paged to three different pages. On the iPad, it uses the whole screen.

iPod screens –

and on the iPad

Showing progress on the better half’s drive on the way home…

Note that the car icon shows that her lights were on while she was driving in the evening (on the iPad version.)

OVMS also uses the feedback available on the connection to the vehicle to alert the user via text message or the app when the car stops charging unexpectedly. This is useful when one needs to ensure that one gets a full charge. The BMW My Remote does not do this and I often rely on Chargepoint or Blink’s networked EVSE to provide this intelligence rather than the vehicle’s feedback.

The support on teslamotorsclub.com by markwj is top notch. He single-handedly beats out BMW on the Telematics support. As I mentioned between October 23-29th the App was inoperative without a peep to the user community and Mark replies within several hours (the guy is in Hong Kong, so please be cognizant of when he “should” be sleeping.) Recently, we had a connectivity issue that was reported [starting with my post here and resolved in subsequent posts] on teslamotorsclub.com and the user community was able to give feedback to each other to ascertain that the problem was NOT to our individual instance, but something “in the cloud.”

Top notch product and service. Yay user community!

We still have not taken delivery of the Model S, so I’ll have to update on that when we do (coming soon…)

Third, CarWings and Nissan Leaf.

1) Support for Multiple Mobile devices as well as the Web.

Carwings is deployed on iOS, Android, AND Blackberry. It’s kind of cool in that. However, the command structure seems to employ either SMS or a query/response system between the user App, a server, and finally the vehicle.

2) Near real-time status updates of the vehicle and its current state.

As a result of this query system, one must be cognizant of the Updated field in the middle of the application to see when the status was polled from the vehicle.

If you do not set the Application for auto-poll at start up, you need to initiate one.

Then wait for the response to get the update.

A) Battery Charge Level
B) Charging/Not Charging (Plugged/Not Plugged)
C) Estimate of how long charging will take

Aside from the pause, stop, start, nature of a manually requested polling system, the Leaf and Carwings knock A – C out of the park. It gives a status on what speed the vehicle is charging at, an estimate of how long it will take to charge over differing conditions, it lets you know easily whether the car is plugged in or not, whether it is charging, or not, etc.

3) At least several years of access to the systems should be included with the price of the car.

At time of lease (this is my mom’s vehicle that we’re reviewing.) CarWings was included for three years. Nissan has announced that European ones will be free past their initial period, I have not really paid attention to the US Nissan program, so I really shouldn’t comment on that.

I really enjoy the configurations for Carwings to NOTIFY the user via email and text messaging of the charge status whether the charge was interrupted or not. Additionally, the user can configure the vehicle to recognize (via GPS) when the vehicle is near a preferred parking location that it should plug in at. For example, since my mother is >60 years old, we have it set to notify her (and me) when she’s home and forgot to plug in.

This particular feature combined with the stopped charging notifications that we set up on the car enabled me to remotely diagnose when my mother’s 2013 Nissan Leaf started to exhibit the 6.6kw charger problems that was reported with earlier batches of the vehicle. This then enabled her to take the time to get the vehicle back to Nissan for service.

My mother loves the ability to remotely engage the cooling (warming) features of CarWings so that she can initiate cabin control when she is a few minutes away from her vehicle.

Telematics is an important part of the EV experience. It is this feedback experience that enables EV drivers to be more “in tune” with their vehicles than their ICE counterparts and allow EV drivers with a superior experience on the road.

[added 2013-11-07 In the interest of covering other EVs, here are links to Jamie Mueller’s Ford Focus EV blog for what Ford allows its EV drivers to do:

It’s refreshing to see such capabilities demonstrated on so many vehicles.]

Three days with a Tesla Model S P85+ compared with an Active E

So… It looks like we’ve had the loaner Model S P85+ (hobbled) longer than our Roadster.

Since the Tesla Model S loaners are hobbled in terms of speed (80 mph limit) I would like to state that I am unaware of what other features may be unavailable to drivers of loaner Model S.

Since I spend a lot of time on the road, I make full use of the speakerphone and entertainment systems of the vehicles that I drive. The large touch screen IS pretty cool, but what else?

First point of comparison is the loaner programs between Tesla and BMW. Tesla loaners are cool vs. BMW ones in that BMW currently does not loan out EVs for Active E Electronuts. We have to go ICE. So, major points to Tesla for this. Additionally, loaner vehicles from BMW are limited to 100 miles a day included, there IS a charge for going over the miles; Tesla loaners have no such restriction. Additionally, you don’t have to “fill it up” to the same level as what you picked up.

The P85+ loaner that I’m driving has firmware 4.5, so I’m not sure if some of the idiosyncracies are limited to that, but here are some of my observations.

Aside from the lack of a hook for a jacket or dry cleaning…

1) No access to the Web browsing. It’s just blank. I can stream music, but nothing on the browser.

2) This has been previously reported, but a little irritating for me. I use both an iPod Touch and Blackberry for my services. So, when connecting the iPod Touch to the Model S USB port, it just charges the device. With the Blackberry, it can actually play music that is stored in your Blackberry folders. The Active E can connect to the iPod Touch over USB AND the Blackberry as a USB music drive.

3) Bluetooth connection is limited to ONE device. So, if my Blackberry phone is connected to the Model S, I can only stream from the same device. If I connect the iPod Touch over Bluetooth, the phone gets disconnected. The integration over bluetooth leaves much to be desired. The Active E can support a phone and a bluetooth music player over wireless. In fact, the Active E can support multiple phones (the primary and secondary) connected to the system.

4) This might be because it’s a loaner, but I can’t sync my contacts nor recent calls on the car. It is ALWAYS refreshing. I just disabled it. As a result, I have to dial by number or launch the call from my phone. Once again, the car IS a loaner.

5) The GPS doesn’t seem to adjust for traffic along the route. It’s great to show the traffic on the Google Map, but it seems to still route me through the most traffic. The Active E GPS adjusts for traffic.

Still…

1) The Model S has space and speed (quick, but limited to 80 mph because it’s a loaner.)

2) Supercharging. As I’ve commented on my new favorite forum, www.teslamotorsclub.com, though the superchargers are supposedly “running slowly” by some experienced types, compared to the Active E… It’s plenty fast.

3) Automatically remembers places that one has charged (and what level charger to set up for.)

This is by no means a complete list, just some nits and the like. Not enough to cancel our order for our Blue/Tan Standard 85, just stuff to mull over.

I guess BMWi has not forgotten about the Active E Electronuts

So, even though the ActiveE forums are still down…

At least BMW i has started to communicate with us again –

Probably better a little late than never…

BMW

BMW ActiveE Field Trial Updates. View Online

ActiveE FIELD TRIAL DEVELOPMENTS.

Dear Electronaut,

With the recent worldwide announcement of the BMW i3, we would like to update you on some of the advances that have been made during the BMW ActiveE Field Trial. Your valued collective inputs have resulted in lessons which can only be learned by doing and driving.

You may be aware of some technical challenges encountered during the field trial and we want to assure you that each instance has been an experience where we have learned and applied change, either to the ActiveE or toward the development of BMW i vehicles. Such beneficial experiences are not restricted to the vehicles themselves, but also pertain to the systems and processes which support them and to the knowledge of those who implement them. As an Electronaut, you are an integral part of this knowledge chain.

As we approach the final months of the ActiveE Field Trial, we have gained the ability to extract the most from the vehicles. Some of you have encountered issues and have patiently collaborated with us to achieve solutions. For example, a number of problems were encountered with variations in charging equipment and related vehicle functions. Your feedback and creativity in helping us resolve some of these issues have been genuinely inspiring.

In the environment of the field trial, changes have been made to certain ActiveE components, software, and also in the support processes. At this stage in the field trial, we are moving forward with the refinement of our support structure for electric drive vehicles and continue to implement software updates. Such an update is currently being rolled out to BMW ActiveE Centers and will be uploaded on your next service visit. Enhancements are primarily centered on charging and other functions used to prepare the ActiveE for driving. Notable revisions include:

Preconditioning: Previously limited to 60 minutes while connected to a Level 2 charging station, this update will enable 90 minutes of preconditioning: 60 minutes for the HV (High Voltage) battery in order to better prepare it for colder weather and 30 minutes for the passenger cabin, compared to the previous 30 minutes for each function. The ability to cool the passenger cabin during preconditioning has also been made more reliable.

Energy Recovery Indicator: When driving off at 100% SOC (State of Charge), the Energy Recovery Indicator in the instrument panel might illuminate when releasing the accelerator pedal, warning that Energy Recovery or “Regeneration” is not possible. Also, the SOC indicator should now show 100% when fully charged, particularly in cold weather.

Charging: Optimization of the active thermal management system for the HV system improves performance in high ambient temperatures; for instance, you may notice the underhood cooling fan operating more frequently. Additionally, the charging rate has been revised to reduce heat levels in the onboard charger. This may result in extended charging times for the ActiveE, depending on the charging station being used and its available electrical supply. Finally, the HV system has been reprogrammed to “stay awake” for a longer period, to help alleviate reset issues with various charging equipment systems.

Service Maintenance Interval: Lastly, the maintenance interval for the ActiveE has been revised from once every three months or 5,000 miles, to every six months or 5,000 miles, whichever comes first. This feature should coincide with your next scheduled maintenance reset.

Should you have any concerns, please contact your local BMW ActiveE Center, or the BMW ActiveE Customer Relations Team at 855.236.1025 or ActiveECustomerRelations@bmwusa.com. Thank you once again for your invaluable cooperation in the BMW ActiveE Field Trial. Together, we have made remarkable progress toward an exciting future.

Best regards,

The BMW ActiveE Team

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I’m pretty sure that I’ve already noticed the change in the charging behavior. I haven’t noticed the near 100% SOC regen note (warning). The change in the maintenance schedule won’t affect us. With the number of miles that we drive in our Active E, we’re still at the every 5,000 mile intervals rather than the monthly intervals. In fact, our Active E is in the shop right now with the front tires being replaced…

18 months of the 24 month program and about 43,251 miles (which is as jumbled up as 12345 can get)… It was time to replace them.

All I know is BMW i needs to step up. It’s BMW i’s move to keep on the 700 of us that participated in the Active E program.

We would’ve been such an easy sale for them. Now, it looks like Tesla will be winning us over for the immediate future. It’s nice to see that they have learned a lot from our trials and I am happy to have paid for the privilege to help. It was a good symbiosis. If only I had participated in the Mini E trials sooner, perhaps they would not have assumed that 80-100 mile range would be “ideal.” I still propose a 200 mile range vehicle (at 80% of 160 miles for better battery life, etc.)…

Instead of the i3, I still propose to BMW i that they should just sell me our Active E. There is an emotional attachment that was formed between driver and vehicle. The folks at Tesla have been really friendly and some have been quite empowered to provide top-notch service. The Model S does feel like a luxury car, just not as luxurious as other makes that it competes with.

The Roadster is a driver’s car. It matches well with the drive of many a small BMW that we’ve driven in the past (and frankly blows away the ActiveE in performance.) But, it has even less usable space. But, boy is it fun to drive. There is a certain joy in driving it and hopefully, we’ll be welcoming the Tesla Roadster home tomorrow.

Just lucky, I guess…

In some cultures, the number 8 is very lucky…

So, I feel fortunate to come closest to 88,888 on my Active E by posting 38,888 miles…

Went furniture shopping this weekend and used our inverse Active E (known as a BMW X5) and that’s up to 123,456 miles. Considering I recently killed its battery, I have to remind myself to drive some ICE. Used to drive this car all the time and after 12 years, it’s finally becoming a fairly “low-mileage” 123,456 mile vehicle. Used to average approximately 15-20,000 miles a year, and it’s really been relegated to occasional use (up to the mountains to ski or to Costco/haul large items) since then.

On the Active E front… Got really lucky getting home with 2 miles left.

I normally back up to park, however, thought I could head in and charge… That didn’t help, so nervously backed up and re-parked (and lost one more percentage point on the state of charge and mile)

It is better to be lucky than good…

One Year of EV Driving… Pure Joy… The ActiveE and me!

So…

Yesterday was “hump day”… Not really sure which day to count as I picked up the car on the evening of February 23, 2012 and I have to return it back to BMW on February 24, 2014… The Leap Year throws me off, so I guess a post on the 25th would be the best I can do to celebrate the first year of EV Driving.

As always, I like to post my mileage pictures, and I don’t know whether to count the day I parked the car at LAX this weekend (the 23rd) at 26,064 miles…

Or when I got back home on Sunday night, the 24th at 26,090 miles…

Either way, I’ve done a lot of driving over the past year. Surprisingly, the weekend that I celebrate one year with my car, I’m away from it and it’s soaking in the last few days of subsidized LAX parking on my quick weekend away to Napa and Sonoma.

This post was going to be a little funnier than it has ended up to be as I planned on taking advantage of BMW and Sixt’s JV in the Bay Area and “cheat” on my ActiveE with a car rental. However, the timing of my arrival into San Francisco airport on Satuday morning and my lunch appointment at the French Laundry forced me to abandon those plans and opt with a traditional ICE rental (Ford Focus) from Dollar Rental Car. I will follow up with a post on my attempt to pick a car on my day back from the Wine Country.

So, what do I have to share with the world that I have not already done (nor someone else more eloquently wrote…)

RANGE ANXIETY

Let me start with some tips that I like to give to others as they drive EV. Top of my list as a high mileage individual is Range Anxiety and how to cope with it.

All vehicles have a range problem. It’s just whether or not you’ll make it to the next fueling station and whether or not you would be willing to pay that price for the fuel during the time spent at the fueling station. I’ve mitigated my anxiety by arming myself with knowledge about my vehicle and what my options are around me. Some of the things I do to be more comfortable are:

1) After each FULL charge that I complete, I reset my Miles per kWh reading and odometer so that I can have visual feedback on how I am driving and how far I have gone. Armed with the M/kWh figure I can figure out how much range I have to go in my 27 usable kWh battery pack. Coupled with BMW’s guesstimator I know how I need to drive and where I can drive to.

This was after starting at freeway speeds from home…

And after a short (for me) commute of approx 38 miles

So, I went from a 2.7 miles per kwh to 3.7 miles per kwh average.

2) I always have at least two devices that have the following Apps – Chargepoint, Plugshare, Recargo, and Blink. In that order. In a pinch I will pay for charging, but for the most part I try to find subsidized charging. If you can get your electrons for free, why not? I carry a BlackBerry for my primary telephone, but also have iOs devices so that I can run the apps. I use a MiFi for Internet access for those devices so it works for me.

3) I almost always set the car to precondition. It’s not that big a deal in Southern California as we don’t really have the swings in temperature, but it makes me feel better. In order to ensure that I come back to a car at 100% SOC vs. 98% SOC I set the preconditioning close to the projected end of the charge time.

The picture below would have a time to full charge when the car is plugged in and charging. You can then set the delayed preconditioning setting to 15-20 minutes before the end of the cycle to force the car to precondition WHILE it is still charging so that it will complete charging and preconditioning at 100%. Otherwise, if you do it from a cold battery (which is what I do on overnight charges) you may start your drive at 98%.

So. Armed with information and experience, I can pretty much get around town, and often do. I have my 70 mile days and I have my 102 mile days with a few greater than 120 mile days and some parked and not going anywhere days thrown in between.

FUN TO DRIVE

Almost all EVs are fun to drive. So, if you’re not in an ActiveE, go out there and get a different one and have fun – JOIN the rEVolution!. I’m just lucky enough to be in a BMW ActiveE. This car really drives like a BMW. I remember the first time I drove my BMW X5. After test driving the Benz ML320 several times, it took one test drive of the X5 for my wife and I to decide that the advertisements for the “Ultimate Driving Machine” rings true.

I have test driven several other EVs this past year and I have only considered the Tesla Model S to be the only other one that I would like to “own”. I would prefer to keep within the BMW family, however, BMW’s refusal to provide a longer range pure BEV as opposed to a REX enabled i3 will be the cause of my movement to a Tesla. I prefer the size of the ActiveE and i3 after it to the Tesla, however, the design is really the issue. The i3 is just too different from the styling that attracted us to BMW. It also helps that the Tesla has the larger range.

A lot has been said about the ActiveE’s regenerative braking and I am a convert of this as well. Most of the other EVs have regen that is not quite as aggressive and therefore, I need to hit the brakes more than I do in my ActiveE. BMW “got it right” with how the ActiveE grabs hold of the brakes and lets me drive my ActiveE with a single pedal. Perhaps it has to do with BMW’s history with motorcycles. Most recently I had one of my most trusted colleagues drive the car in my stead and he commented that the single paddle experience was similar to how some motorcycles performed. (he rides a BMW motorcycle).

What can BMW do to keep me as a future BMW EV driver. Build EVs that look like a BMW! The aesthetic is IMPORTANT. Others have commented on how much they like the i3… I’m not one of them. I like the i8 (all of them), but I’m not spending that kind of money on any car. The reported prices are the price of a Model S and Model X combined. And that sort of commitment will drive me toward Tesla.

KEEP SURPRISING ME

Even after one year of EV driving under the belt, the experience still surprises me. I’ve done 5 scheduled maintenance trips and 2 unscheduled ones to the dealership. The most famous one was my first Drivetrain Malfunction from less than one week into the experience that was documented in the BMW ActiveE Forums.

My last service experience was a little over 250 miles ago at 25,750 and the car was in the shop for about a day. This is effectively the same experience I’ve had with my X5 and 3 series vehicles. As this process becomes more common, I expect to have the opportunity to drive my ActiveE more in the following year and hope to drive greater than the 26,090 that I did in my first year. But we’ll have to see.

The most recent thing I learned is a “new” BMW thing rather than a BMW EV thing, but it points to some of the things that make BMW a top notch company and why I am still hoping that the delay that I did (though it did force me into the $2,500 price increase for the Model S) to take delivery of the Model S next year would give BMW some time to come up with something aesthetically more pleasing (or at least give me and my better half the chance to get used to the i3 and go with that instead). Oh yeah, so what was it that I learned recently…

Do you see the change in tint on the picture below?

Or here

Apparently that is where you need to install your transponder

The newer BMWs have a coating that keeps out IR and this could inhibit the Toll Collection transponders from responding properly. In Southern California, there are these newer switchable transponders that one must use to self-report the number of passengers in the vehicle and the agency is unable to get an accurate count if the transponder is not in the clear glass section. What this means is that you either do not get the “discounted” or free rate to travel the toll roads with more people in the car.

So, those that are travelling on I-110 or I-10 Tollways in a newer BMW, take note if you keep getting charged for solo travel if you have multiple passengers in the vehicle.

The passion that folks have for their EVs is warranted. The numerous stories of the recent NYT vs. Tesla spat and the Tesla Owners who got together to recreate that drive is a several day long commitment to show the world that EVs are hopefully here to stay.

ACCIDENTALLY ENVIRONMENTAL INDEED

I just forwarded some of my family members a link to a contest that Solar City is doing to get people signed up for solar power. The prize is a 3 year lease of a Smart EV with a 1.5kW Solar Array to folks in certain markets who don’t currently have an EV in them. My goal was NOT environmental, it was purely economical. The more access that I have to PRIVATE chargers that I will have little contention for, the farther my range in my ActiveE for the next year. Sure, it will be cool to get them on the rEVolution. But, that’s secondary to me. I am PURPOSELY not linking the Solar City offer as I want to give them a better chance of winning this sweepstakes! (so there!)

Over the past year I have gone from getting the ActiveE to be able to drive the HOV lanes by myself to a vocal proponent of EVs in general. I don’t care about the environment, in the traditional sense. I care about saving money in the long run. Yes, it may seem that some of these things are costlier in the short run, but I expect to be around for a long time and I expect my next vehicle to be around for a long time as well. Too bad I have one year left on my ActiveE. But sure am glad in the journey that it and I have taken together.

ActiveE at 22,222 miles

ActiveE at 22,222 miles, a photo by dennis_p on Flickr.

Some things that I have learned these past 22,222 miles… 100 mile range is fine, but as more and more folks start getting plug-in cars, whether hybrid vehicles like the Fisker Karma or the Chevy Volt or pure EV like the Nissan Leaf, the infrastructure to support the EVs will need to grow FASTER to keep up with the demand to run electric. I find that many of the charging stations that I used to be able to rely on are now getting to be more crowded than before.

It’s great to see an uptick in demand, but that just means that the supply needs to increase as well, or the manufacturers will need to come up with something HIGHER ranged than 100 miles. A fact that is driving me toward a Tesla Model S for primary EV and may get me to an i3 with Range Extender.

By the way, the picture above is me braking to a stop (thus the regen indicator (the one on the right) as regenerating quite a bit of power back into the batteries). I make the comment on the need for more charging stations because you will note that the PLUG IN NOW Exclamation Point indicator is on (meaning my SOC is less than 30%) and I’ve only gone about 59 miles one way on this picture. Which is to say that my range is closer to 80 miles one way today and I would have to blame that on the distinctive LACK of traffic on the inbound route to work today which had traffic speeds decidedly HIGHER than the posted speed limit.

Oh, and a Happy New Year to you too!