Kind of anti-climactic… But, got the following email from BMW today…
Needless to say, looks like the Active E forums are gone.
Never did get to fix it from this rather funny maintenance page notice:
These guys sure make it hard for an Electric BMW fan to stay loyal to the brand…
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
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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.
I’ve been a loyal BMW customer over twelve years.
Not quite like others in the Active E community, Gerald Belton (Mr. BMW), but we’ve been loyal. There were several years where we had a Honda Civic Hybrid in our garage, but it was surrounded by BMWs. When the California legislature writes laws that allow solo HOV access, I tend to follow them. Regardless of performance, etc. time is valuable and solo HOV access is like gold.
I’ve documented our journey to EV ownership the last eighteen (18) months of driving electric as we just passed 42,500 miles. Had we been allowed to, we would have purchased the Active E, but BMW wants the car back.
Not one car that I’ve driven has spoken to both myself and my better half as well as our Active E has. The Model S was the closest for a lot of things, but its price has been hard to swallow. However, if any EV is worth the money Tesla is charging (even with price increases) it is the Model S. After owning one EV, we decided that we will have at least two EVs. We placed a reservation for the Model S last year (after several months with the Active E) and that was what we’ve decided to be one of our two EVs by the time we return our Active E in February 2014. The Model S was designated to be my better half’s car. All was set and we had a plan. We’ve been through the BASE price change and decided to stick with the Model S reservation and not finalize at the beginning of 2013. Furthermore, we’ve been through several accessory price changes, and stuck with the vehicle. This last accessory price change made us re-evaluate a few things that were marginal and decided that we didn’t really need some options, but some of the additional options were of interest, so we were generally pleased with some of the additional options in the new accessory package in the current version of the Design Studio. The Model S is a BIG car as it compares to the Active E and other EVs that we’ve been looking at. After all this time, we finally decided to confirm our Model S reservation last week for a delivery later this year.
I have been rooting for the i3, but BMW has had numerous missteps on it.
Misstep #1 –
The largest misstep is the aesthetics. It does not look like a BMW to me (and to others). We’ve been lucky enough to have had several BMWs. The design of the i3 has grown on me, so that was a BIG issue that was alleviated for me; however, to swap out the Active E with the i3 was made possible by the fact that we will have a Model S in the garage/driveway for first EV. The i3 will be my daily driver. The devil is in the details, but after the multi-year exposure to the i3, I’ve adjusted to its radically different styling from its ICE brethren. However, the i3 aesthetic is a compromise for me. It would not have been my first choice, but, knowing the drivetrain and battery pack that I’ve been driving is the same one on the i3 as my Active E, with nearly 2000 pounds less, this car will be fun to drive.
Misstep #2 –
I’ve already proven that I’m fine with driving 102 mile roundtrips on a daily basis in the Active E. The generosity of Pacific BMW is appreciated as I do my charge around the 51 mile point at a dealership 3/4 of a mile away from my office. And the policy to provide charging for Active E drivers at dealerships that participate in the program at no cost did help me these past 18 months. However, misstep number two was letting me know that the convenience and subsidized charging that I enjoyed in the past will be revoked as the i3 is launched and I will have to budget in a daily charge at the dealership, I am not complaining about this, just have to consider it in my i3 purchase. Nissan and Tesla are offering subsidized charging, at Level 3 at that at several locations/dealerships and this provides the customer with some comfort. Or in my case enough range to really use an 80-100 mile car to its maximum. Specific to my location, the Nissan dealership across the street from Pacific BMW (Glendale Nissan) offers 8 hours of L2 or an hour of CHAdeMO at no cost. Something to consider. Now that there’s a Leaf in the family, I am getting more familiar with the Leaf and see the benefits of the 2013 model.
Misstep #3 –
REx as the only option to increase the range from 80-100 miles when there is good “space” to add batteries. Give me the option to pay for additional battery capacity to 150 to 200 miles.
Now, I understand that the i3 has a REx with it, optional, but I do not want to drive gasoline if possible. I have a hybrid garage, and do drive ICE at times, but it’s on my choice. I would have enjoyed a LARGER battery pack and range option for the i3, much the same way that Tesla had marketed the Model S with three battery pack options (originally.). The 22 kWh battery pack of the i3 with a 80-100 mile range is fine, for the most part, but I do need to charge to make it work. Additionally, as Tom Moloughney has pointed out (as well as others in the EV community), to ensure long battery life, it is recommended to charge a pack at 80% (or less). If I were to do such a setting on an i3, I would need to have an effective 64-80 mile range. BMW i missed the opportunity abdicated by Tesla Model S when Tesla stopped producing 40 kWh Model S. BMW should have filled in the gap and come out with a 22 kWh and greater (one or two options) battery pack range. Two options at 150 and 200 mile max ranges come to mind. That way we can charge at 80% and get the subsequent 120 to 160 daily range.
In fact, Nicholas Zart, has pondered
Is the BMW electric i3 a purpose built EV or PHEV. http://t.co/PCdEyFbLsy Tell us #CarNewsCafe if you agree?
— Nicolas Zart (@ElectricExaminr) August 16, 2013
I don’t agree, but he does pose an interesting observation in his writings.
Misstep #4 –
It would seem that BMW has decided to abandon the BMW Electronaut community.
Perhaps this is a little strong, but let’s face it. Some of us don’t want to be on Facebook and my main Active E resource has been our little forums has been my place to correspond with fellow Electronuts. And I feel abandoned. The site went down a few weeks prior to the i3 launch and has stayed down. BMW had a funny quote on the site:
But let’s be serious… If the website is any indication of the reliability of the BMW i brands and the focus that they’re getting, this is unacceptable. I’ve been in the technology field for too long to forgive this sort of outage. Though the Active E program was a test program, a website is not.
Additionally, the originally touted Electronaut effect website has gone stale. It does NOT auto update any longer. And it would seem that it, too stopped around the i3 launch.
Now, I still want to hear what sort of “compelling” offer they will have to remaining Electronauts to get us to convert, but it will have to be really good for me to jump on it…
So, why am I pondering a blog name change?
I am faced with the sad reality that the Active E will be going back to BMW in six months (and a few days as of the writing of this post.)
Additionally, I’m not convinced that the i3 IS the right vehicle for me, so the blog after February 2014 won’t have an Active E or possibly an i3 to write about.
I spent a little time on eBay and the Tesla Motors website and found this section. Yes, several of these are still pricey, but a CPO Roadster at the right price just needs to pop up…
Well…
A picture is worth a thousand words… I’ve been so focused on the second EV Active E replacement being a new EV that I will be driving, I didn’t think of getting one for my wife as we’ve already decided that she will drive the Model S when it arrives later in the year. If we flip the switch and get an EV that SHE would prefer over the Model S, and, even used, the Tesla Roadster is such a vehicle. Which means our finalized Model S will be the Active E replacement.
Now, there is no guarantee that we “won’t” get an i3 as well. It just makes it more difficult for BMW i to convince me to get one. A CPO is STILL a used car, but Tesla offered a 37 month, 37,000 mile bumper-to-bumper warranty. Guess what, that includes EVERYTHING. AND it doesn’t include a $50 co-pay like our friends at BMW (ICE, not BMW i) had offered on previous vehicles that we’ve had.
The Model S and Roadster are not perfect. One of my biggest complaints involves picking up the dry cleaning or going to a business meeting with a suit; neither Tesla provides a good place to hang a jacket. Both Teslas make me feel like Goldilocks in that I feel the Roadster is a little bit too small (no space for Costco items,except for multiple trips) and the Model S is a bit too big (I feel like a kid putting on a suit that is two sizes bigger.)
Our Roadster is a signature one… That means it’s one of the first one hundred issued to customers. It is the 1.5 spec and has some idiosyncrasies specific to that version of the Roadster. First, 1.5 Roadsters have a shifter, whereas the 2.0 and 2.5 have push button gear shifter. I like having a park setting on the gear shift. The 1.5 that we have doesn’t have one. It’s like a manual car, have to put it in neutral, then pull up the parking brake.
It would also seem that Tesla owners set the Amperage of the charging plug that they plug into. It’s not automatic like we expect on the Active E. For example, the Active E supposedly will draw up to 7.2 killowatts per hour from a 40A Breaker/32A capable EVSE. So, we’re going to have to adjust our behavior when it comes to charging the Roadster. I suppose we’ll see if this becomes an issue when we finally take delivery of our Roadster. (wonder if the Model S behaves in the same manner.)
The Certified Pre-owned Tesla process for the Roadster is not ideal. As of the writing of this post (August 26, 2013 and still awaiting a fourth or is it fifth promise date), we still have yet to take delivery of our Tesla Roadster. We’ve been through this whole process since we put down our deposit on August 12, 2013. We were told the process would take around a week (best case), since we started on a Monday, there was a chance that we would get the car by the weekend (August 16-18.)
Tesla does not have a financing partner readily available as they do for the Model S. The delivery is slow as the product had to be shipped from Fremont and the PDI (pre-delivery inspection) took longer than the first promised date of 19th of August. The picture above was actually taken over a third or fourth revised “promised” date of 24th of August (which would have been poetic, because that is exactly six months until we have to return our Active E to BMW). And since the financing is not integrated to the process, we continue to find ourselves being charged interest on a car that we did not yet “possess”. Granted in the longer scheme of ownership, what’s an extra X days of waiting. However, though the torque is instantaneous in all EVs, waiting for delivery of the order of an already built Tesla does take some time. Our Roadster took a while to get from Fremont to Southern California and we are still waiting a longer time to get through PDI. Patience is a virtue, and boy are we “virtuous”, though losing patience.
Here are some pictures from our visit this past Saturday.
Ordering a Model S was also without its challenges. I placed my reservation in 2012 with the expectation to finalize the design, etc. in August 2013 based on the delays at the time I gave my initial deposit. I was then approached in February 2013 with a requirement to finalize my order or be subject to the base price increase. We accepted the price increase at that time to delay until August only to find ourselves subject to several accessory price changes. Granted, some of the additional options that were added on were ones that we opted for, it is still somewhat disingenuous to be inconsistent with price increases for those of us who put down a deposit a while back. We will be taking delivery of our Model S sooner than I had originally anticipated. However, with the constant price increases and the fact that if we were to take delivery of the Model S as we return our Active E in February would introduce at least a 14 month delay for receipt of the Federal Tax Rebate vs. a five to six month delay if we took delivery of the car in late 2013.
Now the question is, being that I am currently second in the nation for Active E mileage. Do I keep going on the Active E or do I start driving Model S more. I don’t have the answer to that. The “contest” with Tom Moloughney took an unfortunate turn when he got into an accident two weeks ago in Active E #1. No matter what mileage I end up with, if I happen to surpass Tom’s total mileage in in his Active E, the “victory” will be a hollow one. Perhaps I will attempt to come in exactly on the same mileage as his car as an homage to all that Tom has done for the rEVolution and BMW EV fans in particular. That is a lot tougher call to do the match of miles. Or I can honor Tom by taking on the mantle of mileage lead and hold off all challengers. I haven’t decided yet, and will have to wait until our Model S arrives.
So, if I start to blog more about my experiences with Tesla Motors… Can I still give my blog by its current title? Should I change the blog title? I am currently unsure and uncertain. Granted, it was still the Active E that made me Environmental… But Tesla seems to be delivering the vehicles that BMW should have provided to me, even five years ago when our “new” Roadster was produced; I would have been such an easy sale for BMW with the Active E.
Regular readers may note that I reported a video many months ago regarding some weird grinding noises when I plug my Active E to a Ford branded Leviton charger at a dealership. It would start the charge, but this really unnerving grinding sound occurs. The first time this happened, I unplugged my Active E and left the dealership without much of a fuss.
I experienced the same grinding sounds months later at ANOTHER Ford dealership. This time, it was during the process of assisting my mother look for her first EV. Which resulted in her choice of the 2013 Nissan Leaf SV in Ocean Blue. This time, I needed the charge, so I left it in while we did our test drive and negotiations. Apart from the grinding noise, the car did take a charge and that was that.
In preparation for the pending removal of access to BMW’s EVSE when the i3 is launched, I have started looking at several “transportable” EVSEs and decided on purchasing a Leviton EVB40-PST. This is a 40Amp 9.6kw EVSE that uses a NEMA 6-50 plug to deliver 40 Amps and was a good way to future protect from chargers that are up to 9.6kw and greater than the 6.6kw chargers out there. The Active E was rated at 7.2kw and I wanted to make use of that and the i3 is supposed to be at 7.4kw and I wanted to be ready. So, I had my electrician wire up another EVSE location a few days ago.
Well, it looks like there is an incompatibility between the Leviton and ActiveE. The symptoms are similar to the ones found at Ford. However, this time right after the grinding sound starts, the fault light comes on and the EVSE stops charging.
So, I guess I’m returning this one to Amazon.
BMW i, the sub-brand “Born Electric” that I’ve been flying all over the world to visit in both New York and London had a simultaneous three city simulcast launch of the i3 on Youtube that included Beijing to the aforementioned New York and London to its production.
It was attended by some of the automotive press, though not by one of my favorite EV writers and primary host to one of my favorite weekly video podcasts, Transport Evolved, Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield nor by respected EV advocate Chelsea Sexton. Not many of the seven hundred other Active E Electronuts got in with the exception of Tom Moloughney. I am sure Tom did a great job representing the rest of us, as he always does. [Update 4:55pm Pacific – Tom’s i3 blogpost pics]
I was hoping to get to the event, however, after watching it at the wee hours of 5:25 am Pacific time, I’m glad I didn’t. Nothing earth shattering about the announcement. BMW i has done a good job of previously communicating everything else about the car that the big “to do” was really, eh… Or since I’m writing this on the Internet. Meh.
Nikki wrote this on Twitter:
After watching the BMW i launch, I’m now convinced that @BMWi needs lessons from @TeslaMotors One comes off as aloof, the other approachable
— N. Gordon-Bloomfield (@aminorjourney) July 29, 2013
Frankly, I think that BMW i did fine, considering its cultural roots at BMW. The fact that BMW had the foresight to set up a different sub-brand in BMW i to pursue electrification, etc. is commendable but it still belabors the challenge it faces inherent to its culture (both as a major producer of ICE vehicles AND being German.) Tesla is borne of the Silicon Valley. Tesla does not have the legacy of ICE and decades of automotive culture to shackle itself to. BMW i does. It’s a good start at trying to re-make its parent into the rEVolution. I’ve been relatively happy with the service that I get as an Active E Electronut, but can’t say that I get that much more than being a regular BMW owner.
The holistic approach that BMW i proposes in its 360 Electric program seems intriguing, the GPS that directs a person to take public transportation, or the loaner ICE fleet for longer drives, or any of the other “enhancements” does take into account the concept of having an 80-100 mile EV range vehicle and building upon an external infrastructure to integrate it into. At the end of the day, I’m a Southern California driver, and it still won’t get me out of my car. I want my car to get me from point A to point B and don’t really care to use most of these enhancements. I already run a hybrid garage, so that other stuff sounds cool, but who knows if I’ll end up using it.
I just wonder if this announcement of the i3 is the start of getting Active E Electronuts ignored. It’s been over a week and change since the Active E forum has been operational. And I’m wondering if it’s a sign of things to come. The @BMWiUSA Twitter feed has thanked me for being patient, but seeing that these i3 announcements would’ve been ideal times to have discussions going on in those forums make me wonder whether it’s time for me to join FB and just see what the Active E FB crowd thinks. I’d like to hear what my fellow Electronuts are thinking as well. I see @Acevedo_Airton tweets, but wonder what others are thinking. I’m hoping for a flurry of posts on the blogs of fellow Electronuts, specifically, Mr. BMW, Gerald Belton, with as much BMW experience as he has, I’d like to hear what he thinks of the i3!
As for the presentation itself, it is a tell-tale sign when the production of the i3 launch features a bunch of BMW Board Members that frankly I would not be able to tell from a crowd versus Tesla’s announcements with Tony Stark Elon Musk. Having been lucky enough to attend the Tesla Model S Battery Swap event (which I suppose I should’ve posted on my blog, but here’s some pictures on Flickr), I can compare the productions head to head and I’m glad I didn’t spend any money flying to the bore that was the early morning announcement of the i3. Twitter and others were abuzz about the Battery Swap event. It was a jeans and nice shirt event with a club-like atmosphere and flair and the i3 event was staged and button down.
All these folks comparing the i3 with the Model S are missing the point. BMW i should’ve made the aesthetics of the i3 closer to the BMW design and gone after the space abdicated by Tesla abandoning the 40kwh Model S (not counting the Toyota RAV4 EV 2nd Gen as that vehicle here.). The i3 Coupe concept looks sleeker than the regular i3, but they really need better aesthetics for traditional BMW drivers to go for it.
All I have to say is that it was a good thing that I had to take the better half for an early morning flight out of LAX today, otherwise I would be cranky for waking up early for a live simulcast that was a whole lot of “meh”. And I’m a BIG BMW fan!
[The following was added 4:55pm Pacific]
So, it looks like it was a LOT more hands on than the initial presentation that we saw online approximately 12 hours ago.
Now, I’m jealous. Not as jealous as I would’ve been had folks been able to drive the darn cars. But actually check it out and get in and sit in the car as wrll as see the frunk (front trunk) and finally open the back to see the space in the car. It does look spacious, especially compared to the Active E.
Still, the presentation itself still rated the same meh as earlier, but the after presentation stuff ranked higher for me. Especially since the Tesla event only allowed attendees to look, but not touch the Model X.
[end additional content]
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 of the folks that I like to read often is Tom Moloughney’s blog (Aka Electronaut One) and he’s been writing about Battery Capacity loss and giving some hints on how to help mitigate it. As many readers know, it would seem that I am one of the higher mileage Active E drivers. I’m currently a little over 30,000 miles in a little over 14 months. And I find it hard to follow some of his advice as I tend to have to drive the mileage that I do and can’t really get to where I’m going comfortably if I decide to only charge to 80% SOC, so… I don’t. Regardless, the dangers of high mileage EV use is Battery Replacement! So at a little over 30,000 miles these past 14 months and change on the EV portion of my hybrid garage.
Some of the things to consider as we’re nearing the second month of samples of my Volt inspired sample of my hybrid garage. In my initial month, I did approximately 85% Electric vs. 15% Gasoline. This past month so far, I’m closer to 70% Electric vs. 30% Gasoline and a lot of that was because I decided to be a little more Rage Sane than Range Insane to my drive to Morro Bay.
Regardless. If folks decide to look deeper into my samples, they would notice that I haven’t driven my approximately $0.20 to $0.25 per mile BMW X5. This was originally because of choice than anything else. I didn’t really need to haul anything larger, pick anyone up at the airport with lots of luggage, or just feel “bigger” than the rest of traffic. So, the car sat at the garage. Well. It’s a nearly 12 year old car. A couple of weeks ago, I figured to start it… And Lo and Behold, it wouldn’t start. The battery was dead. The last time I bought a battery was less than six years ago, but one of the dangers of running a hybrid garage is IGNORING your ICE vehicles. Granted, this was the same challenge when my HOV capable vehicle was a Honda Hybrid Civic. But that car was not nearly as fun to drive as ANY of my BMWs. So, I drove the X5 a little more than we do now.
The Morro Bay drive went convertible top because the weather was ideal for it. We could have easily spent more money and gone with the X5 because we were headed into Santa Barbara and Central Coast Wine Country and could’ve opted to have space for a few cases, comfortably.
Regardless, the battery died. It had to be replaced. Luckily, the last replacement still had nine months left on its warranty and we got a 9/72 partial refund on the older battery to make our replacement approximately $120 after taxes. Basically the refund covered $17 of a totally brand new battery.
This experience has gotten me thinking of Tom’s write up and battery replacement in general. Tesla has just released an enhancement to its service and repair program that includes an enhancement to the coverage of the battery pack. They’ve already spelled out the cost for the 60 KwH and the 85 KwH battery packs ($8,000 and $12,000 respectively, I believe.) The Nissan Leaf’s battery capacity warranty has been spelled out in terms of what to expect over time and mileage I believe. i.e. 80% SOC on year 5 or something like that.
BMW i needs to do the same thing for the battery packs for the i3 and i8 when the cars are released or even slightly before the release of the car. As Tom champions, I second the motion. Potential purchasers of the i3 (of which I continue to hold on to hope that our second EV will be, though that Fiat 500e sure looks aesthetically pleasing to me… even though the Fiat does remind me of a gumdrop, but I digress,) will need to be able to compare EVs to each other. However as the aforementioned Tom Moloughney wrote, the Fiat 500e and the i3’s battery systems are identical, so I don’t really need to compare these specific cars (unless there’s a change in how each company regulates the temperature of each vehicle.) for what the expected battery loss figures would be. It’s not just EVs that lose capacity/capability as it ages, ICE cars also lose power as the cars age. That’s just entropy in action. It’s just front and center to EVs. I don’t necessarily like to lease my cars, regardless of what fuel motivates it. I would much rather own it outright and just pay for the things that keep it moving.
So, barring such information on battery replacement from most manufacturers, it would just be the responsible thing to do to put away some of the “gasoline savings” aside into a fund for a rainy day. Whether one save approximately $10,000 (the figure between the two Model S published numbers) or less is entirely dependent on the EV owner’s resources and ability to save. I think that it is prudent to put aside half of what a future EV buyer saves on gasoline toward purchasing a replacement battery pack in the future. I didn’t come to this number through ANY analytical means, just a guess, if you will.
So, about a month ago I was inspired by an article, on Plugincars.com regarding BMW’s plan to allow i3 drivers the ability to rent a traditional gas (internal combustion engine/ICE) BMW when they need it, to figure out how often my family uses ICE vs. EV.
Seeing that there are two of us who use vehicles in the family, I figured to count the FAMILY’s usage of Gas vs. Electric.
So, I decided to log my mileage of use for the period between March 6 and April 5, 2013. It was a rather interesting log. We travelled a total of 2,948 miles in this period of which we did 2,499 miles Electric vs. 449 miles on gasoline. I anticipated a heavier gasoline use this past month as we were going to help our nephew move. Ended up not using the X5 for this and he only needed a few items which fit our ActiveE, so, score 1 for the EV use.
However, as things do tend to go to the mean, the 328i ended up with a recall. Of all things, in the electric wiring of the vehicle. As a result, had to do almost 100 of those miles gasoline and 22 of the approximately 100 miles was using a 5 series loaner.
Good thing the BMW ActiveE folks were not planning on the Morro Bay FB meetup until tomorrow, otherwise, I would be adding another 460 miles on gas as I’m not crazy enough to wait the hours needed to charge the Active E on the drive north and south to the meet.
Hats off to some of my fellow electronauts who live a fully electric life, I’m not sure if I can quite do that yet.
These brave souls all live fully electric, or at least nearly so – check out the blogs of Todd Crook, Peter Norby, and Pamela Thwaite
Todd is impressive because the whole family uses the ActiveE, solely! Peter has both an ActiveE and a Honda Fit EV, and Pamela Thwaite‘s family has 3 Electric cars. A Tesla (roadster, I believe), Active E, and a Mitsubishi iMiev for the kids.
Still, at 85% electric vs. 15% gasoline. I think I’m doing well… Saving a lot of money and enjoying the ride! Figuring that my 2499 electric miles is closer to $21.64 and my 449 miles of gasoline is closer to $85 (using an inflated approximate $0.19 per mile as I do not have the cost per mile for the 5 series vs. my $0.17 per mile calculated convertible 328i cost.) If I were to extend $0.17 per mile to the 2499 electric miles, I’m saving about $400 on not buying gas. (not even factoring in $100/hour per the currently controversial articles on Tesla’s leasing program.)
When we get a Tesla Model S (unless BMW comes out with a more aesthetically pleasing i3 or cheaper i8 BEV, not hybrid) and with that range, we would probably not need to drive as much gas as we do now.
In London for a quick trip and decided to stop by the BMWi Store in Mayfair. Mayfair is a pretty glitzy part of London and the first location identified by BMW to present it’s BMWi sub-brand with a permanent and prominent location. Amidst walking by the Aston Martin dealership and others in the area, I have to admit that the strategy may just be the right one.
Outside –
Inside –
To view the entire set… My good friends at Flickr…
This location was originally set up prior to the BMWi World Tour that we visited in New York City and currently features older versions of the i3 and i8 Concept. What makes this location different than the World tour is the space is much smaller and the vehicles themselves are older versions of the i3 and i8.
The i8 at this location was the one featured in the film Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol (AKA Mission Impossible 4) and was the first of the i series that I’ve ever seen in any media.
It’s still a beauty.
Another difference is that the carbon fiber shell in this display was of the i8 and not the i3 as was seen on the World Tour…
Front of the car –
Back of the car –
The young lady, Jess, who hosted our visit to the BMWi store explained that the biggest challenge that they have at the location was having to explain to interested parties that they would have to wait to take delivery of the i8. Some of the more affluent have tried to resort to offering more than BMW is asking for the car to get it delivered NOW. Alas, this writer does love the look of any of the BMW i8s, but will have to resort to considering the i3 or i3 Coupe if I were to stick with the BMW line.
With the location in Mayfair, I would think that BMW would be moving more of the i8s than the i3s… But, I guess time will tell.
Next time, I’ll have to try to get to BMW Headquarters and see the exhibit of 40 years of BMW Electrics that they tweet/G+ post from time to time.
Oh, and we’re ONE WEEK from my ONE YEAR Anniversary and the Active E is going in for “regular” service on Tuesday. Here’s to wishing for a quick turnaround!
So, got my Active E on Friday and didn’t really put any miles on it this weekend.
We had our annual holiday party with our friends at our house, so, didn’t really do much driving. I did let a couple of friends test drive the car to get them ready to EVolve into the EV lifestyle. Consistent with the theme of my blog, we discussed this as PURELY an economic decision on top of the PERFORMANCE of a BMW Electric vehicle and it’s scheduled successors in the BMWi family.
Glad to say that it looks like it’s performing as it did prior to the week long service in the shop. Apparently a new technician worked on my vehicle this past week and I have to say that I can tell. The original technician was very meticulous and the vehicle felt restored to me as before. However upon inspection of my vehicle this weekend, I noticed a spare plastic piece that seems to be lose and I can’t figure out where it came from. Additionally the carpet covered pieces in the trunk don’t seem to be flush against each other as opposed to how my original technician delivers the vehicle to me.
I have not had time to check launch control. However, I did notice that I finished my commute to work about 3-4% state of charge LESS than I normally do. The weather is a nice Southern California 65-70 today, HOWEVER, a lot of people seem to be off as I was going closer to 75-80 on parts of my commute that would normally be slower (have to keep up with the rest of traffic.) So, that’s probably it.
So, what was the permanent fix? Basically a plug that fits in the E-motor to keep the lubricant back to the junction between the motor and the gears so that it does not get spun off by the torque of the motor. I don’t have a picture, but should I run across one, I’d make sure to post.
