3,000 miles later...

Yes, I can't believe I. Just under two months (I picked up the Mini-E #339 back in June 25) and I've already logged just over 3,000 miles.

And I'm still lovin' every minute of it!!!!

What's more, the timing of 339's "scheduled servicing" was nearly impeccable! After driving into work yesterday morning, I logged about 9,983 miles. Since BMW of Manhattan is just under 17 miles from my work... Well... I arrived at the dealership after work with about 3,001 miles on 339's odo!!!

Near-perfect!!! :-D

Still, it meant I had to leave 339 in the "loving hands" of the BMW/Mini techs -- who are waiting for the "Flying Doctors" (the gang of specialized Mini-E techs from BMW in Germany who are servicing all the Mini-Es in the U.S.!) to do all the servicing. Fortunately, the Flying Docs were coming to BMW of Manhattan today anyway to take care of another Mini-E. (I didn't see which one, though.)

Of course, nothing in this world is ever completely perfect. :-(

Since Mini 339 had to stay with the dealer (her "parents"??), I had to drive my Honda CR-V to work today!

Don't get me wrong. I still love my 12-year old Honda. She's a good old girl and I still need her since she still does things -- haul a lot of stuff from Costco, takes me and more than one other family member to the store, goes on long trips, gets me and co-workers to lunch, etc. -- that my cute and environmentally-friendly Mini-E #339 can't do.

And driving my red CR-V to work this morning, I'm reminded of how I "missed" those traits and other little niceties. Things like cruise control (Nope, #339 doesn't have that!) which can really help me keep my heavy right foot in check. Sometimes.

Oh, and a right arm rest for the driver's seat. Even though my sister hates the arm rest and always tilts it up and out of the way when she drives my CR-V, I love it! (It really helps when you're cruisin' down the road at a nice steady clip and all you want to do is "kick back" with your left hand on the steering wheel and your right arm just... well, "resting" on the arm rest. Is that SO wrong???)

And finally... The radio. I love my CR-V's radio -- an after-market Sony ES-series AM/FM/CD/MP3-disc/Aux input head-unit with IR remote control. It's not RDS-capable like 339's audio gear. But the controls are so much simpler!! Not to mention that I have a full four-speaker set-up in my CR-V. (Oddly enough, there are "fader" controls on 339's radio. But adjust 339's audio from "front" or "balanced" to "all-rear" and... Surprise! No audio! Why? Because there's only front speakers on the Mini-E since the battery takes up all the space behind the front seats -- the place where rear speakers would normally go!)

Still, this morning was the ideal commute with conditions that I know I would've been just thrilled to drive 339 through: Sunny, yet not hot... hardly any cars on the road...

In other words, I was c-r-u-i-s-i-n' down the road... music blarin'... blue-mirrored Wiley-X shades on... windows down... cool breeze blowin' through my hair... Just enjoyin' the ride with a smile on my face -- even though I'm going to work! ;-)

Oh, if only 339 were with me this morning!! (Oh, and if only she had the double sunroof option that's available to "conventional" Minis! :-()

::sigh::

Hopefully I'll hear from the Flying Docs later this afternoon and I'll be able to post something about her "check-up." Read more!

Over 1,000 miles!

Yup, sometime during this morning's commute to work -- probably as I was crossing over from da Bronx into Westchester on the lovely (and very rarely traffic-free) Hutchinson Parkway -- I hit that milestone.

1K today!

Wow!!! Just slightly over four weeks of "owning" Mini-E #339 and I've logged 1,009 miles.

Yea, yea ok... technically "I" didn't do all those miles since when 339 and I first met, she already had 30 miles on her. (I suppose someone had to drive her around the UK where she was "born." And then onto the cargo ship to get her across the Atlantic... then off the ship in Jersey... then onto the truck carrier to ferry her across the Hudson... and then into the BMW/Mini Mahattan dealership... Whoa... So how many people are we talkin' here who might've been behind 339's wheel before me?!?!? ;-))

Anyway... There's probably plenty I can write about on this momentous day with my Mini-E. But since I gotta do my "day job," really quickly:

PRO:

• 339 is still very much fun to drive!!
• Driving by the neighborhood gas stations and watching the price of gas fluctuate is now more "amusing" than "frustrating"
• I'm remembering how a "small car" can be a super plus bonus when trying to fit in a NYC parking space
• More people at work are noticing how quiet and "special" 339 is -- AND stopping me in the lot or in the hallways asking for more details... AND rides!
  

CONS:

• No more "new car smell" (although that might be a "good thing.")
  
• A month into my 12-month relationship with 339 and I still ha`ve to get use to some "quirky" controls
• Have yet to see "100-mile" range on a 100% charge ("94 miles" was the best estimate I've seen on her gauge -- and then actually travel about 80, and still have the "estimate-to-empty" gauge read "22-miles." Go figure.)
• I have only 48-weeks left in this grand "experiment" with Mini-E. (Could BMW/Mini really take these beautiful cars and destroy them after we've driven them for a year? My heart breaks at the thought!)

Oh and to "celebrate" our milestone achievement together, I may be getting some nifty shirts.
Robert Ballard, who runs a nifty Mini blog called TwistyBlitz, has set up a shop of nifty Mini-E "swag." (Is it really "swag" if you have to pay for it? ;-))

Still, they're very cool shirts -- made of "organic materials," too!

And what will 339 get out of it? Hmmm... Maybe a nice, professional (hand) car wash and detailing. (I'd have done it earlier, but it's been raining off and on most of the weeks here in NYC. And this weekend seems like it's going to be perfect, sunny days!) Read more!