Woo Hoo ,249 turned 1500 miles last night. Everything is running smoothly. I have been forced by nature to us the AC ,it works great ,and the batteries don't seem to mind too much...39.5 miles yesterday .When she was plugged in for the night we had 54% on the meter. Not too bad.

Just to give a perspective ,I had to take my other car Monday because my son had a friend over ,and they needed a ride. The VW hasen't been in use for a while and what do you know,the battery was dead. We needed to go because of time constraints ,so I had them help pop start the car. It started right up (like it should) but quit about a block away from home. We walked back and got my wifes car ,drove them to where they were going,came back home ,got MINI e 249 ,went to work and when I got home my brother inlaw gave me a jump start and the VW lives! Seems a light had been left on ,which drained the battery,which if I was driving the car regularly ,probably wouldn't have been noticed,but after a few days ,the battery is depleted. On the other hand ,I still ,have not been to a filling station since recieving the MINI E ,lets see how long I can go..

Wow,this car is a killer. A few days ago I came upon a group of birds in the road ,and since they did not hear me coming ,I ran over two of them,yes they died. Today on the way to work ,same thing,but with squirrels ,one got away ,the other ,not so lucky. Maybe I should just drive down the street with my hand on the horn...

Been a few days ,my daughter got married and we catered the wedding,needless to say ,I was preoccupied.
I got a package in the mail that was a welcome kit for the MINI e trial testers. There was a MINI E hat,a numbered key chain,a pen,and reusable shopping bag. Oh ,don't forget to look closely as there is "something secret" in there that we don't want anyone else to know about. That is all i will say about that.
The charge finally has been 100% for about a week now . I really have no idea why she never fully charged till now. Less range anxiety is what it amounts to.
Car and Driver Magazine did a short test on a MINI E and it was less than positive. If they asked the folk who drive them everyday ,they might have a different view than driving one for a few hours. for all intents and purposes it is the perfect commuter car . I drive to work everyday and have yet to be dissapointed by the lack of range or power . There is an abundance of both for my needs. As I drive the car,my perspective on the range issue is that one has to know the limitations as presented. A range of 100 miles on pure electric power is quite a feat ,especially at highway speeds. Battery technology must be advanced to provide power as well as range in a vehicle that is to be used on a daily basis. Weight ,size of the battery pack,amp hours ,etc.. must all be considered and hopefully will be ,to produce an affordable , electric car that will take us down the road to energy independence . Besides the fact ,it has been nice not to have to stop at a gas station for the last month. Personally ,I love it(the MINI e ) and if I could buy it ,I would.

Things are quiet and running smoothly this week ,really nothing to report,the car finally got to 100% charge ,I think it was fully charged before ,it just didn't show on the readout correctly,maybe there is an amount of "float" with the charge as I have seen it go up and down several times in a day.
The only thing that is bothering me now is ,after waiting,and waiting,and waiting some more (but ,I am VERY patient after all) for the car to arrive (9 months from the initial contact to delivery) it was very satisfying to finally have 249 home in my garage. One of my employees ,knowing my car, saw another like it and approached the driver ,well after a short conversation ,the other driver was a town employee and he bragged how the car cost only $10.00 a month to lease! Makes me feel used at $850.00 a month. And we have town workers who couldn't give a damn about the car ,just that it only cost $10.00 a month.In this economic environment they should realize that a lot of the folk leasing the MINI e are stretching their budget to make the car payment,and quite a few backed out because they lost their job .Money is tight right now ,don't have someone come by and show that you(MINI) discounted to move more cars to municipalities to get your energy credits. After all no one likes to be kicked in the face or be made a fool. That is how I felt after hearing from my employee.

Well after yesterday morning without 100% charge I checked everything to make sure it wasn't me doing ,or forgetting to do something to charge the car last night before turning in. Around 8:30am was the time that I hesitantly put the key in its slot and pressed the power button. The needle rose and I watched as it settled at 81% then as I sat there wondering why it won't give me a full charge ,the needle starts to rise! Slowly it crept up ,but I couldn't wait any longer ,had to go to work.as I drove down the road the needle went to 91%, the battery temp was a cool 73 degrees . Now I have driven 30 miles today since there was an errand that needed to be made and the gauge is at 50% .
Still good ,but I would like to get in the car and find it fully charged, even once in awhile would be nice. Other than the full charging problem ,249 has been very trouble free and a real blast to drive ,beside the fact ,I haven't been to a gas station in a month!

The 220 cable was installed on Wednesday , NOT Tuesday like I had originally planned,but it is here. I was so excite ,then I found the cable was about 3 feet too short to reach the car the way I normally pull it in (nose in). So now I have to "thread the needle" and back her in ,or I can find another place for the motorcycles,not gonna happen. So for the next 11 months I am going to have to back up the driveway,make sure there isn't anyone blocking the way and go back and forth till I can open the door to get out and plug her in.
I had plugged her in at 12pm yesterday ,I had to ferry kids so I took the TDi . What do you know .after being on the new charger ,I get in turn her on and same as before 94% charge. It would be nice to see 100% ,but now I can charge at a super high rate ,and just being plugged in yesterday after the install for 45 minutes brought the charge up waaayyy more than with the 12amp cord.
Did anyone notice how massive the cord is? Its HUGE! Looks like a garden hose more than a charger cord.I was told due to UL listing as a houshold item it needed to be overbuilt. The one at the dealer is higher amps ,but half the diameter. Go figure.

I got an email from the installer and the 220 cable will be here on Tuesday! It is hard to describe the feeling that the looonnnggg charge wait will be a thing of the past and I can drive her without the fear of running low on electrons.So far I have driven #249 approx. 680 miles and I would have more if the charge was higher most of the time.Now it is easy to understand why we are being reimbursed for the lack of 220v cables by the deferment of the first month's payment.

Finally achieved a full charge . Wow twice since I got it has the charge been 100%. The readout said I had 109 miles to go which is more than I ever would go in a day,but it is nice knowing that I do not have to worry about the battery level .

It has been a weird day of weather with sun ,rain and hail . 249 was plugged in last night and was at 81% charge this morning. I am still afraid of turning the AC on just yet due to the drain on the batteries,but it has gotten into the upper 70s and will ,I am sure get hotter. Next I will be thinking about heating her in winter and the drain that would cause... Go figure.
I got a call from MINI finance today and they informed me that the first month payment has been deferred ,and the first payment is due August 13th . I had already been informed of that numerous times.
Also,I tried to sign on to the MINI E website ,but it told me to hold on and wait till I was contacted by them..In a few weeks. That is why I have recorded my experiences with 249 from when she was delivered,no lag in memory and keeping it fresh.