Poll : How will you use your Leaf ?

[mitch672]

Checkout the video on this link:

http://www.fastcompany.com/blog/ariel-schwartz/sustainability/better-place-takes-first-step-towards-electric-car-infrastructure

very nice, but, DC fast charging will be easier more popular in the US...

 

[MikeBoxwell]

I agree. This 'Switch Station' technology will work really well in smaller countries where journeys are much shorter. Countries like Ireland, Denmark, The Netherlands and Israel are perfect for this technology. Ultimately it will fail because it will be cheaper to fast charge battery packs in cars and once you can charge up a pack within 10 minutes (technically it can be done already) then that will be a comparable time to fueling a 'normal' car and then queuing up to pay.

In a country like the United Kingdom, you could cover the entire trunk road network in the country with around 50 switch stations. At a cost of $500,000 each, that's $25,000,000 which looks like a lot of money to the likes of you or I, but is probably equivalent to the amount of money Renault spend on TV advertising in the United Kingdom in a year.

At that sort of cost, it could be installed in the country, Renault would sell a lot of cars on the strength of it, and if the whole lot is obsolete within five years, it would still have served its purpose and made the company money. What is there to lose?

 

[Pipemajor]

I just traded our '07 Toyota Camry Hybrid for a '10 Toyota Camry Hybrid (wife's car) - mainly to move up to heated leather seats and factory NAV AND to take advantage of Toyota's recent incentive pricing. I and the kids still putz around in a 1992 4cyl Toyota Camry LE and a 1991 Mazda B2600i Cab Plus 4x2 SE5 pickup. Both older cars were purchased NEW and have been driving daily for their 18 and 19 years of use. The Mazda was paid for with cash.

Kids are starting to leave the roost so I am looking at a replacement vehicle for... ME!!! I commute via public transit to my workplace 11 miles away but don't live on a transit route. So... I fire up one of the ICE vehicles and drive it 2½ miles one way to get to the nearest bus stop. In our Minnesota winters, the ICE really doesn't fully warm up by the time I reach my destination. My driving is very short trips, two or three times each day. Camry Hybrid (39mpg) is our road car.

An EV would be perfect for my in-town/commuting patterns, right?

 

[DeaneG]

So... I fire up one of the ICE vehicles and drive it 2½ miles one way to get to the nearest bus stop. In our Minnesota winters, the ICE really doesn't fully warm up by the time I reach my destination. My driving is very short trips, two or three times each day. Camry Hybrid (39mpg) is our road car. An EV would be perfect for my in-town/commuting patterns, right?

The Leaf does sound perfect, and the Camry hybrid is a good complement (we use an Rx400h hybrid).

In the winter, you'll want to warm up the Leaf's interior using the timer before unplugging it!