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redLEAF said:
OK, our government is at work, more hoops to jump through ...
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Wow! Sorta defeats the purpose of providing rebates if they are gonna make it this hard to get one. I am just gonna do the best job I can and hope for the best. Thanks for sharing!
 
bwallach said:
redLEAF said:
OK, our government is at work, more hoops to jump through ...
Click to expand...

Wow! Sorta defeats the purpose of providing rebates if they are gonna make it this hard to get one. I am just gonna do the best job I can and hope for the best. Thanks for sharing!
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Got something more 'official' looking from my contractor, bless his heart, must not sleep much as I got at 2:32AM, just waiting on Schneider to clarify that they don't use serial numbers on these but rather just the model number and a date code -- may be able to submit all this a bit later today via email and see if that satisfies the requirements.

http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=26&t=2630&start=340


EDIT: OK, I think I may now have everything they want, don't have time today but will resubmit tomorrow, have on Schneider/Sq D letterhead that they don't use SN's so we'll see if that satisfies their requirement.
 
Although it's still not the greatest system (CARWINGS) I've been curious how our LEAF would do with this hotter weather versus the winter ... I needed to modify my route a bit due to construction so now it's more of a bit higher speed (average 45 to 50 MPH versus 35 to 40) than before and I had an indicated 93 outside temp and high humidity, of course the morning run in was cooler, also 6 bars on the battery temp. In any case I did a 28.8 mile commute loop, had turned on the climate control (pre-cool timer) for about 10 minutes before leaving work (had also put up a windshield reflective shade which helped as well) and got a 5 miles per kWh average showing on CARWINGS. I checked the AC draw on the energy use screen on the car and can see its much, much lower than when the heat was running --- I realize others have mentioned that the AC unit uses much less juice than the heater but was pleased to see this. Kept nice and cool and lost next to nothing in range --- pretty 'cool' !! Still no other LEAF sightings even though we've been driving further out that we normally do but many more Volts. Last night I caught the new LEAF TV ad that features the reduced lease rates but again, if you lease in IL you'll be disqualified for the IL EPA 10% MSRP rebate (unless of course they reconsider that policy).

EDIT: had to make a stop on Friday so route a bit different but was pleased the readout went up to 5.4 miles/kWh at 29.3 mile commute; and then yesterday at the Menards in Long Grove on Lake Cook Rd, we passed a black Chevy Volt with those IL 'peace' plates seem to recall initials GLF or something close; he flashed a "V" as we went by each other ... at least he also recognized that we both were driving EV's ... first 'encounter' with a fellow EVer.
 
Did a longer trip in my volt this weekend.

44 miles range on the battery. That is only 10 miles less than I was getting in my Leaf (when it was cold). After that I drove 33 miles using 0.77 gallons which is almost 43 miles/gallon which is not bad.

I drove from Chicago to Lake Geneva. The resort has a 120v car charger so I could charge there for the trip back. It was an interesting experience charging because there was a wasp nest inside the charger and I had to put my hand half an inch from a very angry looking wasp to plug in the car. I reported this to the concierge and they had the wasps removed when I got back the next morning to pick up the car.

On the way back I stopped at Gurnee Mills for a top up but my kids started to wake up so I decided to drive on burning a second 0.7 gallons. One of the 2 chargers at Gurnee Mills is still broken (already was broken when I was there in February). I reported it to the company so hopefully will be fixed although I never seen another car charging there.

Now at 3 gallons and 1391 miles.

I am still loving the Volt. Including my long trip this weekend I have done 89% if my driving electrical. The 40 mile range seems to be sufficient most of the time. I am pretty sure that my next car will be a Volt again. On the top of my wish list for the next version is a better back-up camera (the one from the Leaf would be great) and faster charging (6.6Kw/h). I am not sure if I want more range because it means that I need to carry around more battery weight while I rarely need it.It would be nice to find charging stations using the build in navigation system. It can tell me where to get Hydrogen or Bio Diesel but no EVSE. Very strange.
 
I noticed on the ChargePoint website that Chicagoland Walgreens stores no longer provide free charging. Must be a relatively recent change since I charged for free last week. The rate is now $2 per hour. That's a pretty nasty $0.60/kWh or about ten times what I pay at home. I guess it had to happen at some point but the pricing is a bit steep.
 
The Walgreens at Lincoln & Peterson has Aerovironment chargers, not part of ChargePoint network. I don't think they will be able to charge a fee with that equipment.
 
The latest issue of Car & driver has the editors questing for greater cornering power for the Leaf. They used two cars red and blue in case range became a problem This involves a baseline comparison of the stock Bridgestone Ecopia (.79g) with 5 more sets of tires. The last set of tires are racetrack only slicks. They did not test the effect on range any of these tires might have. To try to get to 1.0g lateral force they resorted to removing the doors (4) to lower the center of gravity! Reportedly they got to .99g with this modification. This in Redleafs beloved Red color, the others were in a blue Leaf. No doors could result in a seriously white knuckle ride for passengers in the red Leaf (though none were pictured). The main stream auto press are at least paying attention to the fun potential these cars have. Now for 2013 Nissan can release the Leaf GT! Coil over shocks, a more aggressive spoiler, no charge racing stripes, and more conveniently located cup holders.
 
lukati said:
I noticed on the ChargePoint website that Chicagoland Walgreens stores no longer provide free charging. Must be a relatively recent change since I charged for free last week. The rate is now $2 per hour. That's a pretty nasty $0.60/kWh or about ten times what I pay at home. I guess it had to happen at some point but the pricing is a bit steep.
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We excitedly went to the Schaumburg Whole Foods to use our ChargePoint card for the first time to find out that our "free" card was not authorized since they started a minimum $2/hr fee on all charges as of June 1st. We still parked there anyway and chatted up several people who wanted to know more about the car. It is rather disappointing to see that there are now very few free chargers available in Chicago.
 
Hey I just saw a blue Nissan leaf on I-190 at 2:00pm. On the highway part where you leave the O'hare airport. The car was parked on emergency lane, it was too late for me to stop and offer help :(
 
Thought I'd say, "hi!" to the crowd here, as we're in the NW burbs and becoming a Leaf family tomorrow. It'll technically be my mom's Leaf, but as I'm her tech guru, I've been reading up on the ins and outs of the Leaf. There's lots of great information in this forum. I figure the more I can share with her the more drive time I'll earn in the new car.
 
Welcome to the forum ... you'll find a lot of info throughout these threads, as well as lot of more specific info on this particular one about Chicagoland owners. Depending on the area you're in you may not see another LEAF for quite awhile so don't be surprised if many people won't know what it is (or even that it's a pure BEV). Be sure to post your particulars (dealer, color, model, etc.) once your family takes delivery!
 
Finally saw a Leaf in the wild around here. Saw it at an event I was partaking in at Fermilab. Good to know there is some interest beyond my own. Wish I could have afforded the Leaf.
 
chijayhawker said:
Finally saw a Leaf in the wild around here. Saw it at an event I was partaking in at Fermilab. Good to know there is some interest beyond my own. Wish I could have afforded the Leaf.
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We keep seeing the same one (another red one with a 'regular' IL plate starting with P20); the guy driving was a bit oblivious (didn't see us coming from the other direction, of course that weak meet-meet horn doesn't help!) so don't know if he knows he has any 'local' LEAF company -- too bad that the recent LEAF lease deals can't add-in the IL EPA rebate otherwise it might just make it that much more affordable --- I myself am still waiting for that rebate as well as the EVSE 50% one which I believe has been approved for payment now. The fed tax credit was the quickest as I saw that once I filed for my taxes. Once all is said and done, my 'out-of-pocket' equivalent will be ~$18K for our red SL (including our EVSE and my $9K trade-in) but that's after shelling out full MSRP as well as the EVSE install, etc.up front; not everyone has an extra $40K lying around (unless you finance it) so can still see limited sales in IL for the immediate future. Our LEAF continues to perform quite well -- the A/C does a much better job than the regular heater during some of these hot days without reducing the range all that much, keeps the car quite comfortable as well as the 'pre-cool' timer feature is a welcome 'bonus' versus the remote starter on my ICE
 
redLEAF said:
... the A/C does a much better job than the regular heater during some of these hot days without reducing the range all that much ...
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Yes, I am observing the same thing.. :)
 
redLEAF said:
Welcome to the forum ... you'll find a lot of info throughout these threads, as well as lot of more specific info on this particular one about Chicagoland owners. Depending on the area you're in you may not see another LEAF for quite awhile so don't be surprised if many people won't know what it is (or even that it's a pure BEV). Be sure to post your particulars (dealer, color, model, etc.) once your family takes delivery!
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Thanks! We're picking it up in a couple hours. We opted not to go with the EVSE that the dealer offered, because we have an electrician a few branches over in the family tree. I was reading about you and others getting your EVSE's done on your own, too. We're still trying to figure it out, so for now we'll make do with the trickle charger. Too bad so many of the charging locations stopped being free just recently. Hopefully we can sort out the EVSE and maybe have tune to apply for that 50% EVSE rebate in the next couple of days before the deadline.
 
Brought the new Leaf home! It's a blue 2012 SL from Woodfield Nissan. There are a lot of manuals! The salesman Giovanni was great about going through the included electronics. He said they were looking to put in a couple EVSE's in the parking lot for public use, but who knows when that'll be. But seems like it'd benefit them, because then they'd have Leaf owners around to tout the car to any customers that come in to look for one.
 
+1 on the Blue LEAF, that's of course the 'signature' color so should be easy to spot in the wild, from at least your listing Woodfield as the dealer assume you're out in the NW 'burbs so you might indeed run into a few others; hopefully the dealer mentioned to your family about the reduced costs 'EL' (for Electric Vehicle) IL plates; seems yet another 'secret' that new owners only find out about too late in the purchase process. Enjoy !!
 
Yep, we got the Electric Vehicle plates, but we kind of knew about it already because it was one of the incentives for Illinois that Nissan has listed on their site, along with the federal tax credit and the state rebate for EV's. Thanks all for the warm welcome.
 

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