Clean Air Vehicle Stickers and Second Service Visit

A true miracle happened this past Friday when the Clean Air Vehicle stickers arrived from the California DMV which allow me to travel in the carpool lane solo. We've had the car since January 16th so that's roughly 4 months and a week. I spent way too much time getting the decals. Numerous factors all came together to create the perfect storm leading to the delay. I hope when the i3 arrives, the process will be painless.

As luck would have it, our car went in for its second service visit at just under 9000 miles, before I had a chance to even drive in the carpool lane. Thankfully, the service went smoothly with no surprises and I picked up the car this morning. Drove a 2011 328i loaner and put 101 miles on it. Fuel cost was $21.50. Those miles in the ActiveE would have cost approx $3.00 in electricity from my in garage fuel pump, aka charger.

One soon becomes so accustomed to the wonderful driving experience, smooth starts, quiet drive and instant torque that after a while you start to take it for granted. A loaner car helps you quickly realize just how fantastic the ActiveE really is. I would say it's as drastic a difference as say driving a 325 and a M3. I'm not saying the ActiveE is as quick as an M3, it's not. I'm referring to the overall differences one feels when driving the two vehicles. It's like night and day. Speaking for myself that's how I feel. I find myself looking forward to driving the ActiveE and missing it when I have to drive something else.

Time to put the hammer down and start putting on the miles!

Charged up in Santa Clarita, CA

While public chargers are sprouting up all over the place, one city they so far haven't is Valencia, CA. However, 9 miles away in the Kohls parking lot in Santa Clarita right off the 14 freeway is a ChargePoint Level 2 charger, free for public use provided you have a ChargePoint card available via their website. Yesterday, I met my Mom and her husband Gary there for a early Mother's Day lunch at the Chili's near there. Charger worked great. The drive from Long Beach was 63 miles with a slight incline and a few hills towards the end. I kept the cruise control set at 67 or so and didn't have much traffic. I arrived with approx 35 miles left. I only needed to get back to Burbank for work where I could charge for 8 hours via a regular outlet but after charging up with the ChargePoint Level 2 charger, I could easily have made it all the way back home to Long Beach. An added bonus....the drive to work from Santa Clarita was mostly downhill meaning I used less battery power per mile than I did to drive there.

As the 8000 mile mark quickly approaches, I continue to LOVE driving the ActiveE!

New charger installed

New charger installed

Just had the ChargePoint charger installed via a grant from the ChargePoint America program. If you're in need of a charger, jump on it quick before the money runs out. What's great about the ChargePoint charger is that you can view your usage online, get email or text messages when your vehicle is charging, has a problem, etc. Very cool!

Consumer Reports likes the ActiveE too!

Nice to see some positive press from none other than Consumer Reports.

Our family continues to love the ActiveE. 7000 miles is just around the corner.

Still anxiously awaiting the carpool lane stickers. The only thing better than driving emission free is driving emission free in the carpool lane.

Proud owner of a 1981 Electric BMW!

Despite my numerous phone calls to the California DMV to head this off, my plates and registration arrived today listing the car as a 1981 Electric BMW. I picked up the ActiveE on 1/16/12. At least they got the mode of transportation correct and the good news is that my second year registration should be super cheap with a 31 year old car. I'm heading into DMV on Thursday morning to swap the plates they sent for my personalized KNOW GAS plates from the MINI E. I'll mention the year thing but if it's a big deal, will just go with the flow and enjoy my 1981 Electric BMW for a couple of years. Since the mode of transportation is correct, I can now apply for my Car Pool Lane stickers, woo hoo!

91 Express Lanes offer Electric Vehicles a free or discounted ride

A BIG thumbs up to the 91 Express Lanes for offering Electric Vehicles a free or discounted ride. Unlike other Toll Roads in Southern California, they are the only one that I'm aware of to offer this. Click here for more info and to get an application.

Update 4/2/12

After speaking with the 91 Express Lane folks earlier today, I discovered yet another bonus. If you're a FasTrack customer and don't generate more than $25.00 worth of tolls in a particular month, you're charged a $2.00 fee. The folks at the 91 Express Lanes don't charge a monthly fee of any kind for Electric Vehicles. However, you can use the 91 Express Lanes transponder on the 73, 241 and any other toll road in California. (you will still pay the full toll when using a FasTrack toll road as they don't discount for Electric Vehicles but the money for the toll will be subtracted from your 91 Express Lanes balance). Since I'm an infrequent user of the Toll Roads, I've been paying a $2.00 fee to the FasTrack folks for years. Happy to see that go away when I close my FasTrack account and open a 91 Express Lanes account instead.

5124 miles and the fun continues

Yesterday I rolled past 5124 miles in our ActiveE. I'm happy to report, the mysterious Drivetrain Malfunction and various other odd messages have not returned since my service visit back on 3/6/12. I've driven 1558 miles with no issues. Having the ActiveE as our only vehicle has been working out perfectly. We've been able to take the car everywhere and have yet had the need to rent another vehicle due to distance or other concerns. Leaving the house everyday with a full tank of electricity is fantastic. I don't miss stopping at the gas station every few days one bit. :)