Mini E - 150 Miles of Stylin Electric Power

So it seems Mini is getting ready to release an electric version of their one and only model. The car will pack an array of batteries similar to the one utilized in the Tesla roadster. The battery pack consists of many smaller lithium ion batteries grouped into "modules". Unfortunately, the pack is so big that it takes up the entire "back seat" (Anyone who's sat in the back of one of these knows that it's hardly worthy of being called a back seat...) of the Mini.

The car will have a range of 150 miles on a full charge, and will reach 62 MPH from 0 in just 8.5 seconds. Mini is launching an experimental leasing period for the cars, with 500 of them finding their way to California, New York, and New Jersey.

I wouldn't mind leasing one of these if the price is right! (Edit 11/14/2008: Ha! $820/month for a 1 year lease? Noooooo, thank you!) No more fill-ups at the pump, and since my employer pays my electric bill, it would essentially be free transportation, aside from the monthly lease fee. That is, until they notice a huge spike in my electric bill...

In any case, it's an interesting vehicle. Now if we could only revamp all the power plants in the country to produce power in a clean and renewable way, we'd be set.