DaveinOlyWA
Well-known member
Today I drove 74.8 miles mostly freeway 55-60 mph, rolled into quick charge station with 5.6 miles to spare.I no heat, and just coat and seat heater. I weather 67 in the. Orning 42 in the afternoon
Prejudice and Range: A Michiganders dilema
- Thread starter kubel
- Start date
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kubel
Well-known member
My employer actually installed a GFCI outlet outside for me... and then about a month ago said they will be relocating it due to some maintenance being done on that side of the building. Haven't heard anything since then, but they wanted me to remove the padlock that I had on my EVSE that was attached to the building (copper thieves everywhere here, might as well not make it easy for them). I removed the lock, but no work has been done yet.
A coworker bought a Chevy Volt, so maybe they will help me push for a charging station.
The outlet that they installed is behind our warehouse, so I have a 10 minute walk from the car to my desk. It's not a problem in the summer, but in the winter, it snows, and they typically do a lousy job of snow removal back there. So I'll need a sled and dogs to get to work. There's an entrance right next to the outlet, but they don't want non-warehouse employees accessing the warehouse directly.
When I picked up the car, I asked him come along to drive my gas car back to Michigan (I bought my LEAF in Ohio because it wasn't available in Michigan at the time I reserved). My gas car had a dashcam, and it captured him saying to himself, "I'd hate to admit it, but that's a nice car". We stopped at a rest area on the way home, and when we left I think he was impressed with how fast the car gets up and goes. He was wide open on the crown vic (a car he respects as essentially a 4-door mustang, despite technically being foreign as well [Canadian]) trying to catch up to me on the onramp and was only barely gaining on me in the LEAF.
He drove the LEAF later that day, and I think he was impressed with how it drives. He has range anxiety concerns still, but I think he's impressed with the quality and features of the car. It's still an import, and he's still a UAW guy, so there's that issue to overcome. I was talking to him just the other day and mentioned the LEAFs heated steering wheel, and he was shocked that it had that.
He initially thought I wasn't going to like the car, that I would be left stranded, that it wouldn't be a usable car (the standard arguments). It turns out I'm driving this car more than I drove my gas car. And since it's a hatchback, I find it a lot more versatile when it comes to hauling around stuff. It's also quite a bit more comfortable.
A coworker bought a Chevy Volt, so maybe they will help me push for a charging station.
The outlet that they installed is behind our warehouse, so I have a 10 minute walk from the car to my desk. It's not a problem in the summer, but in the winter, it snows, and they typically do a lousy job of snow removal back there. So I'll need a sled and dogs to get to work. There's an entrance right next to the outlet, but they don't want non-warehouse employees accessing the warehouse directly.
Electric4Me said:
When I picked up the car, I asked him come along to drive my gas car back to Michigan (I bought my LEAF in Ohio because it wasn't available in Michigan at the time I reserved). My gas car had a dashcam, and it captured him saying to himself, "I'd hate to admit it, but that's a nice car". We stopped at a rest area on the way home, and when we left I think he was impressed with how fast the car gets up and goes. He was wide open on the crown vic (a car he respects as essentially a 4-door mustang, despite technically being foreign as well [Canadian]) trying to catch up to me on the onramp and was only barely gaining on me in the LEAF.
He drove the LEAF later that day, and I think he was impressed with how it drives. He has range anxiety concerns still, but I think he's impressed with the quality and features of the car. It's still an import, and he's still a UAW guy, so there's that issue to overcome. I was talking to him just the other day and mentioned the LEAFs heated steering wheel, and he was shocked that it had that.
He initially thought I wasn't going to like the car, that I would be left stranded, that it wouldn't be a usable car (the standard arguments). It turns out I'm driving this car more than I drove my gas car. And since it's a hatchback, I find it a lot more versatile when it comes to hauling around stuff. It's also quite a bit more comfortable.
kubel
Well-known member
KJD said:
5 miles per hour on 120V is a good rule of thumb in the summer, but in the winter, it's more like 2.5 miles per hour. I think I'm going to try charging to 80% tonight and then see what 4 hours of trickle charging gets me. If I have 6 bars left, I'll charge until lunch and then park closer to the entrance. Not sure if 4 hours will be enough though.
Electric4Me
Well-known member
Sounds like there's some room for compromise/exceptions there...kubel said:
That's hilarious about the dash-cam! The car certainly does surprise people.kubel said:
I don't know if the Tennessee factory is UAW, but perhaps that will be American made enough for him? It's a tough decision to balance the American made vehicle vs. American made fuel. At least the American manufacturers are getting into the EV game too. I do wonder how the US sourced parts count will compare with "US companies" vs. the US built Leaf.
Shameless plug: maybe you'd also enjoy the versatility of a hitch on the car! (See my sig.) :lol:kubel said:
I've enjoyed following this thread because my sister lives in Minneapolis and is tired of her large gasoline bills just driving her kids around town. Although I've recommended the car to her, my experiences with the Leaf in the moderate SF Bay Area just aren't comparable to what those of you in the snow need to consider!
kubel
Well-known member
Electric4Me said:Sounds like there's some room for compromise/exceptions there...
Not in this industry, unfortunately. :/
Electric4Me said:
That is a very good point. Most of the money we put into a car doesn't go to the worker that built it or even the company that hired that worker. It goes to the oil industry and sponsors an area of the world that really doesn't like us.
Electric4Me said:
I definitely thought about it. How much?
I'll be moving soon, so when that happens, I thought about borrowing a trailer to haul my stuff around. I was going to put a hitch on the Crown Vic but I think the LEAF is more than capable of towing a utility trailer.
Electric4Me said:
It sucks so much range is lost in the winter, but it's doing better than I expected. I wish it would just snow a foot or two so I can start plowing with my front bumper like I used to do in my old Ford Focus. That thing would go through anything with all seasons on.
Electric4Me
Well-known member
RegGuheert
Well-known member
I drove 60 miles yesterday with four small passengers in the car. Half of the trip was between 30F and 40F and the other half was below 30F. We did not use the heater except for about 10 times I turned on the defroster to clear the windshield, probably for 10 minutes total. Efficiency displayed was 4.0 mi/kWh. I arrived home with two bars remaining so I figure we could have gone about 80 miles, as you say. In the summertime we could probably travel 90 miles on this trip, but would average 4.6 mi/kWh on the dash.Reddy said:
Thanks for that! I've been wondering at what temperature things really start to drop. I don't see anything dramatic around 30F...Reddy said:
