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The very first public display of the new BMW i DC quick charger BMW stole the show today at the start of Plug-in 2014  in San Jose, California by not only announcing a new DC quick charger that will charge an i3 to 80% in 30 minutes, but also by saying the use of these chargers will be free for i3 users through the end of 2015.  This is a huge step forward for BMW i and the EV movement in general. I have consistently contended that the mass adoption of electric vehicles will hinge on the deployment of rapid charging. Even though the majority of charging will be at a slower rate and overnight, for EVs to really be taken seriously by the masses they need to be capable of refueling in less than an hour while making longer journeys. Tesla and Nissan have already demonstrated that they understand this and have made significant investments in DC quick charge infrastructure, and today's announcement from BMW is proof that BMW also realizes this and appears ready and willing to j...

If you listen to BMW marketing, they'll have you convinced that the only place to really experience the full benefits of the i3 is to drive it in a city environment. Pretty much every description they offer for the i3 includes how it's a car made for the Megacities of the world. Take this from the BMW i website for instance: "Electric and electrifying – the BMW i3 redefines mobililty(sic): with its visionary design and innovative BMW eDrive transmission it’s the sustainably designed vehicle for everyday urban use." I'm definitely not saying the i3 isn't perfectly capable of negotiating the urban jungle on a daily basis. In fact, city driving is where the i3 is most efficient. Driving streetlight to streetlight, using the regenerative braking to recapture much of the energy used, since you rarely drive for long without needing to slow down, is the type of driving that will allow for better overall range.  Aside from this efficiency advantage and the fact tha...

My i3 REx in front of my house with my 8.775 kW solar array in view  In a surprising turn of events, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) reversed a previous decision to exclude the i3 REx from the States Tax exemption for zero emission vehicles. This hopefully ends the nearly six month saga from the time it was originally thought the range extended version would indeed qualify, to the announcement shortly after the launch that it would not. I actually found out a few days after I bought my car that it would not qualify, and I would have to pay $3,921.00 in sales tax. This was totally unexpected and would have actually made the range extender nearly an $8,000 option for me! As much as I love having it, I wouldn't have agreed to pay that much for it had I known the effective cost would be so high. For $3,875 I think it's fairly priced. But $7,800? No way! I even dedicated a blog post to this issue back in May when the surprising (bad) news was announced...

  Occasionally I cross post content from other websites here (with permission of course) when I think the article is both interesting and exceptionally well done. Such is the case with this post written by Chuck Vossler of BMWBLOG about the repair process of the i3. I think Chuck may have taken particular interest in this story since he recently revealed to me that he has indeed ordered an i3 for his personal use. I have also been talking with him for the past year about his interest in solar electric and am happy to say he has indeed installed a solar array on his home and will soon be joining me in driving his i3 on pure sunshine, or "driving the future" as I like to say. Electric vehicles combined with solar electricity are such a fantastic combination, and adding the second one to your life is such a natural decision to come to once you have the first, as long as it's physically and financially possible to do so. The entire article and pictures below were written by C...

BMW's inductive charging system uses two electromagnetic coils. One attached under the vehicle and the other one is located underneath the car. BMW is using some retired ActiveE's for the test fleet. Will the next generation BMW i3 have a wireless charging option? That appears very possible with the announcement that BMW is working with rival Daimler on developing an inductive charging system for their electric vehicles. This follows a recent announcement from Toyota that the next generation plug in Prius would have wireless inductive charging available. Toyota is using technology from Massachusetts-based WiTricity for their system. It's unclear if BMW is also working with WiTricity or if they and Daimler are developing the system on their own. The two things about inductive charging that have always made me question its viability are the charging losses incurred and the rate of charging. I'm just not willing to pay a 10% premium on my energy just so I don't have t...

Today's date is July 4th 2014, and here in the US the 4th of July is a national day of celebration. The 4th of July is "Independence Day" and is a federal holiday which commemorates the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, declaring our independence from the  Kingdom of Great  Britain. This was of course a great moment in America's history, and one worthy of celebration. However for me, this date has had a dual meaning over the past five years. I too celebrate the birth of our great nation 238 years ago, but I also have a little extra to celebrate since 2009, because that's when I began driving electric. My beloved MINI-E and me in 2009. You always remember your first...EV! Merriam Webster defines independent as follows:  " Not subject to control by others;  Not requiring or relying on something else, " so it's clear why this calendar day has been designated Independence Day in the US.  I define my p ersonal transportation ...