Apparently, I'm the only one seeing these.

[GlennD]

In two and a half months of ownership in the OC, I have not seen another Leaf. I did see a Volt on the 91 freeway and a Leaf in the Cerritos Trader Joes parking lot.

There is supposed to be a lot of Leafs here but they do not cross my path.

I have never seen one one a flatbed.

 

[smkettner]

I still rarely see a Leaf and never stuck or on a truck.

 

[cwerdna]

Either Oregonians are smarter than SoCal people when it comes to the GOM, <i>foobert</i> has seen every one that has been stranded...or maybe both.

PLEASE! If you're going to call out Californians, please properly discriminate. :lol: Foobert lives in San Jose, which is in Nor Cal. Nobody from So Cal has reported this issue.

I live in San Jose. I haven't seen any stuck/stranded Leafs yet nor any on flatbed trucks yet.

 

[N1ghtrider]

There are a number of us with Leafs in Florida who get together for car shows and meets. I have never heard of one of our number having to be towed.

 

[EVDrive]

I drive a 100 mile roundtrip to Mountain View every work day. I have seen one Leaf on the side of the road in the last year and it had just rearended another driver on the 880. Seeing a Leaf speeding down the freeway is common now. None have been on a flatbed.

I see ICE cars on the side of the freeway ON FIRE every few months after a crash. For me that is an all to common site. I just saw a BMW totalled after it burst into flames post collision 2 weeks ago. I had to laugh about the Volt fire drama. Don't people realize that cars burst into flames everyday in the USA and run out of gas often but when an extended range electric or all electric car runs out of a charge or the volt is crash tested and starts on fire 3 weeks later, it is a real big deal... Nope not really people.

 

[nlagnew]

I have never seen a Leaf in the wild other than myself driving the demo's. Nor has anyone else I have interacted with while driving the Leaf. I have seen 1 other Volt though (in a grocery store parking lot), and that was it.

It would certainly be a shame to see a Leaf on a flatbed. Unfortunately people are bound to push the limits eventually, and that is to be expected with electrics in their infancy (at least in large amounts in the publics hands). Unfortunately it will be sights like these that make the masses think these cars "are not ready."

I got my Leaf nearly 4 months ago, and it is only in the past two or three weeks that I've begun seeing other Leafs in the wild. I tried to wave and smile (and point at mine) at a guy the other day, but he just sailed on past, not seeing my (parked) Leaf. One day I saw TWO other Leafs beside mine!

I have not seen any distressed Leafs on flatbeds or on the side of the road. We have very few public charging facilities here, so it may be that people are conservative about planning their trips.

 

[JPVLeaf]

After almost 13,000 mi. of mostly freeway driving in OC/LA in Southern CA, I've seen many Leafs on an almost daily basis but never one on a flatbed or stopped by the roadside. I do have a friend, however, who had his Leaf towed all of <2 mi. to his home after an unintended underestimation of his Leaf's remaining range while driving 'uphill'. It occurred during his 1st month of ownership.

 

[Caracalover]

I have seen many Leaf's on the road, driving to and fro, but in the year I have owned one, I have yet to see one being towed.

I have however seen three cars that burned to the ground in a carBQ in that time, one in the left turn lane of a very busy intersection.

Guess I would rather have a tow.

 

[Nubo]

... Based on having plates and carpool stickers, this person has had their car plenty long enough to have learned that the GOM != range. ...

Man, I do not want to be that guy. For the Anti-EV crowd, or even for the wary, one LEAF on a flatbed will erase hundreds of sightings of LEAFs functioning perfectly well on the roads. Dang, I was embarassed enough the first week when I accidentally left the charge port door unlatched and had it flip up on the highway. DUH!!

I've only seen a few LEAFs in the wild. Even though we're technically in the Bay Area, we're a bit removed from the EV epicenter.

 

[padamson1]

PLEASE! If you're going to call out Californians, please properly discriminate. :lol: Foobert lives in San Jose, which is in Nor Cal. Nobody from So Cal has reported this issue.

Apologies, for some reason I thought foobert mentioned SoCal. NorCal is technically part of 'Pacifica' so I should be nice, but I still stand by my observation that we have plenty of LEAFs around here (in OR) and I haven't seen this particular issue.

That being said, things are not perfect for LEAFers up here in Oregon, we may be better with the GOM but apparently navigating near school buses is a different story ...
http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=27&t=7741

:?

 

[Valdemar]

I wish I could make that same claim but I've seen two of them to date in the southern California Los Angeles area off of the 405 freeway in the Sepulveda Pass...

Kinda makes sense, it is a pretty long and steep hill when driving North. After I leave Santa Monica with 60 GOM-miles some 20 miles later at home in West SF Valley I usually have about 20 GOM-miles left with most of the original estimate lost on that climb, so it is pretty easy to run out unless you know what to expect and plan ahead.

Personally I've never seen a Leaf being towed (but I'm sure I will).

 

[lpickup]

Okay, here is my theory: all those cars you see on flatbeds are actually the same car and belongs to Stuart658. Those that don't peek at Carwings have no idea what I'm talking about!

Either that or this is someone's "range extended" LEAF taking advantage of free towing to make their 160 mile daily commute!

 

[NYLEAF]

The only Leaf I've ever seen on a flat bed would be my own, after less than a month of ownership, due to a flat tire. In fact, the only Leaf I've ever seen at all, except for dealer demos, would be my own.

 

[Fabio]

I commute 50+ m every day on Bay Area's 101 and the only EV I've seen on the side of the road in need for help was a Tesla Roadster

Let be clear: I'm not being snarky here. I'm legitimately wondering why I see so many Leaf's on the back of flatbeds or on the side of freeways?

Am I just more observant for a Leaf than for other cars?

 

[TomT]

Yeah, it's kind of funny, really. I drive it a few times a week for work and I leave my house (at 1,500 feet) southbound with an 80% charge (10 bars) and typically a GOM of around 65 miles, and I arrive at work (at 110 feet) 23 miles later with 9 bars and a GOM of typically around 100 miles. I get home with typically 3 bars and a GOM of around 15. I tend to drive between 63 and 65 on the freeway for the most part, with occasional spurts faster than that...

I wish I could make that same claim but I've seen two of them to date in the southern California Los Angeles area off of the 405 freeway in the Sepulveda Pass...

Kinda makes sense, it is a pretty long and steep hill when driving North. After I leave Santa Monica with 60 GOM-miles some 20 miles later at home in West SF Valley I usually have about 20 GOM-miles left with most of the original estimate lost on that climb, so it is pretty easy to run out unless you know what to expect and plan ahead.

 

[adric22]

I've never seen a leaf on a flatbed before. However, one thought that comes to mind that I haven't seen mentioned is that somebody wanted to buy one but the dealership was further away than the car could drive. So they decided to have it trucked home.

 

[OrientExpress]

Here in the SF bay area, the SF BayLeafs is the largest Leaf owners association in the world, with over 300 members and over 200 cars. None of our members have ever reported having to be towed or seen a Leaf being towed. Not to say that it does not happen, but to say that it is a common sight is quite a stretch.

 

[BLUEH20]

19 May 2011 between 4:00 and 7:00 pm.
Blue Ocean LEAF on a flat bed on I90 between Spokane, WA and East Wentchee, WA (168 miles).
My selling dealer, JAREMKO Nissan/Saab, was delivering my just adopted orphaned LEAF to my residence.

 

[TonyWilliams]

The only Leaf I've ever seen on a flat bed would be my own, after less than a month of ownership, due to a flat tire. In fact, the only Leaf I've ever seen at all, except for dealer demos, would be my own.

I've had three flats, and none required a tow.

 

[kolmstead]

Mine's been on a flatbed twice in two days. Tried to make it 85 miles to dealer for annual battery check. Came up three miles short. Next day, 19 miles short going home (uphill, windy).

My car made the trip home w/o difficulty one year ago, or I wouldn't have tried it this year.

Should have used my trailer both ways, but the ramps are steep and the LEAF's nose drags while loading.

-Karl