Electric Minis coming to California?

I drive a Mini Cooper S. As gas prices have continued to climb, I’ve been getting more comments from people saying they wished they had one. “I bet you get great mileage with that thing!” Well, actually, I’m only getting around 20 mpg in my mix of L.A.city traffic and freeways. And the little sucker only burns premium gas. So, while it’s great fun to drive, it’s not all that economical or green — except in its British Racing motif. I’m now taking the subway and bus from Hollywood to the Marketplace offices downtown, while the Mini spends most days in the garage.

So, I was heartened to see on the Autoblog Green website that BMW plans to send 500 electric Minis to California. The report is unconfirmed. But I’ll be staying tuned. Maybe a conversion to a zero-emissions drive is in my future.