Cars and Croissants - Father's Day

I'm a car guy and it is the main reason I wanted the BMW ActiveE and drive it every chance I get.  I'm also a believer in EVs and love to show other car people just how good this drive technology really is.  I'm often doing events where I get to show the car and talk about my experiences - it is a lot of fun - but there is one event that is probably the most fun for me....Cars and Croissants.

This is a group of car people that get together a couple times a month, in local towns, to show of their amazing cars.  I do mean amazing....we are talking Mclarens, rare Ferraris new and old and don't be surprised if you see an ultra rare Mercedes 300SL Gullwing.  The cars that show up range from antique to brand new exotics to ultra tuned.  All free to be there and you have complete access to these cars and their owners....it is a car nuts dream and you meet some really fantastic people there.

There must have been 150 cars

So why am I there?  To show off my BMW ActiveE, it generates a huge amount of attention.  The most recent event I attended 6 people followed me around on foot to see where I would park....as soon as I parked a couple ran up to the drivers window to ask me how did I get one and who did I know.  These guys love cars and EVs are no different.   I had a constant flow of people checking out the ActiveE and asking questions, really good questions, from 8:30 to 11:30am...I barely got a chance to walk around myself.  It was well worth it....talking shop is a huge bonus with an EV and being a BMW EV driver is even better.

Oh...just a few more Lamborghinis

Of this I have no doubt

The best comment I got all day...probably ever...was from a woman that was walking around the ActiveE and tapping it's sides....she then looked up at me and said 'I thought it would be heavier'....well ok then  ;)

I actually used to have one of these Scamps - it was my first car and it had a 318

Past the GT-Rs, NSXs and Supras we find some American classics

It was Father's day so I suppose my ActiveE could be considered the Son of....

One of the members came up and thanked me for bringing my ActiveE.  He said it was a real eye catcher because there is nothing else like it and they are always looking for new cars to talk about.  I will be going to as many of these as I can and I'm happy to report a Volt was present....I hope we get more EVs

It is a great time to be an EV driver

4,000 on the cheap

4,000 miles at a cost way less than gasoline....are these cars some of the best kept secrets in transportation...yes.

I'm not a scientist but I do know enough to understand when I'm saving money, let's look at what I'm getting at.

I just reached 4,000 miles in my ActiveE, all on electricity of course.  My previous car got a real world average MPG of 22.  That is what I got by simply dividing the gallons I took when filling up into the miles driven each time I filled the tank.  Gasoline cost around $3.70 per gallon by me - cheap for gas.  So I divide 22MPG into 4,000 and I get 181.9 gallons which I multiply by $3.70 and get $673.03 - that is pretty much what it cost me in gas to drive 4,000 miles in my previous car and this is in about 75 days.

Now lets look at the ActiveE - the average cost to go 100 miles in an EV is around $5 in electricity, but I'm Northeast and we get hammered with our rates so I'll bump that to $7 of electricity to go 100 miles.  Again I do the simple math of dividing 100 by 4000 and I get 40 and then multiply that by $7 = $280.

Lets see, gas powered = $673 and electric powered = $280.   My insurance is the same and leasing the ActiveE is about the same as the other cars I lease but the EV adds a few more unseen cost savings...no tune-ups.  That's right, none.  Yes, BMW covers maintenance anyway but that runs out after some time and BMW might remove that one day, Mercedes did.  We all know how much regular maintenance can cost....so the ActiveE, as luxury cars go, is pretty reasonable for me.  I'm not one to pay attention to what a car costs me because I focus on the 'fun' a car brings me.  The ActiveE brings me 3 benefits, it is fun, it is economical and it is clean.

Lastly, I'm seriously enjoying the car and so is my family.

ActiveEveryday

I have had the ActiveE for about one month and have done just over 1,600 fun miles, I'm really liking this EV.  I use it daily which would explain my play on the name in the title....this EV is active and everyday.

I use the ActiveE whenever and wherever I can

I may not put on the miles like some of my other fellow Electronauts but I do lots of short trips which is a real test of the usefulness of a car, I can tell you this car is useful and fun.  With my commute and errands I easily rack up over 40 miles a day with lots of start/stops.  What I mean by start/stop is turning the car off for a bit while I do my errand.  These trips could be a mile down the road or 10 miles to the next town....it really depends on the need but with the ActiveE it is easy.  I hop in and turn it on and I'm off enjoying my little drive.   On the weekends I often do 100 miles or more and my family is along for the ride.  We take lots of different trips here and there all in comfort, a real testament to the effectiveness of this EV as a daily car.   I do not think twice about using it - it is our first choice and I find myself looking for errands so I can go for another quick trip.   I would say the ActiveE meets 80% of our transportation needs - that is huge.  We still have our diesel SUV for the long trips and hauling all the family stuff but it is now the 2nd car.

I think BMW engineers also shop at Costco - like a glove