EV – Page 2 – My ActiveE Made Me Accidentally Environmental

Here, There, and EVerywhere – Day 17

A quick note of thanks to the Beatles for inspiring the title for this series of posts. This is the seventeenth in a series of posts written about our trip that will be published four weeks to the day of the trip.

Missed Day 16, click here.

Day 17 – Drive on Monday, May 18, 2015

Everyday we like to set out goals. One of my aunts in New Jersey is celebrating her birthday today. So, we decided to head down to Whiting, NJ to visit her and then continue on our way. We’ve decided NOT to go to the South on this trip as the weather reports don’t seem to agree with us. We’re thinking of positioning ourselves to get to Hershey, PA tomorrow and are looking to find ourselves either in Hershey, PA or on the way to Hershey, PA from New Jersey, depending on how today’s familial parts go.

However, before we get there, the goal is to get to Whiting, NJ.

First statistic we check for is to see what we gained by plugging in 110V/8A. Looks like we gained 27 miles overnight. Not bad. Those miles are enough to get us to the Edison Supercharger.

On the way to Edison, NJ. We spotted another Random NJ Model S. It was raining, trying to follow my cousin in his car in a caravan, and I was in unfamiliar territory, so I may not have been as friendly on the road.

Edison Supercharger

We took the other set of four from the last time we charged.

There were already two Model S in the other set and didn’t want to split anyone’s charge. And because I was curious to see if there was a difference in charge speed from this set than the other set. I didn’t perceive a difference.

Check out the “alien car” that I caught in the panoramic shot.

We stayed in Edison for a near maximum charge as we know we were going to probably be giving a ride to my uncle and aunt when we get to Whiting and wanted to not have to worry about the charge. The current New Jersey superchargers are all further from the New Jersey shore and Whiting is closer to the shore than the chargers. Considering the fact that New Jersey already has three supercharge locations in the state, it is quite confusing not to have one close to the shore. Atlantic City, Long Beach Island, Tom’s River, those would be good locations for the first shore-side New Jersey supercharger.

Originally, the navigation to Whiting, had us taking the Garden State Parkway, but by the time we were done charging, it changed to route us through the NJ Turnpike. The Turnpike would have allowed us a route through Hamilton Marketplace again for a 30 mile boost, but decided to skip it as we had enough charge to make it to my aunt’s, drive the car around a bit, and then get to Newark, DE and beyond. Besides, we’re now going through some superchargers and areas that we’ve already covered for our entries in the beta of the (now released) Teslarati App for iOS.

So, we headed to Whiting, NJ.

Whiting, NJ

Well, we did it again. I got confused by the exits to get to Whiting from the NJ Turnpike that I ended up having to take the next exit. Now, it’s not as bad as the 15 mile one-way that we experienced in Vermont on the way to Ice Cream (and neither was I distracted by any Bear, Deer, or Moose signs). I think I’ll blame it on jughandle turns.

For those unfamiliar with jughandle turns, aside from the Wikipedia link that I embedded, I’d like to define it. The jughandle turn is an oddity that seems to exist primarily in New Jersey. As I understand it, the theory is to take folks that would be making a left or U-turn and force them to make those turns along with traffic that is crossing a highway.

Either way, the exit we were originally meant to exit looked like a rest-stop to me that I ended up bypassing it. Luckily, we charged enough to do a LOT in Whiting and beyond, and it was no big deal. Our original route on the NJ Turnpike was supposed to take us 55 miles, so, it looks like we had another 15 mile diversion.

With 175 miles of range left we really didn’t need to charge, but I believe that it was a novelty for my aunt and uncle to see us plug a car into their house. Besides I do like to collect “places that we’ve charged” and it’s even cooler when it’s thousands of miles away from home.

We didn’t really do much driving, we drove around with a few of my cousins, a couple of my aunts and uncles in the Model S. We were able to charge at the full 12A at my aunt and uncle’s house. While we were visiting, we decided that we would just spend the night at the same hotel in Christiana/Newark, DE as we were impressed with how comfortable that hotel was.

We left my aunt and uncle’s house with 188 miles of rated range heading toward the Hampton Inn and Suites in Christiana/Newark, DE. That means that we gained 13 miles of rated range having birthday dinner.

Hampton Inn and Suites Christiana – Newark

We checked back in to the Hampton Inn and Suites Christiana – Newark. This was the same hotel that we stayed at on Day 9.

It was raining when we got here and we checked in with 104 Rated Miles on rated range and we know that we’re only three miles to the Newark Supercharger. Additionally, even if we lost the 10 miles that was the worst vampire loss that we experienced earlier in the trip, we will be fine.

In the parking lot of this Hampton Inn was a fellow Model S traveler, who I found out on TMC’s Random Model S thread was TMC user EdA‘s wife’s Red Model S.

So, a fine few days of Random Model S sightings for us and we made sure to report it on the thread on TMC. Now I had a few goals in mind for this trip, and one of those was to “be” the spotted Model S on that thread. So, as we head West on the return part of our trip, I’m a little disappointed that we have yet to make the Random Model S spotting thread. How often do folks spot a California Model S around here anyway?

Oh well, time for bed, dreaming of Hershey’s Chocolate on the next day’s drive.

Go on to Day 18. Click here.

Here, There, and EVerywhere – Day 16

A quick note of thanks to the Beatles for inspiring the title for this series of posts. This is the sixteenth in a series of posts written about our trip that will be published four weeks to the day of the trip.

Missed Day 15, click here.

Day 16 – EV Advocacy at Sustainable Morristown Sunday, May 17, 2015

Today’s plan is simple, hang out with my cousin in the morning and join the NJEAA guys at the Sustainable Morristown event in the afternoon.

The previous day, we took the time to figure out what the optimal rate of charge was for the Model S on my cousin’s 110V outlet. We placed it at 8A and the charge held. As I previously mentioned, the Model S will reduce the speed that it charges when it senses stress on the wire, and here is a picture of the Model S automatically reducing speed of charge (see the “Charge Speed Reduced” message on the dash below.)

To prepare for the Sustainable Morristown event, we decided to go ahead and wash the car. After all, NJ is not in a drought, so took the opportunity to clean the car and present it in the best possible light (if you want to see how I usually wash the car @ home, you can see my first Periscope (by Twitter) attempt to instruct folks on how to do a car wash of the Model S.)

In the meantime, before we went to the EVent, we found the communities near Morristown, NJ to be a Random Model S spotting bonanza.

The first one we spotted was at the church parking lot.

We spotted the LKTRFYD NJ plates parked across from us.

On the way to the Sustainable Morristown event, we spotted a blue Model S on Speedwell Avenue heading the opposite direction from us.

Sustainable Morristown

The event was held at the U Driveway of the Vail Mansion. The driveway was barricaded, but we were let in by Airton Azevedo. As soon as we parked the car, Chris Neff introduced me to a reporter covering the event for the Daily Record.

Unfortunately my comments didn’t make the reporter’s article. But darn, I was good. I wonder if she didn’t like my answer to the question regarding range anxiety. (I don’t really have it, notice the California license plate?)

Got a few good panoramics of the cars that participated in the event. Most of the NJEAA folks that was at the EV Meetup the previous Monday were here. Unfortunately, I missed Tom Moloughney’s “red” i3.

Pay attention to the 10 x 10 Green Tent that is at the left edge of the picture below. Michael and Pamela Thwaite do a lot of EV advocacy, and they were smart enough to set up some “shelter” from the sun as they interact and educate with the public.

While we were hanging out at the EVent and talking to the public, I spotted a third Silver Model S that drove by on the street. This car wasn’t participating on the EVent, it seemed to be a Model S that is just passing by.

At the EVent, I was fielding a lot of questions about range. Hopefully, bringing a California Model S to a New Jersey event hopefully helps hammer home the point that electric vehicles are not only limited to “short trips.” My wife and I met with a lot of people, both locals and folks from further away, like Westchester County, New York. People were intrigued by the cross-country travel aspect of the car as soon as they realized that we were there from California.

We were the “go-to” folks to field the question of range anxiety, which [Spoiler Alert] we don’t have. We had a lot of folks that approached us because, for a while, we were the only Model S at the event and they had questions for that, before they notice the California plates. To which many first thought that we worked for Tesla (to clarify, again, we don’t.)

Where’s the engine is another common question at these EVents, so we like to open the frunk and show the lack of an “engine.” Additionally, people really enjoyed seeing the little 18650 Panasonic battery (see below comparing it to a pen, AA, and AAA batteries, it’s the green one) that we carry around for these types of EVents.

My cousin and his wife hung out with us a little, since they had an event in the evening, we walked them back to where their car was parked.

The fourth Random Model S sighting. Though with the California Manufacturer’s plates, that tells me that it’s a Service Center Loaner.

The Sustainable Morristown event wasn’t all just cars.

Some great chalk art at the entrance of the event.

But, you know me, I’m kind of an EVaholic and Andrea Giangone and his blue Model S joined the EVent. Andrea’s Model S has a cool little mod.

There were some blue accents on the Tesla logo on the trunk of his Model S.

Ben Rich showed up later with his modified 2014 Zero Motorcycle.

This one is modified to have faster charging. Notice the two chargers on the side of the motorcycle. He obtained and installed two Elcon 2.5kW chargers from Hollywood Electrics. So, adding 5 more kW of charging to the built in 1.3kW charger of the motorcycle yields him 6.3 kW of charging speed. Not bad.

Many were quick to point out how sharp the mounts were that Ben installed to connect the chargers to his motorcycle. We guess he doesn’t need to carry a passenger with him.

Remember the 10 x 10 tent that Michael and Pamela Thwaite use for their EV advocacy, it’s even more impressive how they carry it. The trunk of a Tesla Roadster is one of the smallest trunks that I’ve ever seen. It’s design is such that people can fit one set of golf clubs in it. The Thwaites, however, are expert at packing things and their chairs and tent fit in the back of the roadster.

Aside from the ZeroMC, there was also a Fit EV that was parked beside our Model S. Airton’s 2nd Generation RAV4EV and then the Andrea’s Model S.

Sal Cameli‘s Nissan Leaf has a URL for his www.ubuygas.com website.

We spotted a second Ford Focus EV of the trip.

A great shot of the rears of the EVs.

A better shot of the second Ford Focus EV of our trip.

Michael Thwaite’s Roadster.

Chris Neff’s BMW i3.

Another shot of Ben’s Zero MC. Like we previously mentioned, watch out for those metal blades that he mounted those two chargers on.

Airton bidding us farewell until next time. Perhaps Tony Williams will figure out how to enable the 2nd Generation Toyota RAV4EV for supercharging. He’s already on his way to getting it running on CHAdeMO (or as he calls it the JdeMO).

Randolph, NJ

It was a full day and we plugged in for the night and started charging at 8A again.

Go on to Day 17. Click here.

Here, There, and EVerywhere – Day 15

A quick note of thanks to the Beatles for inspiring the title for this series of posts. This is the fifteenth in a series of posts written about our trip that will be published four weeks to the day of the trip.

Missed Day 14, click here.

Day 15 – Visit Northern New Jersey, Saturday, May 16, 2015

So today’s visit to New Jersey was really about just spending time with my cousin and his wife.

The location in Randolph New Jersey was the same one that we charged at 110V/6A (or approximately 1 mile per hour) on Monday evening (Day 10). We arrived the previous evening with 191 miles of range on the car (from the Paramus Supercharger) but we ended up driving to Rockaway, NJ and back and that consumed 17 miles of rated range.

We returned back to my cousin’s home with 195 rated range left. Since I forgot to take a photograph of the rated range when we left in the morning, I surmise that we added around 20-21 miles overnight.

One of the benefits of a casual day with family is we get to fiddle with things and found the optimum setting at my cousin’s 110V is 8A and not the 6A that I settled on Monday evening. The additional 2A (or 33% improvement in charging) raises the average mileage gain per hour from 1 mile per hour to 2 miles per hour. Since we figure to be “around Morristown, NJ” by Sunday, we’ve decided to join our NJEAA friends at their Sustainable Morristown event.

Now astute readers will notice that aside from my beautiful wife (and co-pilot), the only other folks that have driven our Model S on this trip have been my cousin in Ohio and my cousin in New York. Readers may wonder what about THIS cousin, the one in Randolph, NJ. He has both the other two cousins beat. He was the same one that visited us in Southern California during our Model S Pickup weekend. He and his wife were the first ones in the family to see and ride the Model S, he actually has driven our Active E and rode in my wife’s Roadster as well. Though I did offer for him to drive the Model S, he declined.

Driving Hybrid and Hybrid Garages

We decided to “drive hybrid” today and leave the Model S charging and we saw that this 8A held in the charge process.

Leaving the Model S in his garage to charge at 110V/8A reminded me of something that we did do to prepare for this long EV trip that we forgot to document on our Pre-Trip primer. As long time readers of the blog know, we don’t just drive Electric Vehicles. We have a hybrid garage that we’ve been running since we first acquired the Active E. In fact, we’ve been tracking the percentage of miles that we add on EV vs ICE as we were inspired by the tracking that Chevrolet Volt owners have published. We moved from approximately 80% EV/20% ICE in our first year of tracking to a 95% EV/5% ICE split in the second year. However, the danger of driving a hybrid garage with such a high amount of EV driving is that we have “killed” the battery on the ICE (and almost kill the battery two more times since then.) So, we figured with a long trip like this we needed to do something for our BMW X5 battery.

The simple solution was to plug the car in.

Basically, the contacts are connected to the battery posts of the X5 and plugged into the 110V outlet in the wall. Basically minimizing the need to start and drive the car once a week.

Blue Morel Restaurant and Wine Bar – Westin Governor Morris

We left the car to continue charging and rode in my cousin’s hybrid (non plug-in) for our night out. We went to the Blue Morel Restaurant and Wine Bar for dinner that night.

The Blue Morel has a great menu and the quality of the food and service was top notch. Normally, when we find ourselves this close to New York City, we go to restaurants in the City. But this trip we’ve decided to skip the City, so we picked a restaurant in Morristown and was duly impressed.

Being in a restaurant in a state located near major airports and the ocean, we opted for mainly seafood options. We imbibed in J.J. Prüm Kabinett Riesling, Wehlener Sonnenuhr, Germany, 2011 to pair with our appetizers. The wine was so good, that we carried this same wine choice forward to go with our dinner. I had the Swordfish and my wife had Chilean Sea Bass. For dessert, I shared the S’Mores that the Blue Morel had on its menu with my wife. The quality of the food and service rivaled some of the finer restaurants in the city and we were glad to have dined there.

Go on to Day 16. Click here.

Here, There, and EVerywhere – Day 14

A quick note of thanks to the Beatles for inspiring the title for this series of posts. This is the fourteenth in a series of posts written about our trip that will be published four weeks to the day of the trip.

Missed Day 13, click here.

Day 14 – Drive on Friday, May 15, 2015

Before we head North, we figured that this would be a good time to look at the map that’s been at the bottom of every day of the trip to review where we’ve been. It would seem that we’ve “reached our beach”, (an homage to those guys in Maryland that inspired us to take our trip by their “Reach the Beach” EVent in April. No matter where we go, we’re not planning on going any further East (even if we go South, all the other states will be further West than York Beach, Maine), so we’ve decided to color the lines Yellow now (to signify our Westward journey home to the Golden State.) At this point, we’ve traveled through 19 of the 50 states, supercharged 41 times (at 39 different Superchargers, one of which was un-reported to supercharge.info until I reported it via TMC), charged Level 1 (110V) on four occasions (at two locations) and yet to charge at Level 2 (either J1772 or Tesla HPWC.)

Today’s goal is to get to the Ben and Jerry’s Factory Tour, additionally, we figured to get a charge for both the car (and ourselves) at the Green Mountain Coffee Roasters (aka Keurig (or the K-cup) folks) visitor center in Waterbury, VT. Originally we thought that we would go to Maine today, but since we’ve already been to York for dinner the previous evening, it was time to think of either returning West or going South, so we thought to take the traffic filled route to go to the Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, MA and/or the Pez Visitor Center that we saw advertised on our first stop in Connecticut.

But first, we had to get charging at the Hampton Inn, White River Junction.

We didn’t use much to get here from Hookset North Supercharger.

Additionally, we lost one mile of Rated Range from last night until this morning. Since we’re not sure of the charging situation ahead, and Plugshare comments on the CHAdeMO that has been installed in Vermont, seem to indicate that they were not very reliable and at lower power (25kW vs 50kW), we figured to range charge and just use whatever we can find.

The statistics before I moved the car to the CHAdeMO station.

Hampton Inn, White River Junction – CHAdeMO

When we initially purchased the CHAdeMO adapter for the Model S, it was as a convenience item. A “just-in-case” item that we got for Southern California. In fact the review and user-guide that I initially published a few months ago was written with that purpose in mind. However, in a state, like Vermont, that has only one supercharger 130 miles away from our destination, this convenience item quickly became a necessity.

The statistics after I moved it to the CHAdeMO station.

The NRG eVgo/Green Mountain Power CHAdeMO station at the Hampton Inn, White River Junction looked operational.

Model S charging door is open and ready to accept the Model S to CHAdeMO adapter and begin the charging session.

I signed up for the service, but the card will be arriving at home (in California) later in the week, so I’m hoping that they can do this remotely with a call. The screen requests the RFID card.

However, from the time that I attached the adapter,

read the Instructions to the side of the CHAdeMO charger,

the screen changed from waiting for the RFID card to “Preparing to Charge.” Well, that was a pleasant surprise, apparently the NRG eVgo/Green Mountain Power network partnership has not been officially launched yet and they were offering free 30 minute CHAdeMO service.

So, after timing out of the swipe screen it defaulted to “free charging mode” and we were able to start charging.

Now, we were planning a range charge, so I was going to check to see if we can extend the 30 minutes past the limit.

Per the Model S we’ll need 50 minutes to get to maximum.

Getting a decent 104 miles per hour.

If you notice, I placed my “handy dandy” EV Card from Pluginamerica.org on my dash for any CHAdeMO EV driver to contact me while I headed back to the room for the 30 minutes of the initial charge.

As predicted, it stopped after the first 30 minutes.

As big as the Model S battery is, I figured to start the CHAdeMO for the remaining 20 minutes and stop it part of the way and move to the J1772 chargers, the reasoning is CHAdeMO (and superchargers) slow down to a trickle on the charge for the last few electrons (so as not to burn out the batteries.) During this slow-down, the speed that the car will charge will be no better than a Level 2 connection. However, the Model S battery is very big and even at the last 20% the CHAdeMO can continue at its rapid speed for “quite a while.” Confident that I’m not inconveniencing anyone who might need CHAdeMO, I let the car charge a little more, and ensured that I still had the “handy dandy” EV Card from Pluginamerica.org still on the dash for anyone that might need the CHAdeMO. I returned a few minutes later to move the car to the J1772 stations.

I attempted to get the J1772 working remotely. However, the customer service at NRG eVgo is unable to remotely initiate on a network that is not yet active. Additionally, I had no card to start the J1772 session, so I just went back to the CHAdeMO and relied once again on my “handy dandy” EV Card from Pluginamerica.org should anyone else stop by and need to use the station. Needless to say, the movement between CHAdeMO and J1772 may seem comical to anyone who may have been watching me at the hotel parking lot, but I was trying to be courteous to any other fellow EV driver who may need a charge.

Alas, it was a wasted effort as I could’ve just stayed on CHAdeMO the whole time and been done sooner.

We rolled out of White River Junction, VT at near the maximum, basically, when we were all ready and packed into the car.

In driving toward Ben and Jerry’s I noticed the road in Waterbury, VT that the navigation was telling us to exit on is VT-100.

This made me chuckle because that was the old terminal emulation that was very popular on BBS days as well as early Telnet sessions. That was the old VAX Terminal (VT) 100 emulation protocol. For all you younger geeks and/or non-geeks, it’s a very geeky thing that made me snicker.

Either way, we were enjoying the evergreens and mountain routes without snow. (It’s May and we’re not in the Rockies, so it’s all good.)

I don’t know if it’s the construction by the exit for Waterbury, VT that confused me or was it the fact that the following sign was spotted on the drive to Waterbury, VT.

As readers of earlier posts know, since Minnesota we’ve been freaked out by the Deer Crossing sign, but to see a BEAR Crossing sign, that’s even more distressing. Either way, we ended up missing the exit. Of course, I thought that’s ok, I can always turn around.

Well, the sign for the next exit and LEGAL U-turn was 15 miles away. Luckily, with a Tesla a 30 mile detour is also “no big deal.” Had we been driving a Leaf, I probably would have made an illegal U-turn at one of the ones set aside for law enforcement and/or emergency vehicles.

So, that 30 mile detour was filled with more picture taking.

And even more stress, filled with our nemesis, the Deer Crossing.

And in Vermont, apparently they “kick it up a notch.” At first they’ll warn you that they’re crossing, but the Deer brought a friend. And they’re crossing with Moose.

Then if that’s not enough. It’s just Moose.

Glad that the view wasn’t all stressful. A teepee?

Followed by a barn, are those solar panels we see? Good for you Vermont!

I’m stressed enough as it is, and sure am glad that we didn’t miss the Waterbury, VT exit a SECOND time.

Here’s the sign we were looking for.

Ben and Jerry’s Factory – Waterbury, VT

When we pulled into the Ben and Jerry’s Factory, we were surprised to see that the NRG eVgo/Green Mountain Power folks were busy installing a similar set-up as the one we left in White River Junction CHAdeMO/J1772 combination charging location in the parking lot for Ben and Jerry’s.

I approached the gentlemen that were working on the chargers and was told that they expected to complete the installation “later today.” They were somewhat non-committal on the completion of the location. We had a plan to catch some Level 2/J1772 charge at the Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Visitors Center (aka GMCR or Keurig) in town, so there’s that if they didn’t finish the charger by the time we finish our visit.

I looked back at the parking lot sending as many “good vibes” that I can to get the guys to complete the installation for us.

We went ahead to sign up for the Ben and Jerry’s Factory Tour.

We took a picture of this Ben and Jerry’s RV that was parked at the entrance to the factory tour. Apparently, early in Ben and Jerry’s history, they sent their Ice Cream across the country in an RV that burned down, which generated massive publicity that helped them launch their brand. It would seem that the RV tour is the direct ancestor for this year’s Tesla Model S powered #SaveOurSwirled tour.

A display explaining the same #SaveOurSwirled activism that Ben and Jerry’s has launched.

We were not allowed to take photos of the factory floor, so we didn’t take any pictures, but we could take a picture of the room that they served us our ice cream in.

No, I’m not giving you attitude, my better half just caught me with Ice Cream in my mouth as I was taking a picture with my favorite Ben and Jerry Ice Cream Flavor.

Can you figure out what it has in common with our stop in New Jersey?

Here are some of the top flavors.

A shot of the giant “secret” ingredients for Ben and Jerry’s Ice Cream.

Even with Ice Cream flavors, Ben and Jerry are trying to retire their use of fossil fuels.

A few more flavors that have been “retired.”

I would’ve loved to try that Creme Brulee, but it’s retired. There were a few more in the “Flavor Graveyard“. We headed back from the tour to the parking lot, with our “fingers crossed” that the CHAdeMO will be operational.

Ben and Jerry’s Factory – Waterbury, VT – CHAdeMO

I like to say that it is better to be lucky than good. And boy were we lucky today. Apparently, we were very lucky according to Henry Sharp (whose response I received as we finished the Ben and Jerry’s tour) as it would seem that many had not been able to get the CHAdeMO at the White River Junction to work for them. Additionally Henry reported the same thing as Plugshare complaints that, many of the CHAdeMO installed in Vermont were all lower powered (25kW and not 50kW).

The guys that I had met with and were completing the installation spotted me and waved me over. They were complete, and though they’ve installed the others before without a car to test it with, I was there to plug in and test the installation.

Both the J1772

and CHAdeMO were available. Guess who is christening the new CHAdeMO.

Of course there was some set up before this very nice picture of you know who at the charger.

The NRG eVgo/Green Mountain Power CHAdeMO was also a willing participant to the 30 minute free deal. So, we charged away.

We got a respectable 121 miles per hour on CHAdeMO at Ben and Jerry’s.

We were waiting to meet up with the Green Mountain Power Company representative, so we charged as close to 100% as we could. In the meantime, we spent the time in the parking lot meeting people who were curious about the car and what we were doing. We met a nice young family and a set of their parents visiting from India. The family was from Boston and had just looked at the car at the store in Boston the previous week. We discussed driving to Vermont and Maine with the Model S and how much freedom it was to travel without a single drop of gasoline. Furthermore we discussed the economic benefits of EV driving vs. ICE.

After speaking time with the family from Boston, the Green Mountain Power representative, Jenn (whose title is Innovation Champion (how cool is that)) arrived in a company EV (a Volt, if I remember correctly) and we discussed our trip and ourselves with her. We thanked her, her company (Green Mountain Power) and NRG eVgo in providing the L3 CHAdeMO for us to use. Apparently they expect the “free” period to be until the end of May, so timing is everything. Since we had to travel 130 miles to the Brattleboro Supercharger, we stopped charging after our conversation and we rolled off.

Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Visitor Center

Our next stop is to the Green Mountain Coffee Roasters (GMCR or Keurig) Visitor Center.

This visitor center was where we originally planned to stop for J1772 charge, but this time around it was a stop to get some coffee. We figured that they would have some varieties in here as well.

It was a good thing that we already got a charge at Ben & Jerry’s because there was one car charging and another waiting (a Ford Focus Electric Charging and Leaf waiting). This was the only Ford Focus Electric that we noticed on the trip.

Before we left the visitor center, an older couple asked “what the car was.” We told them that it was a Tesla. Though they’ve never seen a Tesla before, they were quite familiar with EVs, apparently their son drove a Leaf and they were impressed with the range of the Tesla. Apparently their son lives far enough that he is unable to reliably take his Leaf to visit them in Waterbury. I wonder if he will hear from his mother ~~extolling~~exhorting him to have purchased a Tesla instead so that he would have range to visit his parents.

Henry Sharp has listed his HPWC available on Plugshare and he has an adapter from Roadster to Model S at the location. Apparently a few Model S have already taken him up on it and he reached out to offer us a charge at his home. However, we were running late and we politely declined. We will have to meet the genius behind “The CAN SR/JR” some other time. We stopped at the Brattleboro Supercharger next.

Brattleboro Supercharger

The Ben and Jerry’s location was approximately 130 miles one way from the Brattleboro, VT supercharger.

As late as we ended up in Brattleboro made us reassess the rest of our plans for the day, we decided to skip the Basketball Hall of Fame and Pez Visitor Center for this trip. This decision freed us up from going through what I expect is heavier Friday traffic through MA and CT to get to NJ for the evening, we decided to head to Albany instead.

As for the Brattleboro location itself, we were there later in the afternoon, and I am unsure whether the location is a “safe” one. There was “something” about the location that made me feel inherently unsafe.

Using the skip the Interstate rubric that we incorporated into this trip’s guiding principles from Day 5 yielded us a beautiful scenic route through VT-9 (which is North on I-91 by an exit or two).

It looks like there were a lot of antique stores (not that we photographed any) on this drive between Brattleboro and Albany superchargers. There was also a lot of beautiful country to be experienced.

Fun elevation changes and the like is not a big deal when you have enough charge and the destination is only 85 miles or so away. Which means Model S 40kWH drivers can enjoy this drive. (For that matter, an Active E driver/Leaf or whichever electric vehicle you choose would be fun on this leg between the two spots, as long as you can find an appropriate charger for you (even 110V as Thomas J. Thias aka @TheAmazingChevyVolt) often points out to other Twitter users. As long as you have access and time to charge.))

Before entering New York on this drive, there was an interesting Obelisk on the drive.

In doing some further research after the drive, it would seem that we had passed by the Bennington Battle Monument. Perhaps, if we were not in a rush to head back to Randolph, NJ, we would’ve stopped.

As opposed to the blurry Rhode Island or the obstructed Massachussets signs, here is the state line and sign for the Empire State. It looks a lot better than the one we had taken when we were going to Long Island a few days ago.

We found this interesting store at the side of the road. We didn’t stop, but there was something wildly compelling about it that we took a few pictures of it.

After the foray into Vermont, what we’re now saying about our old nemesis the Deer Crossing sign – “at least it’s not MOOSE or BEAR.”

Some more barns and the like.

Albany Supercharger

Another mall location. Met with a former Roadster, now Model S owner from New York as well as a couple more locals. They were quite friendly here and we had a good conversation with the mostly local crowd. We didn’t feel like dinner at a mall, so we skipped it, but did go to the large Whole Foods Market that was a short walk away.

By the time we left the Albany, NY supercharger to enter the New York State Thruway, it was getting very dark and we didn’t take any pictures.

However, as opposed to the drive to Vermont, we were never alone and there was always another car either ahead or behind us. Going at rather high speeds, but still, it was comforting to note that we “were not alone.”

Paramus Sales, Service, and Supercharger Center

Another place that tells us that “we’re not alone” is at the Paramus Sales, Service and Supercharger Center. The chargers are open 24 hours, the store and service are not. We drove in there later on a Friday evening and the lot was very dark. There were three other Model S charging when we pulled up and at least another four joined throughout the time we spent charging at that location. I tried to take panoramic shots in the dark, but that’s the best look you can see of the location.

The distance from Albany, NY to Paramus, NJ is slightly longer than from Ben and Jerry’s in Waterbury to Brattleboro Supercharger.

We charged “pretty full” as you no doubt remember, my cousin in Randolph was the one that had the outlet where we charged 110V/6A. And 1 mile per hour is fine for “holding off vampire loss” but not for continuing travels.

Randolph, NJ

Even so, plugging at 1 mile per hour, when we’re expecting to be here for a while means we’ll get above that 191 miles of Rated Range and onto the 200+ in no time.

Besides, tomorrow is a pretty casual day in New Jersey.

Go on to Day 15. Click here.

Here, There, and EVerywhere – Day 13

A quick note of thanks to the Beatles for inspiring the title for this series of posts. This is the thirteenth in a series of posts written about our trip that will be published four weeks to the day of the trip.

Missed Day 12, click here.

Day 13 – Drive on Thursday, May 14, 2015

As we mentioned, we had two definite goals for our trip to New England. The first is to visit one of the “Summer Cottages” for the “mega” rich of the Gilded Age. Looking at the list of Newport Mansions, we decided to “go big” for our one mansion and chose “the Breakers.” The additional goal for the evening is to find ourselves in Vermont in the evening so that we can go to the Ben and Jerry’s Factory Tour the next day.

It was another one of these “funny” overnights when the Rated Range went from 129 overnight to 130 in the morning. Probably parked the car with the charge “on the margin” or it could be the pack “settling in and balancing” either way the overnight swings between -10 to +1 on Rated Range when left outside, unplugged, overnight.

After checking in last night, it was interesting for my wife and I to note that we both have never slept in the state of Rhode Island. So, we’re making that a “small goal” for this trip. To find states that neither one of us has ever slept in and add it to the list. So far, this trip, that meant the stop at Delaware and this one in Rhode Island have made two additions to the “Dennis slept here” list. Not quite President Washington’s claimed locations, but a small goal met on our list.

So, our hotel, the Hampton Inn & Suites, Newport-Middletown was really close to our first stop at The Breakers, Newport, RI.

The Breakers, Newport, RI

The Vanderbilts built the Breakers as a “Summer Cottage” from New York. It’s a pretty impressive cottage. Now, for an even more ostentatious “house”, the Hearst Castle in San Simeon, CA takes the cake, but that is for another trip.

I took pictures of our mileage from the hotel to The Breakers.

We were not allowed to take photographs inside of the house, but took full opportunities to take photographs from the outside.

If you’re going to take a picture at a summer house, you must wear your sunglasses. It’s an unwritten “rule.”

I figured to take see if I can interest folks to check out Transport Evolved by wearing my t-shirt. It’s a conversation starter.

We took the opportunity to take some “nature” shots.

Newport has some tight streets, but without traffic, it’s a fun little drive. I wonder how busy these streets get in the summer, which I gather is the peak season.

Left Newport and headed to East Greenwich for a supercharge.

East Greenwich Supercharger

The supercharger in East Greenwich, RI is the only set of superchargers for the state. It was located less than 30 miles away from Newport, so getting there was “no problem.”

The superchargers were located at the edge of the shopping center.

The Connecticut local that we met at the Milford North Supercharger told us of the grocery store (Dave’s Marketplace) by these chargers and we figured that this would be a good time to replenish our supplies. It was this sort of hint that we hope to share as we assist in filling out the beta of the (now released) Teslarati App for iOS.

On the way to the grocery is our own little “hint” for those travelers that wish to replenish other “supplies.” The wine shop (the Savory Grape) next to the grocery is well stocked and has a great selection of wine. We went in to browse. They had a few notable bottles, but seem to specialize in Italian wines more, though they carried a good selection of other regions. What struck me in visiting their shop was the layout of the shop was not by region, but by “body style.” If you click on the link, they can explain it better, but I took it as how does the wine “play” in your palate.

After replenishing our supplies at the grocery store and browsing the wine shop, we were off to Massachusetts.

On the way to Auburn, MA, we spotted ONE windmill, not a wind-farm, just a windmill. Granted, it looked to be the most high-tech of windmills that we’ve spotted on this trip.

I wonder if that’s all that’s needed to power Rhode Island? 😉 After all, Rhode Island IS the smallest state in the Union and currently has the same number of Representatives as Senators.

We thought that we were taking a picture of the Massachusetts state line when we accidentally took a picture of this sign that was set up before the state line.

Though not a state sign, it is a very welcoming sign for our veterans.

Auburn Supercharger

We don’t know why there is a pond adjacent to the Auburn, MA supercharger that has a rocket model, but, if you see the rocket, you’re by the right place.

This supercharger is located at the edge of the mall, as many of them seem to be, and the nearest store is a Macy’s Home store, which leads to a less busy, less parked cars near the superchargers. However, the superchargers in Auburn, MA is pretty busy.

Like many chargers near big cities, we didn’t speak with the other three Model S that were there. They all had Massachusetts plates and were “locals” who didn’t get out of their cars, so we didn’t chat with any of them.

So, we went ahead grabbed some electrons and planned for our stay in Vermont.

We looked at Vermont and noticed that there were no superchargers on our route to Ben and Jerry’s. The one supercharger that was installed in the state was further South of the one we’re using in New Hampshire. There are, however, several CHAdeMO and J1772 stations, so we decided to pick a hotel that was near a CHAdeMO station and settled on the Hampton Inn, White River Junction, VT. I sent an email to Vermont resident, Tesla Roadster owner, creator of the “world famous CAN JR and its newer counterpart the CAN SR”, Henry Sharp to see if he has any recommendations. Beside, worst case scenario, we also planned on several J1772 routes as backups along the way. Besides, neither one of us has slept in Vermont before, so that’s a bonus.

The CHAdeMO at White River Junction is on the NRG eVgo network, so I figured to go ahead and open an account with them. Even though I won’t get the card until I get home, eVgo does have a pretty well staffed support line that can activate a CHAdeMO remotely, if needed.

With that in mind, we headed off to the last supercharger on our Route North (as we were not looking to cross the border into Canada) and to Vermont, the Hookset (North) Supercharger

and another state line crossing today.

It struck us as odd that New Hampshire has some really wide roads compared to some of the more populous states.

Hookset (North) NH Supercharger

We were surprised at how early we got to the Hookset (North) NH Supercharger. Realizing how close our stop at White River Junction, VT will be we figured to go into the rest stop.

Many of the restaurants at the rest area were unavailable that evening. Only the diner was open, or packaged sandwiches from the General Store.

We figured that we would range charge here and head to Vermont, where we didn’t have any supercharging options on our route to the Ben and Jerry’s Factory Tour. Inside the rest stop, we spoke with the gentleman at the tourist information booth and found out how close we are to Maine.

After this discussion, and paying attention to the time, we figured to go to Maine for a lobster dinner.

We went online to look for a restaurant for our lobster dinner in York, Maine. We targeted the Harbor Porches Restaurant at the Stage Neck Inn and made a reservation for dinner.

Calculating that we didn’t need a range charge to get to and from the Stage Neck Inn, we charged what we needed and headed out to “have lobster in Maine.”

On the way to Maine, we found these signs interesting because we don’t have them in California.

Dinner with a sunset view of the ocean is something that West Coast folks enjoy often. So, we rushed off to the restaurant for our dinner and hoping for a view of the sunset.

Another State Line crossing to Maine.

They’re so friendly in Maine that they provide TWO State line welcome signs.

And we got to Maine before sunset.

Stage Neck Inn, York, ME

Well, remember that thing I said about the sunset…

We’re in the EAST COAST. They get the SUNRISE here. (yes, I had a little “DUH” moment there.)

What do I care? We had LOBSTER in Maine for DINNER.

That’s a victorious look behind that bib.

We got out of dinner with the sun already set.

Another Tesla Motors random sighting at the Stage Neck Inn.

The car was parked outside of the Inn with the owner nowhere to be found, so we didn’t get to chat with them, but it was cool to see a Maine Tesla Model S.

A picture of our car in the dark.

Nearly 74 miles from NH to ME, means we have more than enough to get back to the Hookset (North) superchargers again.

We hit 39,000 miles on this drive, and yet another picture of significant mileage on the car.

And just like that, we’re back at the Hookset (North) Supercharger.

Hookset (North) NH Supercharger

Eagle eyed readers will note that the mileage between our to York Beach, ME and from York, Beach, ME is not exactly even. This is because of the oddities of these “rest stop” superchargers. We had to head North for several miles before we can turn around to head over to York Beach. Luckily, when one has a ton of miles, a little detour is only inconvenient and not “deadly” to the drive.

The drive to Vermont from New Hampshire was scary. The route was dark. REALLY DARK. There was hardly any traffic and our nemesis, the “Deer Crossing” sign kept popping up. But, we pressed on.

The darkness in the drive is striking in the lack of any “light pollution” that we normally experience in Southern California. Even when driving between Las Vegas and Southern California in the evening, the route is rarely as dark as the drive we experienced in Vermont.

Hampton Inn, White River Junction

We made it to our destination just passed midnight.

We parked the car with a 176 miles of Rated Range to make it to Ben and Jerry’s with a vertical climb ahead of us. Remember that we chose the hotel with a CHAdeMO at the location, since we can charge in the morning, we really don’t care what the charge level is since we expect to have enough to get there and back (assuming we can catch another charge on the way back South.)

Go on to Day 14. Click here.

We changed the color of the route map to go Yellow for our Westward journey. Since we reached the furthest Eastern portion of our drive, we’re now making the u-turn Westward.

Here, There, and EVerywhere – Day 12

A quick note of thanks to the Beatles for inspiring the title for this series of posts. This is the twelfth in a series of posts written about our trip that will be published four weeks to the day of the trip.

Missed Day 11, click here.

Day 12 – Drive on Wednesday, May 13, 2015

When we decided to go North a few days ago, we made a list of the things that we wanted to get to, and we had two things on the list, visit at least one of the mansions of Newport, RI and the Ben and Jerry’s Factory Tour in Westbury, VT.

A few weeks prior to our trip, Ben and Jerry’s sent a Model S that they customized to tour the country in what they are calling the #SaveOurSwirled tour. Well, they were in San Diego and Los Angeles, but I was never able to catch them anywhere close. As many readers may have noticed, I have a “thing” for frozen desserts, so, we decided to take OUR Model S to their factory and pick up some Ice Cream ourselves.

Our appointment with the Tesla Syosset Sales, Service, and Supercharger Center was at 1:00 pm so, we figured that we had the morning to sleep in and have some fun, so we did.

We left my cousin’s house with 176 miles of rated range left, that meant a two mile range loss from the night before.

Since I was inspired by one of the “best” threads on teslamotorsclub.com called Model S Nature Pictures, it was one of my goal’s for this trip to get the “best” Model S Nature Picture that I can for our car and we found a pond nearby to try to take pictures in.

We actually submitted one of these pictures to the thread. Though I have to admit that it’s funny to have a nature shot from Long Island. Considering how close we are to the city. Here are a few of the other shots from this “nature” shoot that we did that we didn’t submit to the teslamotorsclub.com thread.

We figure that we were in “nature” as this sign instructed us not to feed the wildlife. Once again, for those that actually live near nature, we’re city kids from Southern California, so I figured a “Please Do Not Feed the Wildlife” sign is a good indication that we’re right by nature.

Since we had time and wanted a better drive, we decided to take the Parkway back to Syosset.

Tesla Syosset Sales, Service, and Supercharger Center

After our leisurely drive in Long Island, we found ourselves about thirty minutes earlier than our appointment, but decided to check in and the service center was able to take us in early. We were playing this day “loose.” We hope to make it to Newport, RI in the evening, but will stop off along the way if we are unable to. So, having the service center take us in early will give us a fighting chance of making our goal for the evening.

We had the gasket repaired at the Syosset Supercharger, Store, Service Center and in the process they also repaired a lose nut that became lose and caused the window to not roll all the way up. The repair was adequate, however, the fit wasn’t great, so we made the determination to have this repaired (again) when we get home.

After 0.2 miles of turning the car in, we got it back, fully charged, repaired and ready to go.

We’re easily amused by wildlife signs for animals that are smaller than Deer. (As you remember, around Minnesota, we developed our “Deer Crossing” phobia.)

So, this sign was intriguing to us, and can be found in the street by the service center.

Not counting the Model S that we saw charging at the Syosset Sales, Service, and Supercharger Center, we spotted a “Random Model S” on our drive toward Rhode Island.

As we look behind on Long Island,

a few tolls later, we find ourselves in Connecticut.

On our way to our first supercharger in Connecticut, we spot the flag of something from our youth, though now called WWE, we used to call it WWF.

Darien I-95 North Rest Stop

Though the distance from Long Island to these superchargers is rather insignificant, we opted to stop at all the I-95 superchargers to continue to assist in providing content for the beta of the (now released) Teslarati App for iOS.

The traffic Northbound on I-95 into Connecticut is quite impressive. It was so slow that we were pretty efficient with less than 300 Wh per mile for our consumption efficiency for the approximately 50 miles from Long Island.

Going inside the rest stop, we saw this sign for the Pez Visitor Center, and penciled that in. We probably won’t be hitting it on this drive, but would make a note for either the return drive or the future.

After getting our charge and information on the Pez Visitor Center, we rejoin the I-95 traffic.

As with other Random Model S that we’ve spotted, we were excited to see the following Grey Model S in traffic ahead of us.

There was actually a white one that I spotted on the Southbound I-95 around the same time, but it was going too fast for me to take a photograph of.

Now, most people would be irritated with the bumper-to-bumper traffic that we experienced in Connecticut on I-95. However, after experiencing the agoraphobia of the earlier part of the drive, there was something comforting to be driving in orderly freeway rush hour traffic. Yup, it’s the weirdness of being away from home for too long.

And with that, we found ourselves at the Milford I-95 North Rest Stop.

Milford North Supercharger

We drove into this supercharger and found one of the stalls being used by a local.

We spoke briefly with the other Model S owner. Apparently, he had moved to Connecticut decades earlier from California and we were among the first Model S owners that he has met at this supercharger.

This supercharger was very close to the previous one, but we’re adding content to the Teslarati App for iOS so we figure a few minutes of stopping would be good.

We figured that we would be able to reach Newport, RI for the evening so we made arrangements to find and book ourselves a hotel to stay the night.

Along the way to Newport, we caught this “EV-friendly” license plate on a decisively non-EV Volkswagen.

I suppose that the driver could be preparing for an EV.

With a destination in sight, we determined that we could add a stop along the way.

We decided to go get pizza at Mystic Pizza. For those that are not Julia Roberts fans, Mystic Pizza is one of the first two movies of Julia Roberts’ career. It is also a real pizza parlor in Mystic, CT, so we figured to get pizza there before we headed to Newport, RI.

Spent the drive enjoying the view outside, as well as the view from the passenger side view mirror.

Some nice sunsets.

and then we find ourselves at Mystic, CT ordering Pizza to go.

A photo outside.

And another one inside.

And no, we didn’t spot Julia Roberts there. With pizza in hand, we continued on our trek to our hotel in Newport, RI.

As we crossed into the Rhode Island border, you know what it means when the signs are blurry.

And the bridge to get there

So, after 112 mile drive from the last Connecticut supercharge, we stopped off at the Hampton Inn & Suites, Newport-Middletown for the night. We’re pretty close to tomorrow’s first supercharger for the night, but we ended the night with 139 miles of Rated Range left and even if we lose ten miles overnight, we’re fine.

Go on to Day 13. Click here.

Pondering a Blog Name Change…

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.