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Mini Es take to Glendale roads
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| Richard Bardowell is one of about 200 people on the west coast testing out the new electric Mini Cooper. (Scott Smeltzer/News-Press) |
Group of drivers will use the all-electric version of the Mini Cooper for one year.
By Zain Shauk
The concept of driving an electric car used to excite Richard Bardowell about as much as the idea of commuting to work in a golf cart.
It wasn’t high on his list of things to do. But that was before the Glendale resident got his first glimpse of the Mini E, an electric version of the popular, small and quirky Mini Cooper from German automaker BMW.
He was at the Los Angeles Auto Show when he saw it, and now, a year later, acknowledges his pioneering role as a Glendale commuter who has ventured into the uncertain realm of electric vehicles.
Bardowell is the temporary owner of one of just 450 Mini Es released in North America as part of a one-year experimental program, after which all of the vehicles will be returned and analyzed by BMW.
He received his car last month, after the automaker delayed its distribution, and has experienced some of the bumps associated with trying out a new product — like a mechanical malfunction that once prevented his Mini E from starting. But so far he has found himself advocating an emerging type of automotive technology that other area commuters could benefit from as well, he said.
The car does have limitations, he said, citing its 150-mile maximum range that other owners and Mini executives admit remains a problem.
But for a commuter, it works, Bardowell said.
“I commute back and forth to Burbank like four times a day, so for me it’s like 14 miles round-trip,” he said. “So I could actually go back and forth to work two to four times a day on one charge.”
Although the car’s power supply, a set of lithium-ion batteries that occupy the entire space of a typical Mini Cooper’s back seat, prevents Bardowell from making trips to Las Vegas, he does enjoy zooming past gas stations.
And the car is fun to drive, he said.
Sitting behind the wheel of the agile two-door car, Bardowell zipped his Mini E up a steep incline outside his home.
“I never expected it was going to handle the way that it does,” Bardowell said.
Upon reaching the top of the hill, Bardowell released the gas pedal to allow the car to simultaneously recharge while decelerating.
The move prompted activity on a dashboard gauge displaying the amount of energy going back to the batteries.
After a few more turns, Bardowell charged onto the Glendale (2) Freeway.
Others have marveled at the car’s capabilities, even as they have criticized BMW for its clumsy release of the Mini E, said Paul Scott, vice president of San Francisco-based Plug In America, a plug-in vehicle advocacy group.
BMW, which is charging the temporary car owners monthly lease fees of $850, has frequently left car owners stranded with malfunctioning vehicles and was late in delivering some of the cables necessary for charging the Mini Es, Scott said.
Still, there was no denying the vehicle’s unique capabilities, he said.
Consumers who have written off previous attempts at all-electric vehicles have been turning their heads when they have seen the muffler-less, near-silent Mini E, he said.
“It changes the perception pretty dramatically because they realize that, ‘Wow, any car really could be electric,’” he said.
That excitement about electric cars is something that BMW hopes to continue, said Jim McDowell, head of Mini USA.
“In case you were thinking an electric car was something like a milk delivery truck, this really is an electric go-cart and its fun to drive,” McDowell said.
While some BMW critics have claimed the automaker released the small sample of Mini Es to exploit a loophole in the California Air Resources Board’s Zero Emissions Vehicle Mandate and avoid meeting targets for producing fuel-efficient vehicles, McDowell argued that the experiment will help the company move technology forward.
The company has no plans to continue with Mini E production after the one-year program, but its aggressive approach with the technology has put it in a position to develop it for use in other vehicles, perhaps even BMWs, he said.
ZAIN SHAUK covers education, business and politics. He may be reached at (818) 637-3238 or by e-mail at zain.shauk@latimes.com.
It wasn’t high on his list of things to do. But that was before the Glendale resident got his first glimpse of the Mini E, an electric version of the popular, small and quirky Mini Cooper from German automaker BMW.
He was at the Los Angeles Auto Show when he saw it, and now, a year later, acknowledges his pioneering role as a Glendale commuter who has ventured into the uncertain realm of electric vehicles.
Bardowell is the temporary owner of one of just 450 Mini Es released in North America as part of a one-year experimental program, after which all of the vehicles will be returned and analyzed by BMW.
He received his car last month, after the automaker delayed its distribution, and has experienced some of the bumps associated with trying out a new product — like a mechanical malfunction that once prevented his Mini E from starting. But so far he has found himself advocating an emerging type of automotive technology that other area commuters could benefit from as well, he said.
The car does have limitations, he said, citing its 150-mile maximum range that other owners and Mini executives admit remains a problem.
But for a commuter, it works, Bardowell said.
“I commute back and forth to Burbank like four times a day, so for me it’s like 14 miles round-trip,” he said. “So I could actually go back and forth to work two to four times a day on one charge.”
Although the car’s power supply, a set of lithium-ion batteries that occupy the entire space of a typical Mini Cooper’s back seat, prevents Bardowell from making trips to Las Vegas, he does enjoy zooming past gas stations.
And the car is fun to drive, he said.
Sitting behind the wheel of the agile two-door car, Bardowell zipped his Mini E up a steep incline outside his home.
“I never expected it was going to handle the way that it does,” Bardowell said.
Upon reaching the top of the hill, Bardowell released the gas pedal to allow the car to simultaneously recharge while decelerating.
The move prompted activity on a dashboard gauge displaying the amount of energy going back to the batteries.
After a few more turns, Bardowell charged onto the Glendale (2) Freeway.
Others have marveled at the car’s capabilities, even as they have criticized BMW for its clumsy release of the Mini E, said Paul Scott, vice president of San Francisco-based Plug In America, a plug-in vehicle advocacy group.
BMW, which is charging the temporary car owners monthly lease fees of $850, has frequently left car owners stranded with malfunctioning vehicles and was late in delivering some of the cables necessary for charging the Mini Es, Scott said.
Still, there was no denying the vehicle’s unique capabilities, he said.
Consumers who have written off previous attempts at all-electric vehicles have been turning their heads when they have seen the muffler-less, near-silent Mini E, he said.
“It changes the perception pretty dramatically because they realize that, ‘Wow, any car really could be electric,’” he said.
That excitement about electric cars is something that BMW hopes to continue, said Jim McDowell, head of Mini USA.
“In case you were thinking an electric car was something like a milk delivery truck, this really is an electric go-cart and its fun to drive,” McDowell said.
While some BMW critics have claimed the automaker released the small sample of Mini Es to exploit a loophole in the California Air Resources Board’s Zero Emissions Vehicle Mandate and avoid meeting targets for producing fuel-efficient vehicles, McDowell argued that the experiment will help the company move technology forward.
The company has no plans to continue with Mini E production after the one-year program, but its aggressive approach with the technology has put it in a position to develop it for use in other vehicles, perhaps even BMWs, he said.
ZAIN SHAUK covers education, business and politics. He may be reached at (818) 637-3238 or by e-mail at zain.shauk@latimes.com.
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