Don't creep me out

There has been some discussion about dialing in simulated 'automatic like' creep into EVs, just like a gas car with an automatic transmission. If you drive an a gas car with an automatic you know that when you take your foot off of the brake the will start to roll forward if you are in 'Drive'.  EVs do not do this by nature and engineers have been looking at programming this into EVs so they feel more like gas cars....this is just ridiculous. Here is a hint - EVs are not gas cars so why should they act like them.

I feel like we are taking a step backwards here...EVs are the new transportation technology, why carry over legacy characteristics - now is the time to do it a new way, a better way, the right way.  The only reason we have creep in gas cars is because it was too difficult or expensive to engineer it out.

Tesla dialed 'creep' into their Roadster - I did not like it, felt weird. My foot is not on the accelerator and the motor is not turning so why should I be moving.  Unlike a gas car electric motors do not turn or run until you tell them to - gas cars are always running when on - it is why they creep with automatic transmissions...they are always engaged when placed into 'Drive.

These days of intelligent vehicles there is little fear of rolling back on on a hill as most cars have hill assist to prevent this...I'm sure engineers could do that in any direction the car is pointing...just please no creep.

Is creep making the car more dangerous?  Let's think about it...you can't here it or feel it when your EV is on so what is there to tell you the car is rolling forward very slowly, after taking your foot off of the brake, other than your wits which these days are absent in most drivers due to all of the distractions we face in a modern car.

One must wonder if any unintended acceleration accidents are because drivers who took their foot off of the accelerator while in 'drive' were caught off guard when rolling forward, panicked and then slammed their foot back down on the accelerator thinking it was the brake.

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

Yes...the ActiveE is efficient

I've completed 4,600 miles in just over 3 months.  During that time my ActiveE or Serenity as I affectionately call her has been calculating how efficient my driving actually is.  Result....4.0 mls/kWh or in other words for every kilowatt hour used I can go 4 miles.

So what does that really mean as far as going the distance....since the ActiveE battery has a capacity of 32 kilowatt hours I should be able to achieve on average 128 miles (4 x 32 = 128)....well not exactly since the ActiveE only allows me to use around 27kWh of that battery for driving so realistically I should get 108 miles (4 x 27 = 108) of range per charge or as I like to say MPC (miles per charge)

So is that good?  It sure is.  I do not baby this car, I use the AC when needed or the heat, I play the radio and sometimes I accelerate hard.  On the highway I usually stay with traffic and most importantly I'm driving 90% of the time with eco-pro off.   80% of my driving are on country roads with an average speed of 30mph...this EV works perfectly for me.  Again this is the overall average, on some days where I've reset the trip computer and kWh indicator to see how high I could go if I babied it I've achieved over 5 mls/kWh after 30 or so miles.   So that means 135 plus miles...I have not had the opportunity to try that yet but one day I will.

By the way...the EPA rates the ActiveE at 94 miles range or 33 kWh/100 miles so I'm doing better than the EPA figures.  I'm currently at 25 kWh/100 miles

East or West

So what coast does the most miles in an ActiveE???  There is one way to find out.....go to wotnogas.com and check out the friendly competition between the left and right coasts.

If you are an ActiveE driver and have not signed up yet please do so....let's have fun with this one.

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.

Just imagine

One of the benefits of driving an EV is that you begin to look at things a little differently...in a good way.  You start to look at the world around you and think about how EVs can improve our environment and not just the green one but our cities.

For example, the other day I went to give a presentation a fellow ActiveE driver in Jersey City.  While I was crawling along in heavy city traffic, surrounded by cars of all sizes and large diesel trucks, the noise was almost deafening - remember, I've been driving a very quiet EV for nearly 3 months in the suburbs so I really notice loud vehicles now.  I could even feel when a truck or car with loud exhaust began to roll the engine/exhaust vibrated all the way into my cabin....not pleasant.  Then there was the pollution, either from the trucks or cars that obviously have never had a tune-up.  Finally the heat....I could really feel the heat radiating off of the vehicles around me.

As I crept along in a calmer and more relaxing environment, inside my ActiveE, I started to think about what would happen to this city if 50% of the cars were electric.  Just imagine the benefits to the residents of Jersey City and commuters and visitors to the city.  Less noise, less pollution and less heat...would we be less stressed and anxious during our commute and would people feel more comfortable walking around the city streets....just think about it.

EV racing

Now this a really cool story from Autoblog Green about Grand Prix de Pau Electrique

One of the quietest and cleanest races I'm sure...not to mention safer since the danger of fire is nearly eliminated.

I've posted videos of both the 1st race and 2nd.  Turn up the volume so you can hear it.

2012 Grand Prix de Pau - GP Electrique Race 1

2012 Grand Prix de Pau - GP Electrique Race 2