Tuesday, March 20, 2012

“Yes, Grasshopper. But can any man afford such arrogance?” – Master Po


Before taking delivery of our ActiveE, I voraciously read everything I could find from the Mini-E Pioneers.  I read the Facebook posts; I read the forums, and most of all I read the blogs.  Mini-E blogs as well as ActiveE blogs.  Since the Mini-E Pioneers were the first to take delivery of ActiveEs, their blogs were a great place to get information about the EV we would soon be receiving.  I just couldn’t get enough.

'93 VW Corrado
In retrospect, I should have known better.  These were folks with a wealth of experience in the realm of EVs, and I respected that.  But I was a car guy – my garage has housed a Dark Green Metallic Corrado, a Red Autumn Metallic A4 Quattro as well as cars that were Bright Caramel Metallic, California Sky Blue, and Kasan Red, so I must know about some things that these Pioneers do not. 

By the time we took delivery of our ActiveE, Electra Girl had washed her ActiveE 11 times.  Eleven times in 3333.3 miles.  Once every 303 miles.  How could a car need to be washed that often?  My Dark Green Metallic VW didn’t need washing that often, and I was meticulous about keeping that car clean.  If a car that’s almost black doesn’t show dirt that badly, there’s no way a white car, electric or ICE (see EV Acronym definitions here courtesy of Keith Davidson) would show dirt worse than a black car, right?

250 miles behind the wheel of the ActiveE and I owe Electra Girl an apology.  We’ve never met, and I’d only thought she was crazy for washing her car that often - I’d never even shared my thoughts on the topic with anyone, until now.  Due to my arrogance, I owe her that apology.  It’s been a lot of years since I labored to keep that Corrado clean, and I’m not as diligent or meticulous about my cars as I was back then.  But clearly the ActiveE needs to be washed. 

At this rate I’ll be washing it 20% more often than Electra Girl – and as such, this grasshopper bows to the wisdom of Master Po – a.k.a. Electra Girl.


It's a Dirt Magnet

3 comments:

  1. I took advantage of a warm New England Sunday to wash my ActiveE. 180 miles and it neded it! I too read Electra Girl's blog and thought it excessive. I don't understand how the dirt gets **under** the area above the rear license plate. Is it some special kind of dirt-grabbing paint?

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  2. It's an intrusting and fantastic topic related to the ActiveEs. I read and really impressed from your
    article .That's a great and wounder full . I like and saved.Thanks for posting....

    Thank You for sharing

    BMW auto service

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  3. One cannot feel the joy of a shiny clean car unless one can also feel the despair of a muddy puddle.

    Learn first how to clean. Learn second how not to get it dirty in the first place.

    I will teach you the art of dodging the puddle and the unclean car ahead.

    Grasshopper, the future will bring you many hours to contemplate the meaning of this as you toil by the bucket and sponge of life.

    ReplyDelete