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10 years ago today @bbcnews' @brianmilli set off on a 4 day trip by electric Mini from London to Edinburgh.
It was intended to show what electric motoring was really like, following the introduction of the £5000 grant from OLEV.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-12138420
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews/posts/how-far-will-he-get-follow-brian-milligans-electric-car-journey-for-bbc-business/145847208802649/
It was intended to show what electric motoring was really like, following the introduction of the £5000 grant from OLEV.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-12138420
https://www.facebook.com/bbcnews/posts/how-far-will-he-get-follow-brian-milligans-electric-car-journey-for-bbc-business/145847208802649/
"It is unfair in one sense, but surely fair in another: if the electric car really has come of age, won't potential owners want to know that if they wanted to, they could drive it from London to Manchester and back at the weekend, to see uncle and auntie?"
The Mini-e was a 35 kWh 2 seat prototype with 50A (12 kW) charging. Most of the charge points Brian used were 13A, essentially domestic sockets, but at the same time others were working hard on rolling out fast charging and the Nissan Leaf was 2 months from launching in the UK.
Although it was right to criticise public expenditure on 13A posts - which most EV drivers back then were calling chocolate teapots - the trip still left a poor impression with viewers that this is what electric motoring was *going to be* like.
"It would be easy to charge the car by asking successive pub landlords between Westminster and the Royal Mile if they wouldn't mind you plugging into their electricity supply while you had a drink"
Ironically this inspired @ZeroCarbonWorld, because it is exactly what they built.
Ironically this inspired @ZeroCarbonWorld, because it is exactly what they built.
So today 10 years ago, appropriately for this story, I was in Oslo. Back then you were less likely to see a Think City (or A-ha) in Oslo than a G-Wiz in London.
As I'd done a trip where I left London at 5pm and was at Lands End by 9am, ( https://www.autoblog.com/amp/2010/06/28/uk-tesla-superfan-goes-772-miles-from-london-to-lands-end-in-a-r/ )
I didn't think
As I'd done a trip where I left London at 5pm and was at Lands End by 9am, ( https://www.autoblog.com/amp/2010/06/28/uk-tesla-superfan-goes-772-miles-from-london-to-lands-end-in-a-r/ )
I didn't think
the BBC trip was a fair representation of where the technology was going. As owners and wannabe owners, we were in the process of building a nationwide fast charge network. Some hoteliers were proving tricky and any such negative publicity could have been a problem.
As I saw the
As I saw the
BBC's day 2 unfolding, I hatched a plan. I'd heard a rumour that an owner in Nottingham had his own fast charger and got in touch via another owner who knew us both. By strange coincidence, he knew my parents from 20 years before.
In another twist of luck, I'd spent Christmas in
In another twist of luck, I'd spent Christmas in
Scotland and on the way past dropped a £8 32A CE plug in at @TebayServices which they'd installed so that @eLEJOG could go there, show them his car to discuss getting a fast charger and get home again.
I knew that with these two recharges it was possible to get to Edinburgh in a
I knew that with these two recharges it was possible to get to Edinburgh in a
day, albeit via an unconventional route over the Pennines, so I called @rachelkonrad and @GianAvignone to explain the plan and ask if I could borrow a Roadster for a couple of days. That in the bag, I called @bobbyllew to see if he was up for being in London at 6 AM, asked my gf
to pack a bag with a couple of days' clothes and an extension lead, and called my boss to say I was talking the rest of the week off come what may.
I bought a new ticket to get home, left the workshop a day early and rushed to the airport...
I bought a new ticket to get home, left the workshop a day early and rushed to the airport...
10 years ago today was one of the more surreal days I've had. After staying over in London (the only freebie from Tesla in this story), we arrived at the @Tesla London store at 5:45 to find @bobbyllew and a red Roadster charged and ready to go.
This was going to be payback for Top Gear. The plan was to hit the road at 6, but after doing a piece for a very early @FullyChargedShw, chatting and generally joking around it was closer to 7 before we were underway.
Arriving at Nottingham a couple of hours later, we'd already driven further than Brian in his first day. The local owner, Patrick, met us at the M1 and led us to his house. After hooking the car up to his "HPC", we settled down for a late breakfast.
Patrick said he had always been a Porsche fan, was visiting Monaco the day Tesla was offering test drives and, not knowing of them, took a test drive. He couldn't go back to a petrol car after that and was wondering if he could ever replace it. €1m for a 918 hybrid was "a joke".
Thanking Patrick for his hospitality, we set off for @TebayServices and took the back roads over the Pennines. We got there at 4:20 as it was getting dark and had a welcoming committee, even the MD showed up. We had a chat about the car, our planned HPC network then had a meal
and caught up on sleep at @TheHotelAtTebay. Because we used a 32A connector that was only meant as a means to get an HPC installed, progress was slow. After 6 hours we had enough for the 133 miles to Edinburgh and decided to risk it. It turned out to be closer than we imagined.
It wasn't long before we ran into thick freezing fog and then snow. We were the only car on the motorway for miles and had to slow down to less than 50 mph for the conditions. We arrived at the outskirts of Edinburgh at 12:30 where @eLEJOG met us and escorted us to the castle.
Meanwhile our trip hadn't gone unnoticed: We'd made the homepage of @BBCNews and were trending on Twitter. Some of those tweets reached a million impressions. The BBC editors even made a statement about it on their blog: https://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/theeditors/2011/01/electric_car_challenge.html
The next day after a long lay in, we'd hoped to welcome Brian to Edinburgh and have a chat about our view on where EV technology was going, but it didn't happen. @eLEJOG even called ITV and Sky News but "it wasn't on their agenda". We resigned ourselves to knowing that at least
online there was an audience who knew this had been done, even if millions of TV viewers were left with the impression that EVs were utterly impractical for anything other than local errands. We'd provided a counterpoint for the inevitable articles like this from the Telegraph:
Meanwhile, IMHO the point was lost even on some from our own side. We were not trying to say that everyone can ditch their ICE right now and buy a Tesla Roadster, but that this is a trailblazer for what is about to come. https://www.greencarreports.com/news/1054095_chelsea-sexton-slams-bias-on-both-sides-over-electric-car-range-guest-post
There was a clear divide between people who had seen the online content and those who had not, even within the EV industry. I was invited to a few SMMT meetings and delegates who had only seen TV coverage on BBC Breakfast were left with an overwhelmingly negative impression,
unlike members of the public I spoke to who followed the BBC story online. That we got the editorial tone changed was a small win.
Meanwhile, even doing that trip in a Nissan Leaf in Jan 2011 would have resulted in a similar outcome, but I took this picture just 2 months later:
Meanwhile, even doing that trip in a Nissan Leaf in Jan 2011 would have resulted in a similar outcome, but I took this picture just 2 months later:
It is the charging network that makes all the difference. As I said, we were already planning an HPC network across the UK, but we met resistance even within Tesla. "We are a car company, not an infrastructure company" was one phrase used, but we were able to get 10 HPCs anyway.
Criticism that we shouldn't be promoting EV road trips didn't stop us doing it anyway. Whether used for business, pleasure or setting records, we finished the HPC network and road tripped across Europe. I'm convinced it showed @Tesla of the need to own the supercharger network.
Meanwhile, 10 years later, the "Eurofighter Typhoon" technology in the Roadster is beaten by the cheapest supermini and Tesla outsells Mini by 2 to 1.
It's worth noting that when @AlexanderSims, @DeanFieldingF1 and I drove up to John O'Groats last year for that record attempt, getting to Edinburgh didn't even figure in the planning. With ubiquitous 250kW superchargers it's a doddle. Our car's sat nav guided us straight to them.
That, however, is not the end of the story. While Brian's Mini was put into a trailer and towed back south by Range Rover, I had to get the Roadster back the next day. To complicate things further, I had to be in Ireland by Saturday for a major birthday party. What to do?
One phone call later and the car was mine for the weekend, but it had to be back by 8 AM Monday. Could we get to Ireland on 1 charge? Just, but a charge on the ferry would have helped. Because an EV conversion caught fire on the only Stena Line ferry that was advertising charging
the company had banned the practice, but they did allow a token top up on a 13A socket at Stranraer. It didn't seem like much, but that 5 miles turned out to be a godsend. ABC.
The plan was to top up in my uncle's garage, then on the @Irish_Ferries Ulysses on the way home, which
The plan was to top up in my uncle's garage, then on the @Irish_Ferries Ulysses on the way home, which
also advertised EV charging. We thought everything was set, but just as we sat down on the ferry @ka1mar called me and said the Ulysses had a @Pod_Point tethered Type 1 charger and we didn't have an adapter. By this time the ship had set sail and we couldn't turn back...
Fortunately there was another option: @ESBGroup had a 3 phase socket at their HQ in Dublin which we could use if we got there. The only problem was we didn't have the right plug. Cue trip to electrical store and rather overpriced red plug.
By now we were having our own Mini Adventure...
Later that night, surprise party in full flow, we had to say our goodbyes and head off to a hastily-booked B&B in Dublin. Driving down the M1 it was blowing an absolute gale and this is the only time I have every had "range anxiety", not because I thought we wouldn't make it to
Dublin, but the consumption was so high we might not make the next stop in England.
The B&B had left an extension lead out, so we plugged in and went to bed. A few more miles added, we headed over to ESB at 5 AM on a Sunday where the guys working on their own public charging roll
The B&B had left an extension lead out, so we plugged in and went to bed. A few more miles added, we headed over to ESB at 5 AM on a Sunday where the guys working on their own public charging roll
out kindly let us in. While the car charged at 32A, we hit the empty streets of Dublin in their i-MiEV - still the only time I've driven one - before heading to the ferry.
We were still optimistically hoping for a charge and the crew directed us to the truck deck where there are
We were still optimistically hoping for a charge and the crew directed us to the truck deck where there are
outlets for refrigerated trailers. Just as we thought we were in luck the car's dash lit up like a Christmas tree. It turns out that although it was the same red plug as at ESB, they were wired differently. Had we broken the car? I was genuinely worried. Luckily the ship's
electrician found us a standard outlet and we managed to get about 10 more miles. We had just about enough charge to get to the Midlands in ideal circumstances. Unfortunately it was raining so hard the A5 had turned into a river in places. We made it with less than 10 miles left.
In another stroke of good luck, @themoathouse had also installed a socket in advance of receiving an HPC. It was located next to the front door, so the car got pride of place for 6 hours while we again caught up on sleep. If nothing else we were validating our choice of hotels.
By 10 we were the only customers on-site and the decided to close up! We just about had enough to get home, but it would be tight. To make matters worse, they'd closed the M40. We again made it with a few miles to spare by staying below 55 mph - the only time I've ever done that.
Finally, I got up at 6 AM the next day, drove to London, parked outside of the Tesla store and handed back the keys. I'd made the deadline with 10 minutes to spare. I caught the train back to work, musing on an epic trip and sad I would never see that record setting car again.
Pulling off a trip to Edinburgh with no suitable public charging and 1 day's notice was one thing, a 1000 mile weekend in Ireland was quite another. It just goes to show that electricity is everywhere - with the right adapters. Today there are thousands of rapid chargers alone.
That's not to say the Edinburgh part was plain sailing: A wrong turn in Stockport almost blew it. At Tebay they'd chained my cable to the wall and lost the key - that cost us 15 minutes and I had to break the chain with my bare hands. Tesla said we drove with the heater - not on
the last leg, it was cold air and co-pilot wiping the screen! Despite fully charging it at Tebay, it was so cold my phone almost ran out of charge. Amusingly after meeting with @eLEJOG at the city limit he set off towards home - we just had enough left to call and shout "Castle!"
Our backup plan was my gf's brother-in-law, an electrician, lived 25 miles before Edinburgh. He'd rigged up a 32A socket in case, but we didn't use it. We got to the castle with 0 miles range - then drove 14 miles to @eLEJOG's house. It was nearly defeat from the jaws of victory.
Shout out to @Domenick_Y @aminorjourney and @transportevolve for getting the word out back then:
https://www.autoblog.com/2011/01/13/tesla-superfan-scotland-before-bbc/
https://www.greencarreports.com/news/1053572_tesla-fan-drives-epic-electric-car-trip-to-prove-bbc-wrong
https://www.autoblog.com/2011/01/13/tesla-superfan-scotland-before-bbc/
https://www.greencarreports.com/news/1053572_tesla-fan-drives-epic-electric-car-trip-to-prove-bbc-wrong
There is one small footnote to this story: Since a "right place, right time" moment that lead to be driving a prototype Tesla Roadster in 2008, I knew I had to have one. Trips like this only made the hunger worse. I'd been saving since 2008 with the aim of getting one and with
the car going out of production, second hand ones remaining stubbornly out of reach and Model S too big, I'd all but given up getting one. Instead I'd decided to scratch a different itch an buy an old S2000 instead. I went to see one, bought it but had to wait a couple of weeks
while the owner transferred a private plate.
I don't know why, but while I was waiting I did one more search on Autotrader and up came a red Tesla Roadster at the lowest price of any yet. I couldn't be sure, but something told me it was the same one from the Edinburgh trip.
I don't know why, but while I was waiting I did one more search on Autotrader and up came a red Tesla Roadster at the lowest price of any yet. I couldn't be sure, but something told me it was the same one from the Edinburgh trip.
I arranged to see it en route to picking up the S2000. Walking into an underground car park in Reading, there it was: 3 years and 3000 miles since I last saw it.
I now had a dilemma. I'd already put a deposit on the S2000 and the Roadster was still at the very top of my budget.
I now had a dilemma. I'd already put a deposit on the S2000 and the Roadster was still at the very top of my budget.
I decided to buy the S2000 anyway, while the Roadster seller needed to discuss the sale with her husband and he wasn't due to be home for a week. To my horror they moved it to a specialist sports car seller before agreeing the sale to me and I had to pretend to be their associate
pick it up.
I literally ended up using all my savings, a bank loan, credit card and 2 grand from a friend, but after 2 weeks the first EV to do London to Edinburgh in a day was mine and for a glorious month in the summer of 2014 I was the owner of this garage...
I literally ended up using all my savings, a bank loan, credit card and 2 grand from a friend, but after 2 weeks the first EV to do London to Edinburgh in a day was mine and for a glorious month in the summer of 2014 I was the owner of this garage...
Since then the car has been on road trips that make the original look like a drive to the shops. Ireland again, France, Germany, Switzerland, Sicily, even lived in the Netherlands for a bit and I still occasionally visit the odd @ZeroCarbonWorld pub. But EVs are for commuting..
If you hadn't worked it out, the car was just there all along.For all the luck in this story there is one sad note. Patrick, without whom the trip would not have happened, passed away recently. A lovely man and I wonder if he'd been please about this: https://twitter.com/Out_of_Spec/status/1347213158340059139?s=20
We should also spare a thought for Brian's Mini, which, far from going to a loving home and after less than 8000 miles, has been missing without trace since 2014 
Finally, today is 7 years since @bobbyllew and I did London-Edinburgh by Leaf.
It seemed like a lifetime between the 2 trips but in just 3 years we went from a few isolated 13A posts to a chain of 50kW rapids. Progress now is just as fast - bring on 2030. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-25878172
It seemed like a lifetime between the 2 trips but in just 3 years we went from a few isolated 13A posts to a chain of 50kW rapids. Progress now is just as fast - bring on 2030. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-25878172
