Electric Mini Coopers to be rolled out in California

The Mini Cooper has long been one of the most well known cars in both England and have gained in numbers in the United States over the years. My wife used to own one of these, and I have to tell you--this was a cool car. Despite the lack of room and fact that you have to fill it with premium gas, the power and quality a Mini gives an owner is still unmatched--for now--in the subcompact class.

In response to the zero-emissions California issue, BMW has released that there will be 500 electric Mini Coopers made to comply with this. 490 will be sold to specific customers and 10 will remain in showrooms and have a special "marking" (silver with yellow tops). BMW engineers are sending the cars from their plant in England minus their powertrains to Germany to have the electric powertrains put in.

While this is welcome news to MINI aficionados, there remains the question as to the overall performance and needs of the "regular" driving population. Word is that the car will go as fast as 80 MPH and when driven consistently under slower velocity that it will get up to 120 miles on a single charge. Not bad when you use it for the 20-30 mile daily commute back and forth to work where you can charge it overnight. But go on a long trip? Forget it. Also, this gives question to the handling of the car--I mean, with adding a lighter motor and battery pack, one has to question how the performance will be affected overall, which is something MINI owners love about their car.

Stay tuned.

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Electric Mini Coopers to be rolled out in California

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