CNN Money stupidity

[ggodman]

Typical journalistic idiocy

http://money.cnn.com/2011/04/11/autos/nissan_leaf_drive/?section=money_latest

What moron at Nissan gave this Idiot an electric car to drive when it was clearly not a good fit for his situation and let's not even talk about his obvious bias in taking it knowing his situation.

What a moron.

 

[Spies]

I had to read his article on the Volt to find out why he was not L1 charging at home.

I say "should have been" because my attempts to charge the car met with frustration and failure and had to rely on the gasoline engine. Only later did I figure out why. The electrical wires that ran to the socket I used also powered an outdoor light fixture. When it comes to electricity, the Volt isn't taking leftovers from some stupid lightbulb.

From what I can tell he did not even bother trying to L1 charge the Leaf after his experience with the Volt. That must be one serious light bulb if it beats out L1 on a 15 amp circuit. Of course I have no idea how much his circuit can handle nor how many amps the light bulb used since he did not even mention it leaving both articles suspect in my mind but I have read worse.

 

[SkiTundra]

Maybe I'm missing something, but I'm not seeing a problem with the article. Based on Nissan's own PR he expected about 100 miles out of a fully charged car which would have been enough for him for the weekend. No charging needed. Reality is that he appears to have gotten 50 miles on a full charge. A very considerable difference than what he reasonably expected and not wholly out of line with what some other owners have reported on this very site. He did say that people who can charge at home (and thus presumably anyone who would purchase an EV) will do better since they can pre-heat/cool while plugged in. Nissan's just lucky he didn't encounter the A/C shut-down problem.

 

[Kelangst]

What a stupid article. Nissan really needed to show him how to use a regular plug. I hate pointless articles like this.

 

[evnow]

Maybe I'm missing something, but I'm not seeing a problem with the article. Based on Nissan's own PR he expected about 100 miles out of a fully charged car which would have been enough for him for the weekend.

Unless he has been living under a rock he should know 100 miles is only on a LA04 cycle.

 

[SkiTundra]

Unless he has been living under a rock he should know 100 miles is only on a LA04 cycle.

It'd be interesting to know how many consumers, even those purchasing a Leaf, Volt, Tesla, or other EV, know what LA04 is. Nissan's PR shouted "100 miles on a charge". I don't think it's very unreasonable for someone to thus expect 100 miles on a charge. However, the writer even qualified it by saying "or at least 80":

I should have had 100 miles, or at least 80, I thought. But, no, I was getting 70..

Lets be realistic. If you purchased a Lexus LX570 and expected to average about 270 miles per tank based on their advertising then you'd likely be rather OK with 250 or maybe even 230 (though I think most people would be getting a bit peeved at 230). However, if you were getting 135 miles per tank you might not be very happy with Lexus.

 

[evnow]

It'd be interesting to know how many consumers, even those purchasing a Leaf, Volt, Tesla, or other EV, know what LA04 is.

So a CNN auto reporter doesn't know ? Nor does he know that EPA rated it 73 miles ? And he is supposed to inform the readers/viewers ? :lol:

Nissan's PR shouted "100 miles on a charge". I don't think it's very unreasonable for someone to thus expect 100 miles on a charge. However, the writer even qualified it by saying "or at least 80"

BS. Nissan has been always giving all kinds of disclaimers. CNN wanted a hit piece and they got it. Lets be realistic

If you purchased a Lexus LX570 and expected to average about 270 miles per tank based on their advertising then you'd likely be rather OK with 250 or maybe even 230 (though I think most people would be getting a bit peeved at 230). However, if you were getting 135 miles per tank you might not be very happy with Lexus.

But this isn't a fossil car. Someone people apparently have a difficulty making the paradigm shift. How will he ever understand energy issues - let alone cover them for CNN ?

 

[LakeLeaf]

Any chance the CNN reporter goes by the online name of friendnumber1?

 

[SkiTundra]

CNN wanted a hit piece and they got it.

Not even close. If they or he had wanted a hit piece he would have driven it to church and maybe around the block a couple of times so he could get a dead battery on the way to work and exclaim that his leaf stranded him after only 60 miles.

Currently Nissan's own website says "your Nissan LEAF™ is built to go 100 miles on a single charge (how far you'll go will depend on a number of variables)". The absolute worst scenario they give is a 62 mile range on a 14 degree day in stop & go traffic. The writer was very up front with the fact that he was using climate control and that since he wasn't pre-conditioning while on the grid he likely got less miles than others would. From what I can see his report is accurate and presents a reasonable expectation of the range of a Leaf in NYC.

 

[Mx5racer]

I am sure that there are potential buyers that have not been to this site and who may believe Nissan when they say 100 miles. Do you think that the dealer is going to say, wait you may only get 60-70 miles unless you do this and that to make sure that you get better range? I do agree not being able to plug into a 110 outlet makes him a poor choice for a reporter on electric cars.

 

[smkettner]

I would think Nissan would figure out how to get a full charge to say 100 miles for the story... maybe a little more.

 

[SteveInSeattle]

It would be like saying I bought a new ICE car and didn't put gas in it and...it wouldn't run!

 

[Rake]

Show me a single car made in the world that will get the estimated mpg if you drive with a lead foot.
I don't care what it is, from muscle to hybrid. I can make the mpg/range look abysmal, if I choose to. It's the same with the Leaf.
You can drive with one eye on the consumption and get super range numbers, or you can see how fast of a "100 foot time" you can get at every light. I guess it just depends on what you are trying to prove.

 

[tps]

Depends on just what he did in NYC. I started with 96 miles showing, drove 47.2 miles and ended with 47 showing. These were mostly freeway miles: East river Dr & Palisades Pkwy. The main conclusion I came to was that, unlike an ICE car, whose engine inefficiency masks a lot of things that affect the range, the EV's efficiency causes normally unnoticable things to have a significant effect on range. For instance, the first half of my drive included a 450 foot climb, and the range went down 2 miles for every mile I drove. One the way back I took a slightly different route which was actually a few miles longer, but I came back down to the original elevation. Those 25 return miles only used 3 miles of my estinated range.

I think the LEAF will take a little getting used to before I feel comfortable pushing the envelope. It seems as if many journalists don't really try to understand much about EVs.

Next time I rent the LEAF, maybe I'll try a trip to "Cradle of Aviation" musuem and also drive by Grumman. This should be a bit over 60 miles, well within the LEAF's capabilities.

 

[smkettner]

It is not about understanding EVs. It is about writing a story that will get good ratings and increase circulation. And if it is real popular maybe he would make front page news and get a promotion. Also a good chance his editor set him up to do the story so the writer is just looking for an angle to give his perception of excitement. Nothing to do with actual normal use of an EV.

 

[SkiTundra]

Once again, what part of the article is likely inaccurate based on the real life experiences of current Leaf owners? From what I can tell the dude had a very realistic experience and reported it as such. AND he said that if he was able to charge it at his home (like a real owner would be able to) he would likely have gotten a bit better range due to pre-acclimating climate control while on the grid (eg, he might have gotten the 62 mile range Nissan says it will get in stop & go traffic on a 14 degree day (though my guess is that it was considerably warmer than 14 the weekend he did the test drive and thus should not have incurred so much of a climate control penalty)).

 

[Herm]

Its an odd article, I think the point was to use it for a weekend without plugging it in?.. maybe the point was to let people know that YMMV

It looks a lot like the remaining range indicator is hurting the Leaf, they need to change it asap.. the Volt does not have any problems with its remaining range indicator.

 

[bytrain]

Maybe I'm missing something, but I'm not seeing a problem with the article. Based on Nissan's own PR he expected about 100 miles out of a fully charged car which would have been enough for him for the weekend. No charging needed. Reality is that he appears to have gotten 50 miles on a full charge. A very considerable difference than what he reasonably expected and not wholly out of line with what some other owners have reported on this very site. He did say that people who can charge at home (and thus presumably anyone who would purchase an EV) will do better since they can pre-heat/cool while plugged in. Nissan's just lucky he didn't encounter the A/C shut-down problem.

A real journalist would have done some homework and asked "why does the U.S. EPA window sticker say the LEAF has a 73 mile range?" Or "is the L.A. 4 Test Cycle upon which the 100 miles is based representative of real world driving?" Followed by "really, you're saying there's no degradation in mileage while doing 70 mph on the freeway with the heater blasting?" But this guy is no journalist, just a hack predisposed to badmouthing EVs. Maybe he should do an article on the genesis of the phrase "your mileage may vary."

 

[TRONZ]

Any chance the CNN reporter goes by the online name of friendnumber1?

:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: That is funny..... and probably true.

And Herm, the Volt won't even be in production 24 months from now. It's "tiny Kwh" replacement will not qualify for the EV tax credit so the new cars price will be the same with half the range. Only GM could come up with this as an "EV strategy". :roll:

 

[planet4ever]

I'm with SkiTundra on this. I think the article was an honest evaluation by a reporter who tried to make the car work in a situation it was not well suited to. He even managed to figure out the previous history behavior of the deceptive "Nissan miles" meter. By the way, I'm picturing that he might live in an old brownstone with knob and tube wiring and fuses rather than circuit breakers. 120v charging might indeed not work for him.

Ray