FairwoodRed
Well-known member
Over at CBS Business news, they wrote about 10 surprising things about the Leaf ( http://www.bnet.com/blog/electric-cars/10-surprising-things-about-the-nissan-leaf/4681 ) and quoted Brendan Jones, Nissan EV marketing director. Item 9 caught my attention :
“Going upscale. There are two Leaf models, the SV and the upscale SL, and 95 percent of buyers are going for the upmarket SL. That’s because it adds less than $1,000 to the price, and includes a rear-view monitor, fog lights and automatic headlights. But the real reason people want it is the solar panel mounted on the spoiler (which trickle charges the accessory battery and can run the radio). It doesn’t do much, but people love the idea of it. More important, SL customers have the option of buying a 480-volt fast-charging port, which can get the car back on the road in 20 minutes to half an hour. An amazing 89 percent of SL buyers are going for the fast-charging port, which uses the Japanese CHAdeMO standard. “
I can’t believe this. To me the tiny panel on the Leaf is about as useful as a tapedeck. It was a total zero factor in my purchase. So here I ask my question – Was the solar panel important to you? Do the reasons stated above match your reasons, or do you have different ones?
I’m not trying to bait anyone. I’m honestly interested in anyone’s opinion that they want to share.
“Going upscale. There are two Leaf models, the SV and the upscale SL, and 95 percent of buyers are going for the upmarket SL. That’s because it adds less than $1,000 to the price, and includes a rear-view monitor, fog lights and automatic headlights. But the real reason people want it is the solar panel mounted on the spoiler (which trickle charges the accessory battery and can run the radio). It doesn’t do much, but people love the idea of it. More important, SL customers have the option of buying a 480-volt fast-charging port, which can get the car back on the road in 20 minutes to half an hour. An amazing 89 percent of SL buyers are going for the fast-charging port, which uses the Japanese CHAdeMO standard. “
I can’t believe this. To me the tiny panel on the Leaf is about as useful as a tapedeck. It was a total zero factor in my purchase. So here I ask my question – Was the solar panel important to you? Do the reasons stated above match your reasons, or do you have different ones?
I’m not trying to bait anyone. I’m honestly interested in anyone’s opinion that they want to share.