it will be a 2 seater because the back seat got to go for the big battery pack.. loaded upto the windows!!

Does a 204 horsepower electric motor sound right? In a car that size an electric motor of of over 200 horsepower should be enough to send it into orbit

I wonder how I could get to be one of the select private customers?

I have read that the battery pack for this car was being built by Tesla, which is
having some problems. Nonetheless, this was said:

"...Tesla will focus its efforts on making the Roadster, which has a one-year
waiting list. It will also increase power-train sales to other car companies, a
business that Mr. Musk said was profitable."

in this article:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/16/t...a.html?_r=2&th&emc=th&oref=slogin&oref=slogin

I'll bet that if you have a 760 and M5 in the garage and express an interest in this Mini you'd end up on the "select" list.

Why do they always pick NY and LA? Just because they are the first two largest metro areas doesn't necessarily mean they are the right choice. I think they should roll it out where it will really get shaken out... like Phoenix. The summer heat here is a wonderful place to test your car.

The winter cold here in Chicagoland would be the best place to test an electric car. I commute 110 miles every day and hereby officially volunteer to be a private customer.

car will weight 3600lbs and will be going 0-60 in 8.5 seconds, and have only 2 seats. Thats the problem when you try to use chasis that was not designed for the task.

From what I read, one needs to have a garage (with locks) for the charging station in order to qualify. I guess I'm out. ... My other car is an '08 MINI but I wouldn't mind driving an all electric MINI.

I believe the chevy S10 ev's we used to lease here at work (a lot bigger than the mini) had less than 1/2 that much hp. So it sounds suspect to me as well.

I have a buddy with a M5, a M3, a 7 series, and a x3. I should ask him if he could get qualified.... well, I guess we're in AZ so that won't work.

Has anyone ever driven a Mini? The Cooper S is a rocket, and gets great mileage.
It's disappointing to see the big horsepower in the electric. They can't get their thinking around power, can they? An electric version doesn't need to compete with the ICE car for buyers. Acceleration has deepened the oil crisis with all car makers boosting horsepower to lure customers...just look at Nissan/Infiniti offerings. I would be more impressed if the Mini had been converted to a cute economical long-range electric vehicle. Maybe the back seat could have been saved.

BMW picked California because of CARB's ZEV mandate. It didn't completely die in 1998 but instead was pushed back 10 years and the number of vehicle required was cut almost to nothing. From motorauthority.com:

Mini will unveil an all-electric version of its two-door Cooper hatch at next month’s Los Angeles Auto Show, and plans to deliver an initial batch of 500 examples to customers in California towards the end of the year. BMW is using its Mini brand to test the waters with its electric powertrain technology but the vehicle was also developed in order to meet new California regulations that require carmakers to offer zero emission vehicles.


Mini ?E? electric vehicle revealed ahead of L.A. debut - [2010 Mini E] - MotorAuthority - Car news, reviews, spy shots

BATTERIES ARE FOR FLASHLIGHTS!

Now, with that said and done, i applaud BMW for creating this. i hope it is successful for them. also, more should be made and hopefully the technology will advance to a point where electric cars will not need the necessity of being a plug in, yes........i want it all!

Why is it dissappointing to see big horsepower in the electric? If you are thinking that bigger hp means less efficient, that is not correct. Electric motors are very efficient throughout thier load range.

Actually the epa rates the mini S at 26/34. And, it requires premium fuel.

If you drive it like a rocket it will get significantly less (20-30%) than that.