We can forget about the concept of defraying the cost of driving an electric MINI E through sponsorship. At least for now. It appears that wrapping a leased MINI with (tasteful) graphics may run astray of the lease terms. Looking for ways to make the $850 per month lease payment more affordable for the less-than-well-heeled, I posed the question to MINI Product Manager, Vincent Tennessee Kung.
“Modifying a MINI, like any vehicle leased by MINI Financial Services, may violate the terms and conditions of the contract regarding modifications done to the vehicle as it may also affect as the new vehicle warranty. Therefore, we do not recommend or endorse a wrap,” replied Vincent. “This is an engineering field trial more than anything else and with the flying doctors who will be checking in on the cars, such activity will be noticed.”
I received an email from our local MINI dealer this morning, stating that “According to MINI USA, your E MINI application is very special and at the top of the list!”
The email included a two-page follow up MINI E Application document, along with the request to “Please fill out the answers truthfully, as we approach the final stages of a lengthy application process.”
I gave the local salesperson a call to get the skinny, and he was quite forthcoming.
Apparently, over 13,000 people applied for the one-year MINI E lease. MINI has been winnowing down the applicants and this second application form will be used to enter the final stages for the lucky few. Once the application is submitted, it must pass muster with BMW finance and proof of liability insurance must be provided. At that point, an electrician will come out to check to see if modifications are necessary for the home electrical system to accommodate the MINI E charging box.
We’re in the midst of doing the math to determine the feasibility of the $850 per month yearly lease. If gas was still over $4 per gallon, we’d be in like Flint.
Seeing that the 2009 Detroit Auto Show was dominated by electric car technology, I lucked out to score the second of my two interviews with Nancy Gioia, Ford’s Global Director of Sustainable Mobility Technologies and Hybrid Programs. My goal was to look into what the coming years will bring with specific regard to Ford’s electric car efforts. As with other automakers, electrification has a past (the Ford Electric Ranger), a present (the current Ford electric-hybrids), and a future. Our conversation was inspiring. As it turns out, a full-fledged market-ready Ford electric car is neither far-fetched, nor far off …
Much was made of the remarkable popularity of the MINI E electric car around the time of the LA Auto Show. Numerous news outlets repeated the line that “10,000 drivers have already applied to lease the cars, at $850 a month.” (hybridcars.com). Now it appears, with the recession barreling along, that the interested throng has been whittled down a bit.
Bayerische Motoren Werke AG will lease 250 of its new Mini Es in Southern California and 200 in metropolitan New York and New Jersey by March. Applicants, who will pay $850 a month for the zero-emissions car for one year, are outnumbering the models available by 4-to-1, according to the Munich-based carmaker.
2,000, 10,000, or 25,000? Just before the LA Show, Motor Trend remarked:
10,000 people have forwarded their email addresses to BMW, hoping to become customers. BMW expects 25,000 applicants by the time the list closes and BMW chooses its 500 U.S. guinea pigs.
I went through the initial MINI E lease application process back in mid-November … never got a peep back from MINI regarding the status of my application. Not one word … not even a thank you for the application. Did they not like my choice theoretical cross-country co-pilots? Did I fail the test? Perhaps because I participate in too many social media outlets and MINI considered me to be a loose cannon?
I’m more than a little irked, because I was – and still am – willing to put up $850 a month to participate in the experiment. While the company had taken a drubbing in many online forums for the cost of the lease, I had justified the expense and was ready to go forward.
What’s it like to drive the Mitsubishi i MiEV electric micro car?
We had our chance to drive and ride in the little critter at the Electric Drive Transportation Association’s (EDTA) ride and drive event in Washington, DC early last month.
The i MiEV is smooth, quiet, and quite unlike a golf cart that some might imagine it to be … not only that, it’s quick off the line to boot. Out in the crowded streets, the i MiEV’s diminutive dimensions are a huge asset. With plenty of that trademark immediate electric motor torque, the i MiEV proves itself to be a fun scoot through city traffic.
Interior space is maximized, and while it is a bit tight, the i MiEV didn’t feel nearly as small as I expected it to be. I had the chance to both drive and ride in the rear seat and had no problem getting into or out of the seats. (Four doors are a great thing in such a small car!)
Don’t expect to see i MiEVs roaming American streets en masse any time soon. The only i MiEVs here now are strictly for testing. While the i MiEV is slated to go into production this year, no plans have been announced for importation into the States.
Nevertheless, MPGomatic is floating the meme for a Celebrity i MiEV Racing Series …
