BMW i3 and BMW i8 Driving Experience Videos

Two new videos to check out. Love the clean, bright interface. While the ActiveE is fantastic these two upcoming cars look Super!

BMW i3 Video
BMW i8 Video

Welcome! Thrilled to be mentioned in the BMW email update!

We've been having so much fun driving the ActiveE, it hit me when I received the email from BMW today that I better do an update. We're now at 12,600 miles and what a pleasure it's been to continue driving 100% Electric with BMW.

We recently took a trip to Pechanga Resort and Casino in Temecula, CA. This was quite the adventure. It was approximately 85 miles and while we knew that they had recently installed 6 brand new Level 2 Chargers, we weren't sure if they'd be available. As luck would have it, all 6 were wide open. We had a nice meal, played some slots and zipped back home after a quick stop in Old Town Temecula where two more Level 2 chargers were available for our use. Props to the 91 Express Lanes for allowing Electric Vehicles a free ride.

Yesterday was our 6 month anniversary with the ActiveE. It's our only car and we've yet to have to rent another vehicle for a longer trip. The 100 mile range has worked out perfectly. Leaving the house every morning with a full tank (aka battery) of electricity is fantastic. I don't miss stopping by the gas station every three days one bit.

We have 18 more months with the ActiveE and our goal is to drive, drive and drive some more.

Hope you'll continue to follow along on our journey.

10,200 miles and climbing

With more and more places to charge, the miles just flow by. Who would have thought just a few years ago that you'd be able to charge your car at Walmart. As I've said before, most days I'm simply opportunity charging but this day I really needed the extra juice as it turned out to be a 112 mile day of errands and work. It's times like these when having Blink, Chargepoint and other chargers available in public places really makes the difference.

The location of this particular Walmart is:

2770 Carson Street
Lakewood, CA 90712

Two Blink chargers are located near the disabled parking. Here is a 360 video of this particular location.

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.