I did not know the MINI's were only electric, without a reserve ICE for battery recharge. Are you saying the MINI does not incorporate a small ICE to recharge the batteries? The "electric volvo" I was referencing has a small ICE, that kicks in to recharge the batteries after the electric wheel motors' batteries are depleted. It nets to 160 mpg, with the car running only electric most of the time. So what happens with the electric-only MINI if you are not home yet and the batteries are depleted? Also the PLM electric MINI has a 15-20KW ICE.

 

http://www.autonews.com/article/2008...289508976/1197
Save a ton of weight by not putting a conventional engine/tank in. Suppose one of those battery chargers would boost it enough to go another 20 miles or so in an emergency?

Hand crank generator?

 

I personally would LOVE to have this one. Those stats are amazing and not needing to fill up as often (though us MINIs don't really have to that much anyway ) would be amazing. I would really miss the loud engine though, but maybe I could get a speaker set to play engine noises just like that blow off valve speaker system

 

I must say after watching that video (who killed the electric car), I am very disgusted with how naive and selfish car companies and oil companies can be. They want to suck every bit that they can out of oil, but they are destroying the world as they are doing it. Personally, the day MINI sells an electric MINI I will trade mine in for handsdown.

 

Memories of "The Italian Job"......according to the DVD, the MINIs used to film the tunnel scenes were all electric, apparently because of safety regulations that prohibited combustion engines in the tunnels.

Different topic, but one result of lower US gas comsumption is that taxes which now fund highway construction & repair (and in some states, Highway Patrol) have decreased also -- which means that sooner or later we're going to see increased taxation in SOME form in order to continue to fund highway maintenance and highway police.

 

I live in LA and I worked on the Italian Job. I REALY want one of the new Electric MINIs. My office even has free electricy for plugin cars. Not to mention a better parking spot :D

I just hope it's more Tesla than EV1. I guess I just hope it's a MINI more than anything else. I have an MCS with a fair amount of work done to it, which is great except I have to drive across LA every day, and gas is not cheap anymore.

 

Am I the only one that thinks a MINI with 640hp should get a much better time 0-60 than 4.5 seconds? My unmodified GTO does it in 4.8, and its only got 400hp. Even with an extra 1000 pounds for batteries, the MINI should about the same weight as the GTO.

 

http://gas2.org/2008/07/23/bmw-mini-...m-summer-2009/
another article on the mini electric car.

 

I heard they are going to have bright green metallic roofs/mirrors.
The same color that the new '09 convertibles will be available in!
Here's the link on leftlanenews.com

http://www.leftlanenews.com/bmw-to-b...ia-market.html

 

Know what's funny? I lived overseas for 4 years and never once saw a line for gas... and everyone drives a small and no one ever says "I need a bigger car" they always say "your lucky because next week I'm buying a smaller car".

Also, they don't take out loans, they will walk or take the bus for six years to save up $40,000.00 to buy a SMART car so they can get 74 mpg. We pay $20,000 and only get the 45mpg one. WTH?

 

Always remember where energy is derived. Yes electric cars are relatively green (their batteries are highly toxic and all batteries have to be replaced) but where does electricity come from.... either COAL NUCLEAR OR HYDRO. The vast majority is either coal or nuclear. Nuclear is where we need to be (that is a political debate I would rather save for a different time) but if you are getting this electricity from a coal powered source.... tell me what is the point besides financial? Now if we could only get more nuclear points have a viable storage location for nuclear waste and convert our fleet to electric cars... that might just solve much of our concerns about global warming and pollution.

 

Batteries do contain a lot of toxic metals and other chemicals, but the current state of battery recycling is *very* good. I'm sure with the batteries used in electric cars, the situation will be even better. Since replacement of the battery pack probably isn't going to be a DIY job, that virtually guarantees that the batteries will be recycled and not end up in a landfill.

And while many electric cars will be deriving their power indirectly from burning coal, the efficiency of producing the electricity in one central location and then distributing it to the cars via the established power grid is going to be a *lot* higher than using thousands or millions of internal combustion engines (in varying states of tune) to convert gasoline into mechanical energy.

I'm with you, though - I'd like to see a lot more use of nuclear power, but even if every electric car in use were "refueled" from a coal-burning plant, it would still be a big step forward.