Nissan To Install 500 More Quick Charge Stations

[apvbguy]

I'm going to make the argument that it's a GOOD thing that you had to change your habits. With the added convenience of being able to "fill up" any time and anywhere, and with the ability to travel large distances, that we have became a very wasteful society, energy-wise. The fact that there are limits to the LEAF's range and charging forces us to be more efficient:

- we try to combine trips
- we plan our days to encourage carpooling and avoid unnecessary trips
- we drive better so we are not tailgating right up to the next light and have to start/stop all the time
- and hopefully it encourages not to live 60-70 miles from our job/stores/etc.

If EVs do become more "convenient" (and there is no doubt they will), I'm just afraid we'll pick up all these bad habits we've learned in the last few decades.

the inability to combine my trips is an issue that I don't see being addressed without the installation of charge points, which I am fairly certain is NOT in the works and car pooling is not part of any of my plans because I do not make the same trips on a regular basis.

what you call "bad habits", I call a normal lifestyle, I have never been one to tailgate or race to red lights regardless of what I was driving, and the majority of my mall type stores restaurants and movie/entertainment venues are a minimum of 30 miles R/T so the range issue is keen for me.
like I've noted the EV life is the way to go, so selling me the concept is not the problem, it is that I need a vehicle that provides a bit more range than the LEAF is capable of.

 

[apvbguy]

It appears you did, indeed, change your paradigm and make adjustments; and our worlds do share quite a few similarities (no fuel-on-the-fly here either, QC non-existent, similar traffic, but with climate extremes - snow/heat). It's not merely my saying people need to adjust the way they do things with this vehicle; my point is, it's a different kind of vehicle. The EV driving experience is very much like the ICE experience and even better in many ways, but operational needs are different. Gas stations didn't used to be widely available (fueling was more planned), but in time, the availability of charging stations will increase, somewhat equalizing the BEV fueling experience to an ICE, for which I believe we're all very much advocating.

I did indeed adapt but I am not happy with how I am forced to adapt, currently the LEAF is giving be about 60 or so miles of driving range, if I could double that I would fine with that level of range.

 

[91040]

Mods: Please split the above off topic discussion to its own thread.

There are thousands of times more places to charge than there will ever be gas stations. The problem is access to them and the requirement of an expensive piece of equipment to interface with the circuit, even indoors.

Anybody have an EASE (Electric Appliance Supply Equipment) hooked up to their electric range, AC window unit, washer/dryer, welder, etc.?

 

[lpickup]

what you call "bad habits", I call a normal lifestyle

I'm not picking on you personally. I'm using the "we" as it refers "our society". Before the automobile was in wide use, very few people lived far from their places of employment and "town", or they were self-sufficient. It wasn't rare for people to have never left their home state in their whole lives. We can blame part of the change on the simple fact that our population has grown, but I think most of the "blame" is on the freedoms that vehicles have given us. If energy were limitless, I don't see this as a problem. But as we know, it's not. And I think the bad habits, through no intentional fault of our own, have been building up for a couple generations now. And I do acknowledge (to an extent) that these would be called a normal lifestyle.

 

[fooljoe]

Stopped by the new QC at Power Nissan in Hawthorne today, but could not use it...

Following up on my earlier post, I stopped by again today and went inside to inquire about using the new QC. I found nobody inside that seemed at all interested in helping me, so I popped into the manager's office. He said that he didn't really know about the QC but figured whatever the procedure ends up being expect it to be significantly more "user-friendly" if you bought your Leaf from them. He then proceeded to launch into a tirade about the "****-breathers from all these aerospace companies around here" (i.e. me) who didn't buy their cars from them and come in and charge all day.

Wow. Just amazing how one can be in such a business and have such apparent contempt for his customers.

 

[Phoenix]

Again, another example of how the dealership model doesn't mesh well with electric vehicle usage. Tesla is ahead of the game in its deployment and seamless integration of supercharging. Nissan needs to find some effective ground in between these two business models. It wouldn't be so hard for Corporate Nissan to impose certain parameters on donated DCQCs (charging available to all whether fee or no fee), much like what Corporate Nissan required before a dealer could sell LEAFs.

 

[apvbguy]

what you call "bad habits", I call a normal lifestyle

I'm not picking on you personally. I'm using the "we" as it refers "our society". Before the automobile was in wide use, very few people lived far from their places of employment and "town", or they were self-sufficient. It wasn't rare for people to have never left their home state in their whole lives. We can blame part of the change on the simple fact that our population has grown, but I think most of the "blame" is on the freedoms that vehicles have given us. If energy were limitless, I don't see this as a problem. But as we know, it's not. And I think the bad habits, through no intentional fault of our own, have been building up for a couple generations now. And I do acknowledge (to an extent) that these would be called a normal lifestyle.

that sounds like a venture into luddite territory, this country is an economic powerhouse because of it's vast transportation options, while the last 50 years has seen unprecedented sprawl, this sprawl is not necessarily a bad thing.

 

[apvbguy]

Wow. Just amazing how one can be in such a business and have such apparent contempt for his customers.

quite unbelievable! maybe a note to Nissan USA about this guy would get him the training he is obviously lacking. While I understand a salesman lack of being interested in assisting a non client someone in a management position should understand basic customer service, and while you may not have bought your LEAF from his dealership you might have considered his dealership for your next purchase until he acted like a complete ahole

 

[lpickup]

that sounds like a venture into luddite territory, this country is an economic powerhouse because of it's vast transportation options, while the last 50 years has seen unprecedented sprawl, this sprawl is not necessarily a bad thing.

Maybe you're right about the luddite comment! But my point of view is that our economy's growth is not infinitely sustainable. At some point (and some would say it's starting now) the costs of the energy that fuels it is going to get more and more expensive and begin to be a drag on it. It's kind of like how the big computer business is these days. Data center performance is not measured in petaflops these days, it's measured in petaflops/kWh. So my main argument is efficiency. And the biggest bang for the buck efficiency-wise is to avoid using energy you really don't need to. We probably would disagree on the timeframe when this will happen, but I hope we can at least agree that traditional energy sources are finite, and even renewable energy sources have a theoretical limit.

 

[GRA]

what you call "bad habits", I call a normal lifestyle

I'm not picking on you personally. I'm using the "we" as it refers "our society". Before the automobile was in wide use, very few people lived far from their places of employment and "town", or they were self-sufficient. It wasn't rare for people to have never left their home state in their whole lives. We can blame part of the change on the simple fact that our population has grown, but I think most of the "blame" is on the freedoms that vehicles have given us. If energy were limitless, I don't see this as a problem. But as we know, it's not. And I think the bad habits, through no intentional fault of our own, have been building up for a couple generations now. And I do acknowledge (to an extent) that these would be called a normal lifestyle.

As a minor quibble, 'suburban sprawl' began with commuter railroads and especially streetcars. It just expanded to a greater radius with widespread auto ownership. And I agree that doing the same old thing, only with EVs instead of ICEs, isn't the answer. With 50+% of the world's population urban, forecast to reach 60% by 2030 and 70% by 2050 and with much of that in megacities in the developing world, it's pretty clear that 1 person/1 car commuting from the suburbs as the U.S. has developed won't cut it. But that's part of a whole other argument - see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Urbanism" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

 

[DaveinOlyWA]

that sounds like a venture into luddite territory, this country is an economic powerhouse because of it's vast transportation options, while the last 50 years has seen unprecedented sprawl, this sprawl is not necessarily a bad thing.

that is one way to look at it. I look at it as very cheap energy lulled us into thinking urban sprawl was an option but I see cities going broke as a result of a reduced tax base from being abandoned. services for roads, fire, police, sanitation and EVERYTHING thing else unable to pay for itself thru collection of fees because of the distances involved and the inability to cope with rising fuel costs.

so now we have a tax base that used to be centralized in cities, spread out over an area 10X larger which only dilutes services, removes services or makes them prohibitively expensive which creates financial shocks to the people living there which creates a mindset that they are dead set against any increase for nearly any reason.

basically cheap gas has forced the cost of everything else to rise so we were lulled into thinking we could drive a 15 mpg car and it was nobody's business but our own. wow, did we get fooled

 

[JPVLeaf]

Stopped by the new QC at Power Nissan in Hawthorne today, but could not use it...

Following up on my earlier post, I stopped by again today and went inside to inquire about using the new QC. I found nobody inside that seemed at all interested in helping me, so I popped into the manager's office. He said that he didn't really know about the QC but figured whatever the procedure ends up being expect it to be significantly more "user-friendly" if you bought your Leaf from them. He then proceeded to launch into a tirade about the "****-breathers from all these aerospace companies around here" (i.e. me) who didn't buy their cars from them and come in and charge all day.

That's a bummer to hear about Power Nissan in Hawthorne. As an alternative, just 10 mi. south on the 405 ...

I would recommend the folks at Carson Nissan. They are freeway close and were very accommodating on a Saturday morning. The QC was easy to spot as you enter the lot, just to the right of the driveway leading to the service area. I was quickly greeted by staff and informed to visit the Service counter for the FOB/RFID card. They were busy at the Service counter, but one of the salesmen offered to grab another RFID card from a manager in the showroom. They were eager to help me out and get me going. This was my first use of a Nissan/Sumitomo QC, but there were instructions on the side. There was an additional lock that slid over the nozzle handle/lever. Just remember to slid that piece off the lever before trying to release it.

As it was, the dealership was a mile away from one of my stops for the day. This QC helped me do my 100+ mi. for the day with relative ease, especially not having an L2 at any of my stops. This is a great location for folks coming from the OC venturing north past the Orange Curtain. Previously, I would've planned a stop at the Eaton QC at Mitsubishi in Cypress, which isn't necessarily freeway close. But Carson Nissan is now my first QC choice when heading north on the 405 from OC.

1505 E 223rd St
Carson, CA 90745

 

[Valdemar]

^^^ Were there any faults on the screen when you arrived? In my case they had troubles starting the charge, but it eventually worked. And it happened after their unit was just recently repaired.

 

[JPVLeaf]

^^^ Were there any faults on the screen when you arrived? In my case they had troubles starting the charge, but it eventually worked. And it happened after their unit was just recently repaired.

No. Don't believe so. Only minor delay was due to the staff person insisting on swiping the fob/rfid across the top edge of the reader and not allowing me to swipe it across the front face.

When were you there last?

 

[leafmealone]

Stopped by Downtown LA Nissan for a DC quick charge. Really nice people. Immediately came out and activated the DCQC. This dealership is right smack downtown where the 110 and 10 freeways meet. It's a great location with easy access to both freeways. The charger / guest parking area, like the dealership is small, so space is tight. Two L2's next to the DCQC. (I read on Plugshare about some dick in a Active E was upset about a note he found on his windshield threatening to be towed. Plugs his car in and takes off to the convention center. Beyond rude.)

They now have a sign above their QC! I think it's perfect and should encourage responsible charging.

 

[RonDawg]

I don't have QC on my car, but when I have used a dealer's L2 with the intent of going elsewhere in the interim, I always offer to leave my cell # or even the keys in case they need to move the car.

 

[Valdemar]

When were you there last?

Couple of weeks back.

 

[tbleakne]

Stopped by Downtown LA Nissan for a DC quick charge. Really nice people. Immediately came out and activated the DCQC. This dealership is right smack downtown where the 110 and 10 freeways meet. It's a great location with easy access to both freeways. The charger / guest parking area, like the dealership is small, so space is tight. >>>

I would like to attend a concert at Disney Hall, and I am thinking it would be convenient to get a QC here before the concert during normal business hours. I understand that DWP is less accommodating about allowing use of their L2 during a concert.

 

[DougWantsALeaf]

Anyone heard anything around more CHADEMO chargers going into either Chicago or Milwaukee?

 

[EricH]

I would like to attend a concert at Disney Hall, and I am thinking it would be convenient to get a QC here before the concert during normal business hours. I understand that DWP is less accommodating about allowing use of their L2 during a concert.

I have used L1 a few times in the Music Center garage. If you arrive at 6-6:30 for dinner in the area, about 50% of the pillars in the garage beneath the Ahmanson/Taper have live 120-volt receptacles. Four hours of L1 (shows let out around 10-10:30) is worth ~20 miles or so of range, if that's all you need for the return trip. Still waiting for Music Center to replace their old Avcon and paddle units with J-1772 :-(

Don't know that Disney garage has any outlets, but the garages cost the same and are across the street from one another.