Have you ever encountered another driver piloting the same car as yours and then felt compelled to show them that you can drive it better? I'm not saying that you race them, but you just demonstrate that you know how to dance better.
This morning on my drive to work, I was, ahem, testing the stickiness of our 2009 Mini E's tires on the curving on-ramp of the 405 N-to-90 W freeway when I saw another Mini coming up behind me, or really, trying to catch me. Heh. Suddenly I felt like I had to prove myself worthy of driving our Mini E. After all, for all this other person knew, she belonged to me. The other Mini driver and I didn't do anything crazy, mind you. I switched lanes and he followed. I squirted around slower cars and he followed. And then another Mini, this one a convertible, joined us. Good times.
Fortunately, most Mini drivers I've encountered so far seem like they know how to drive their car. Can't really say that with other cars like those speeding in Priuses and those driving their 911s 5 mph below the speed limit.
By the way, the above picture was just where our 2009 Mini E spent a majority of this past weekend. Editor Ed Hellwig didn't want to take it because he had to drive to San Bernardino (about 150 miles roundtrip) on Saturday and I didn't want to take it because I had an 80-mile roundtrip to make. But you already heard us complain about its limited range before.
Caroline Pardilla, Deputy Managing Editor @ 6,790 miles
tomm250 says:
04:17 PM, 05/24/10
C'mon Caroline, Ed might have a legit excuse, but you can't complain about an 80 mile trip! Last week I did a 115 & 108 mile trips with plenty of power to spare (probably 10 miles & 20 miles respectively) You could have easily done 80 miles even if it were all highway and you were doing 75mph.
One thing the staff at LTRT never tested is the "reserve" the car has. After you reach zero on the range meter, the car can go about 20 miles. Once you've done it a few times and you realize how far it can go, then you don't worry if your SOC is getting low because you have the 20 mile reserve. It is not advisable to constantly run the battery so low as it will dramatically shorten the batteries life. If I owned the car I wouldn't always do such deep discharges but since I'm just driving it for two years and giving it back, what's the harm?
Did you get the number of the other E off the side scuttle? Just wondering, I know many of the California drivers.
The year is just about up, when do you guys return the car?
Tom M
MINI-E #250 @31,275 miles
http://minie250.blogspot.com/
miraa says:
04:23 PM, 05/24/10
"Fortunately, most Mini drivers I've encountered so far seem like they know how to drive their car. Can't really say that with other cars like those speeding in Priuses and those driving their 911s 5 mph below the speed limit."
My impression of Porsche 911 pilots (and drivers of other high performance cars) is that they don't have a lot to prove, so they don't try.
firstwagon says:
04:30 PM, 05/24/10
My impression of 911 drivers ( and high priced car owners) is they bought the car to impress people and really have no interest (and likely little ability) to drive fast anyhow.
caroscuro says:
04:38 PM, 05/24/10
Tom M,
Where I was going, I wasn't sure if there were any outlets I could plug the Mini into and I wasn't staying long enough anyway to get an adequate charge. Actually I was glad that I didn't take it because on the way back the traffic was horrible. That would have just stressed me out.
firstwagon,
I'm with you.
throwback says:
05:16 PM, 05/24/10
Caroline, no need to explain. I would hate to see you on the side of the road with a plug in your hand!
adavis2493 says:
05:24 PM, 05/24/10
"most Mini drivers I've encountered so far seem like they know how to drive their car"
I'm not surprised at all. Correct me if I'm wrong, but a vast, vast majority of Mini's are stick-shifts. It seems like these days that if you know how to drive a stick, you are somewhat passionate about driving, and actually know how to drive a car.
To add to your list of cars that people buy, and do not know how to drive, I'd add:
-Chevrolet Corvette: They seem to all be driven by deutschbags that don't understand the concept of merging.
-Toyota Corolla's (especially is Desert Sand Mica a.k.a. beige): They think that driving ten miles per hour BELOW the speed limit is okay.
-Hummer's (in general): Riding my @$$ when I have a line of cars in front of me is not going to do anything. To add to that, your 150+ft 30mph stopping distances are not going to help IF I decide to hit my brakes.
(These observances are made after multiple personal experiences with these certain cars at separate times)
sgude says:
06:29 PM, 05/24/10
"deutschbag" -- is that a German douchebag?
"My impression of 911 drivers ( and high priced car owners) is they bought the car to impress people and really have no interest (and likely little ability) to drive fast anyhow." --
LOL. Whatever. You could have said "most" or "some," and the statement would have been absolutely true. There are true enthusiasts around who own 911s and track them; I know several.
"... speeding Priuses ..." That has been an interesting phenomenon I've noticed during my East Coast travels -- Priuses hurtling along at 85 mph and higher. What's up with that?
firstwagon says:
08:09 PM, 05/24/10
sgude
I'm sure there are true enthusiants with 911s (and M3s, Vettes, high end Benzs etc) but they are so hard to find. I'll try to chat with anyone I meet with a cool car but I am consistantly disappointed by the owners of high end performance cars.
sgude says:
04:21 AM, 05/25/10
Understood, firstwagon. Those are the ones who make it hard to like a particular car, but I've learned to not blame the car for its owner.
TheDustman says:
10:18 AM, 05/25/10
When I saw the line about the speeding Prius I had ot log in here...what in the heck is the deal with that??!!! I've noticed it too. They seem to speed more than any other car make on the road, seriously. Up and down PCH, weaving in and out, speeding, tailgating. I'm sure they get a whopping 38mpg driving like such morons in what I'd consider a marginally safe car (handling, braking, emergency maneuvers, etc).
Morons.