My favorite small car is about to get greener! The all-electric Mini Cooper is coming! Before we go further, let’s take a moment to remember the last all-electric pilot program by a major manufacturer: GM’s EV1. That was 1996. It is now twelve years later, and low and behold we are exactly where we were twelve years ago! Good thing we ripped out all of those recharging stations. Oh, and a decade after hydrogen was a decade away from a reality, it is still a decade away! Before you accuse me of talking in circles, think about the fact that as a society we have made no measurable progress when it comes to bringing zero-emission vehicles to mass-market in the last ten years. Check out Who Killed the Electric Car for some of the reasons why. Maybe things will be different this time.
Mini has announced the November application process for its new pilot program for an all-electric Mini Cooper. Only 500 lucky souls will get to lease the zero-emission Mini, and only for 1 year. And, similar to the EV1, the Cooper will only be available for lease in select markets: Southern California and NY/NJ metro area. Learn more here and check back for follow-up posts here at the Green Ride Rules!