Guest Bloggers Long-Term Road Tests Archives

This post was written by Tom Moloughney, who drives Mini E #250. Tom has opted to keep his Mini E for another year. As you know, we've returned our electric Mini, so we've asked Tom to check in with us from time to time. He is quickly approaching 40,000 miles on the odometer. Here is his latest update. -- Donna DeRosa, Managing Editor

This summer has officially been confirmed as the hottest in recorded history in New Jersey. Not only has the kitchen staff at my restaurant been suffering through the extraordinary heat day after day, but so have the 5,088 lithium ion battery cells that are in my Mini E.

Last summer was mild and I never really had to deal with extremely hot days that would tax the Mini E's primitive thermal management system. This is the biggest flaw of the car by far. This is where it is evident the car is a prototype and not meant for production. The battery pack is very dense and sort of like three large blocks on top of each other. The only way to cool or heat it is a small fan that blows cabin air across it. On 100-degree days when you are driving at highway speeds, all you can do is watch the battery temperature gauge go up and up until the warning icons appear. There is no way to cool it down even if you have the A/C up full blast to get as much cool air in the cabin and ultimately across the modules.

More story and pictures after the jump...

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Categories: Guest Bloggers

This post was written by Rev. Marcus, better known to you as Revmarc. Here's what he has to say about his 2009 Challenger R/T 6-speed. -- Donna DeRosa, Managing Editor

After reading about the transmission issues on the Camaro and the clutch issue on the Challenger, I thought I would offer my report on 19 months and 23,000 miles of 2009 Dodge Challenger R/T ownership.

I took delivery of my 2009 Dodge Challenger R/T on October 2, 2008. I had ordered the car at the beginning of June, and had waited anxiously for months for its arrival. As a husband and father of a growing family (three kids), I had to find a performance car that would seat five--no more Camaros and Mustangs for me. When I confirmed that the Challenger was going to be a five-passenger, I was sold. That, and the fact that I had always loved the looks of the original 1970-74 cars, and the new one nailed it. The fact that it was bigger than the Mustang (and coming Camaro) was exactly why I bought it.

I ordered it with the 6-speed, leather (mostly so my wife would have heated seats), Sound Group with the steering wheel controls and EVIC, no sunroof, no nav, and the 20-inch wheels. I immediately fell in love with the car. It was much larger than the Mustangs and Camaros I had previously owned, yet was far more powerful and fun to drive. Go figure. It reminded me of the 1994 Impala SS we had--massive, but fast and fun.

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Categories: Guest Bloggers

This post was written by Alex, better known to you at Teamoncerider. His 2009 Audi S5 has 6,500 miles on it. Here's what he has to say:

It's not the fastest. It's not the loudest. It's not the most efficient or powerful engine out there. However, I feel it meets all my daily and weekend needs. Gentle enough that I hardly feel it during traffic hours, while producing more than enough power whenever I need it.

People often ask, "How much horsepower does it have?" along with an, "oh, that's it?" answer when I tell them it's rated at 354 hp.

I typically spend 30 minutes cleaning the engine bay every time I wash the car.  A neighbor once asked me why I spent so much time tidying up what's under the hood.  My best explanation was that every piece of this car, down to every bolt, panel, and plastic trim, was done with great attention to detail, and that it deserves the same treatment from its owner.

Yes, the S5 is a beautiful machine by itself, but its character is really defined by its engine.

It also plays my favorite V8 tunes.

Thanks for sharing with us, Alex.

Donna DeRosa, Managing Editor

Categories: Guest Bloggers

This post was written by Tony, a.ka. SDG8GT, proud owner of a 2009 Pontiac G8 GT. He took his G8 on a scenic road trip up and down the West coast. Be sure to click through for lots of beautiful pictures. Here is what Tony had to say. -- Donna DeRosa, Managing Editor

In February 2010, I became part of the California statistics scene when I became unemployed. After a couple of months unsuccessfully job searching, reality sunk in that everything I had could be lost. Condo, credit score and car were all in jeopardy.

Rather than sit at home and lament I chose to do something meaningful with the time and resources at hand, while I had them. For the better part of a year before becoming unemployed, I had worked 6-7 days a week, averaging 60 hours a week as an project manager. I had put off visiting family and friends, taking meaningful time off and my overall happiness in an effort to do a good job. Ultimately, it was an exercise in futility.

Thus, the Coastal Road Trip was born. Fulfilling my lifelong dream of driving the United States Western coast, from North to South sounded like the perfect thing to do. The road trip would afford me several opportunities. It would put some mental and physical distance between me and the issues at home. It would allow me to see parts of the country that I had only dreamed about or saw on calendars. And finally, it would be the perfect opportunity for me to experience a road trip adventure with my car and experience its virtues extolled by bloggers and automotive journalists.

I bought my 2009 Pontiac G8 GT, in June 2008 with 12 miles on the odometer, after my 13-year-old Pontiac Grand Prix SE coupe started to show its teeth a few miles shy of 190,000 miles. My G8 (I refer to her affectionately as "The G8"), in Panther Black Metallic, came fully loaded with Sport Package, Sunroof and red and black leather interior. The only modifications done to the car were the addition of tint, a layer of Dynamat added to the entire trunk, and a JL Audio subwoofer. The last two additions were successful do-it-myself installations.

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Categories: Guest Bloggers

This post was written by Rob, known to you as sk8nsanta, who drives a 2009 Dodge Challenger R/T Classic in a much brighter color than our black beauty. Here is what he had to say:

In March of 2009 I placed a factory order for one of my dreams cars, a Dodge Challenger. Like many Challenger lovers, I instantly fell in love with the modern interpretation after seeing the concept sketch in the summer of 2006. What I didn't realize at the time was that just three short years later, I'd have one of my own.

I wanted a Challenger that was as close to the originals as you could get, and when I found out about the classic edition, I knew it had to be. After an almost unbearable six-month wait due to all the problems Chrysler ran into last summer, my very own muscle car finally arrived. And a new chapter in my life had begun.

This January, in the middle of what felt like never-ending snowfall (for the DC area at least), we got what seemed like a miracle at the time, a three-day weekend (honoring Dr. Martin Luther King) with temperatures in the mid 50s. I could not pass up the opportunity to get a little adventurous and see where the road would take me. Turns out, I-95 took me south down into North Carolina in search of BBQ. Over the next day and a half I racked up 880 delicious, southern hospitality miles traveling back and forth across the state sampling some our nation's finest cuisine.

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Categories: Guest Bloggers

Photo courtesy of Peter Rigaud

This post was written by Tom Moloughney, who you all know by now drives Mini E #250. He has passed the 30,000-mile mark in his Mini E and may be the only person in the world to put that many miles on an EV in a single year. Here is his latest update. -- Donna DeRosa, Managing Editor

Eleven months to the day I took possession of Mini E #250 I watched the odometer turn past 30,000 miles. That's something I never expected to happen when I first got the car.

Back in December Dan Edmunds did a great suspension walkaround post. He wrote "the electronic leash and city-only suitability of the Mini E makes it unlikely that anyone could put more than 10,000 miles per year on this car." I was taken back a bit by the comment because at the time I had almost 18,000 miles on mine and knew of at least six others that already had over 10K on their cars.

However, I can understand his thoughts on this. While they do have a proper 220v charger at the Edmunds office, when the LTRT editors take the car for a few days they have to use the 110v emergency charger which takes forever to charge the car. This method is not practical and makes it very difficult to really drive the car much. All of the trial lease participants have 220v chargers at their homes and many others have a second charger at another location, like their place of work, as I do. This wouldn't be possible for everyone, but I think a good amount of people could make the arrangements to do something similar if they wanted to. I'm sure many employers, especially big corporations, would install chargers in their employee parking lots if there were a need for them. They don't cost much to install or use and the company would get good PR for supporting environmentally friendly transportation.

I believe having the ability to charge at work has increased my mileage by 20%. I could have lived with only the home charger, though, as my round trip commute is between 65 and 85 miles depending on the route I take. With the second charger I can now plug in when I arrive at work, and in about an hour I'm back at 100 percent. So I can drive around all I want and not worry about the range at all.

 
Photo courtesy of Peter Rigaud

When I first took possession of my Mini E eleven months ago, I really had no idea what to expect. Would it spend more time getting fixed than on the road? Would it lose power going up long inclines? Would the range decrease as time passed? Would I regret doing this?

Well, eleven months and 30,000 miles later I can answer those questions with a big NO.

The car has seen its fair time being repaired. Twice it needed new battery modules and once I hit a famous New Jersey pothole and messed up a whole bunch of stuff in the front end but I can hardly blame the car for that. I was going about 55 mph and practically tore the front right wheel off.

More photos and story after the jump...

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Categories: 2009 Mini E,Guest Bloggers

Reader's Long-Term Car

If you want to share photos of your car with our blog readers, here is what you need to do:

1 - Take photos of your car. They should be at least 717 pixels wide, which is the size of our blog. Send as many photos as you want and make sure we can see the whole car in at least one of them. If you want to be in the picture, that is OK, too.

2 - Write a few sentences about why you like it, or why you bought it, if you have any plans to modify it, etc. Let us know how many miles you have on the car.

3 - Give us the screen name you use on the blog so the other readers recognize you as a regular contributor.

4 - Send it all to dderosa (@) Edmunds.com

We'll be posting one reader's car per week in the order they are received. When it is your car's turn, we'll email you the URL so you won't miss it.

Thanks for participating. Feel free to email us with any questions.

Guest Blogger

Guest blog posts are reserved for readers who have the same car as one in our long-term fleet. For example, when Tom wrote about the Mini E he drives on the East Coast, or when David wrote about his Ford Fusion.

If you want to be a guest blogger, email dderosa (@) Edmunds.com. Let us know what car you drive and we'll send you the guidelines. They are more complex than above.

Donna DeRosa, Managing Editor

Categories: Guest Bloggers,Reader's Long-Term Cars

In honor of Earth Day, we have a guest post from our reader David White who drives a Ford Fusion Hybrid in the same color as ours but with many more miles on the odometer. -- Donna DeRosa, Managing Editor

Here is what he has to say:

My wife calls it my personal obsession with fuel economy. I prefer to say it is a well-mannered, solidly constructed "sleeper hybrid" car that happens to return excellent fuel economy.

Over the last year, my 2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid has managed over 20,000 miles. The steering still feels as tight and responsive as when it was new, the seats show basically no wear, and aside from a bumper nick from a stone, the exterior is as shiny as the day it rolled off the factory floor.

The quality of the build is impressive with no rattles or squeaks, and everything fits tight. The only negative after a year of ownership is the small trunk, but I find it large enough for my needs. Oh, and perhaps most importantly, I've managed an impressive 45 mpg over the one year.

Despite my wife poking fun at my obsession with mileage, she loudly trumpeted her own mileage the other day when she managed a notable 57.3 mpg after 10 miles of city driving. I could not take that lying down, so the next day I managed an almost unheard of 64.6 mpg as seen in this picture.

We are what I like to call mild hypermilers. We brake slowly, accelerate smoothly, carefully watch battery state of charge in city driving and use cruise control on the highway. With a light touch on the accelerator pedal and an eye toward the gauges, we can keep the car in EV mode for extended periods. With a full charge I've managed up to 1.7 miles on pure EV. With the more aggressive battery setting, it is possible to cruise around at 45 mph in strictly EV mode, although it is easier on flat roadways. Any large incline and it is better to just use the gasoline engine. But even with the gas engine, the car is so aggressive to stay in EV mode that any time you let off the throttle, or even just relax your foot on the throttle, you are right back in EV mode. The transition back and forth is so seamless you will hardly notice. As the IL editors have pointed out, it is truly lots of gain with little hybrid pain.

After a year of ownership, this car has remained so easy on my wallet for gas and so much fun to drive, that I look forward every day to twisting the key and stealthily driving away.

David White @ 20,000 miles

Categories: 2010 Ford Fusion Hybrid,Guest Bloggers

This post was written by Tom Moloughney, who drives Mini E #250 on the East Coast. -- Donna DeRosa, Managing Editor

Recently, I had a solar photovoltaic system installed on my home. I had always thought about doing it, but never really looked into the cost vs. return to make a qualified decision. After a few months with the Mini E, I thought the time might be right to investigate whether the investment would make sense.

I really think I'll be driving electric from now on. I've been that pleased with the overall driving experience of the Mini E. Whether it's a Nissan Leaf, Chevy Volt, BMW Mega City or another EV I'm not sure. But I am sure that at least one of my household vehicles will be electric.

Once the general public is exposed to the overall lower operating expense combined with the fun of instant torque and the quietness of electrics, I think they will be widely accepted. Believe me, the whole "range anxiety" thing is way overblown. I know EVs are not for everyone, especially one-car households and long distance travelers. But there are certainly enough people that will find an EV can fit into their lifestyle just fine.

Getting back to the solar system, once I started looking into the viability of installing one, it became apparent that if I wanted to get one I needed to act soon. New Jersey is going to temporarily halt the state rebates on renewable energy installations because of the fiscal crisis. It's a sizable rebate: $1.55 per watt works out to about $14,000 off my system. I did the math and with the rebate, the federal tax credit, the SRECs (Solar Renewable Energy Coupons) and the savings on my electric bill, the system would pay for itself in 5 to 6 years. Everything after that is profit and the system has a usable life of about 25 years.

Now I'll be charging the car with electricity that I generate myself -- clean, renewable energy made from sunlight and captured on my roof. Zero emissions never sounded so good. Well, at least until I plug in at my restaurant for a midday top off. Then, it's not so "zero" but still much better than burning gasoline.

Tom Moloughney
Mini E #250

Read more detail on Tom's Mini E #250 blog.

Categories: 2009 Mini E,Guest Bloggers

This post was written by Tom Moloughney, who drives Mini E #250 on the East Coast with well over 20,000 miles on the odometer. -- Donna DeRosa, Managing Editor

Many of you have read my comments and even my guest post here a few weeks back so you know how I feel about the Mini E and electric cars in general. I'm not going to get into why I'm advocating that the auto industry move toward electrics. The point I'd like to get across here is the misconception that if you drive an electric car you constantly live with one eye on your range meter, counting the miles until, inevitably, you're left stranded on the side of the road.

I'll admit I had some of those feelings the first month I drove the car so I know why people who haven't lived with an electric would think that was so. Heck, even the staff at Inside Line writes about how they feel anxious sometimes about making it to the next charge up. This is understandable because they drive the car for a few days and then not again for weeks. You do need a little time (a month or so) of driving it almost daily to know for sure how far you can go and gain the confidence that it will not "run out."

The funny thing is, many of my friends stress about it more than I do. I'll get a text inviting me to lunch and it will be followed up with, "will the car make it?" I've never had to turn down an invitation because of range. Recently, BMW sent a film crew to follow me around for three days for a documentary about the future of the automobile industry. We drove to New York City, to my restaurant and to my home. Whenever they suggested a location they would ask, "can you make it?" and I always did.

Today, it took me four hours to drive to work. It's only 35 miles and it usually takes 40 minutes. But we had a major storm this weekend with flooding and road closures everywhere. I was texting some friends as I was stopped in traffic and everyone responded, "How is your charge? Will you make it?"

Yes, I made it. In fact I arrived at work with 73 miles of range left. I usually arrive with 65-68, but the slow stop-and-go driving uses much less energy than going 65 mph. Unlike ICE vehicles, I can sit in traffic for hours and not use any fuel. In fact, I passed a guy carrying a gas can walking on the shoulder of Route 46 in Fairfield. I assume he ran out of gas because he was stuck in traffic so long.

Anyway, my point is that once you've lived with an electric car for a little while, you know how far it can go and you don't really think about it much at all. I know where my travels will take me every day and even if there are detours it's no problem. Actually, I hardly ever look at my range gauge anymore except to record my trip data when I'm finished driving for the day.

Tom Moloughney
Mini E #250 @ 23,150 miles

Read Tom's previous guest post here and his Mini E #250 blog.

Categories: 2009 Mini E,Guest Bloggers

When I heard that Tom Moloughney passed the 20,000-mile mark in his Mini E, I asked him to write about his experiences for our Long-Term Road Test blog. Inside Line's Mini E #116 hasn't racked up nearly as many miles. Tom lives on the East Coast and deals with more extreme weather conditions. He also has two high-voltage charging stations, one at home and one at his place of work. He owns a restaurant in Montclair, New Jersey called Nauna's Bella Casa. Here are his comments. -- Donna DeRosa, Managing Editor

My name is Tom Moloughney and I'm driving Mini E #250 in Northern New Jersey. I was asked by Inside Line to write a summary of my experiences in the past eight months since I picked up the car on June 12, 2009.

I applied for Mini's trial lease program because I was looking into the future of alternative fuel vehicles. I like new technology and I believe America needs to become more energy independent for security and economic reasons. I wanted to be part of the beginning of the movement in that direction.

In my first three months with the car I was using up every mile of the 100-120-mile range per charge, frequently driving the last 10 miles after the range indicator had hit zero. Many of us in the Mini E program soon realized you can drive it about 20 miles more than the range gauge reads.

Then Mini offered additional 220-volt charging stations for anyone in the program that had a place to install one. I accepted and installed it at my restaurant. Now, I could conceivably use up the 100-mile range, plug in for 3.5 hours at work and be ready for another 100 miles in the same day. Since then I've been averaging over 130 miles per day, seven days a week, and currently have 21,000 miles on the odometer after only eight months.

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Categories: 2009 Mini E,Guest Bloggers