Newbie on the electric kick

[shaolin77]

Hi all, got my 2013 Leaf SL on Sunday and I've got to say I am impressed by what Nissan has brought to the market.

Its a car that seems to be made for the LA commute. I've driven it in the throes of the 5 and the 405 for the past 4+ days and it provides the perfect combo of speed and efficiency.

The best part of the week has been finding out my office building provides free charging for its tenants for up to 4 hours! All in all, I've spent $1.75 for driving close to 250miles!

 

[RonDawg]

Congratulations! As far as workplace charging, that could mean not having to charge at home (you don't mention your daily commute distance), but have a plan to do so just in case the charging stations at work are inoperative/used by others/building management has changed its mind/etc. Plugshare (or similar app that shows you where the nearest charging stations are) and a smartphone are your friend here; the one included with CarWings is not particularly up to date.

Also consider signing up for membership in multiple charging networks. Blink (specifically, their parent company Ecotality) is having issues right now, so I don't know if they are signing up new members or whether their public charging stations even still work, but ChargePoint is also found in some parts of LA. A few of the Metro light rail stations including Union Station, Universal City, and Pasadena/Sierra Madre Villa have charging stations on their own network: http://www.metro.net/projects/ev/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

evGO is also building a network here in California.

Don't forget to apply for your $2500 CVRP rebate (do it immediately, the longer you wait the longer it takes to get your money especially if funds run out and have to be replenished) and when you get your license plates apply for your HOV exemption stickers as well, unless your dealer already put them on your car. You could use the HOV stickers for your particular commute :lol:

 

[gsleaf]

If platinum were as cheap as aluminum would fuel cell vehicles be viable?

Maybe someday it could be. (and yes I get how unlikely this is to happen anytime soon, just posing a hypothetical)

http://theweek.com/article/index/246086/how-asteroid-mining-could-add-trillions-to-the-world-economy" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

 

[lonelyp]

I was watching "Who Killed the Electric Car" just the other day. When they were talking about fule cells, I was thinking, why not use the fule cells to power a power plant. That way the infrstructure is already in place. Or most of it anyway, always building. I'm so happy Nissan and a few others are bringing back the electric car. It makes me worry about leasing tho. I don't want them to take it back and squash it.

Even if I don't have mine yet.

 

[planet4ever]

It makes me worry about leasing tho. I don't want them to take it back and squash it.

Not a problem. The Nissan lease agreement includes a residual value and an explicit clause that you have a option to purchase the vehicle at end of lease for that value (plus $300 and government taxes or fees).

Ray

 

[RonDawg]

Nissan is unlikely to crush off-lease Leafs. It would be horrendously expensive considering the numbers that have been leased to date. Even if they sold them at a loss, it's still cheaper overall than destroying a perfectly good car.

The reason GM crushed the EV-1, and Honda with the EV Plus (and in a few years the Fit EV and FCX Clarity) is because they didn't want to provide parts and service support any longer on these cars. As Nissan has allowed purchases of the Leaf, and are including purchase options at end of lease, they are now obligated to provide this support. The other models mentioned above were/are lease-only with no purchase option.

 

[cgaydos]

Nissan is unlikely to crush off-lease Leafs. It would be horrendously expensive considering the numbers that have been leased to date. Even if they sold them at a loss, it's still cheaper overall than destroying a perfectly good car.

The reason GM crushed the EV-1, and Honda with the EV Plus (and in a few years the Fit EV and FCX Clarity) is because they didn't want to provide parts and service support any longer on these cars. As Nissan has allowed purchases of the Leaf, and are including purchase options at end of lease, they are now obligated to provide this support. The other models mentioned above were/are lease-only with no purchase option.

On top of that Nissan has included LEAFs returned from leases in with its certified used car program. Unlike those other examples Nissan has a long-term commitment to EVs and clearly expects to be maintaining LEAFs on the road for a long time.

 

[shaolin77]

Congratulations! As far as workplace charging, that could mean not having to charge at home (you don't mention your daily commute distance), but have a plan to do so just in case the charging stations at work are inoperative/used by others/building management has changed its mind/etc. Plugshare (or similar app that shows you where the nearest charging stations are) and a smartphone are your friend here; the one included with CarWings is not particularly up to date.

Also consider signing up for membership in multiple charging networks. Blink (specifically, their parent company Ecotality) is having issues right now, so I don't know if they are signing up new members or whether their public charging stations even still work, but ChargePoint is also found in some parts of LA. A few of the Metro light rail stations including Union Station, Universal City, and Pasadena/Sierra Madre Villa have charging stations on their own network: http://www.metro.net/projects/ev/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

evGO is also building a network here in California.

Don't forget to apply for your $2500 CVRP rebate (do it immediately, the longer you wait the longer it takes to get your money especially if funds run out and have to be replenished) and when you get your license plates apply for your HOV exemption stickers as well, unless your dealer already put them on your car. You could use the HOV stickers for your particular commute :lol:

Thanks for the welcome and the tips RonDawg. Its funny you welcomed me to the community here first - I remember reading one of your comments in another thread about Tustin Nissan...thats actually where I ended up getting the leaf. My commute is about 20miles to Downtown, but I end up going to W-LA (~35miles) a couple of times a week too. I signed up for chargepoint - it looks like they have a pretty decent network for the places I've been to so far. Got the guys at Tustin to get me setup for the home install/charger. My out of pocket costs will be for the permit and whatever additional "non-standard" work the install guys have to do.