Handout : Nissan Leaf - the unofficial FAQ

[evnow]

I've prepared a handout to distribute during the Car Show we are having in Seattle on the 25th.

pdf : https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=explorer&chrome=true&srcid=0B1CIl2zp22pXODcwZjYyNGMtYWJhNC00OWNlLWJiNjMtZjY0MGU2OGY4ZjQ4&hl=en_US

Corrections & Comments are most welcome. This document is specific to WA, but can be tailored for any state with a few small changes.

I'm also thinking of including a cut-out diagram of Leaf on the backside. If you know of a good image, let me know.

 

[garygid]

Comments:

1. Most dealers ... $1000 discount ...
No, maybe many or some?

2. Battery warranty does NOT mean that 70% capacity will after 8 years. CAPACITY is NOT covered.

3. maybe an "&" before "heater"?

 

[evnow]

2. Battery warranty does NOT mean that 70% capacity will after 8 years. CAPACITY is NOT covered.

I know capacity is not covered, as such. But what would Nissan do if tomorrow my Leaf holds only 10% of the original charge ? What Nissan doesn't cover is "normal capacity reduction".

Anyway, any suggestions on how to word it ...

 

[91040]

At higher speeds, use of heater the range is reduced. Better(?): The range is reduced by higher speeds, use of the heater, abrupt acceleration and braking.

Reliability … Since Nissan Volt is a brand new... Volt!

Nice fact sheet.

 

[Randy]

Good idea to have a handout. I would change the wording on several of the statements to flow better, but here are a few observations...

Reliability - Since Nissan Volt is a brand new car, so some initial problems are expected.
(Suggest replacing Nissan Volt with Nissan Leaf and delete the "so" after the comma).

Claim to Fame - Nissan Leaf is the first mass produced Electrical Car...first affordable, practical, family EV
( Instead of Electrical Car, suggest introducing the term Plug-in Electric Vehicle (PEV); that can tie in with the "EV" at the end of the sentence)

100 miles of range - Yes, in city traffic Leaf gets 100 miles of range, usually. At higher speeds, use of heater the range is reduced
(Suggest changing the first sentence to read "In city traffic, it is possible to get 100 miles of range from the Leaf."
(Suggest changing the last sentence to read "At higher speeds or with the use of the heater, the range is reduced.")

The "Subsidy" paragraph seems defensive to me. I would definitely re-word or eliminate that.

The second paragraph in the "Nissan Leaf - the Unofficial FAQ" document discusses the Volt. Maybe the document is a FAQ for PEV / PHEV's instead? If it truly a Leaf FAQ, I would eliminate the Volt references.

Those are the types of suggestions I would make, mostly just improvements to the wording and flow...

Randy

 

[Boomer23]

Under reliability you quote that the "Nissan Volt" is a new model. Does Nissan make both the Volt and the LEAF? Just kidding.

 

[TonyWilliams]

I would leave out "Unofficial". FAQ's are rarely official.

I would also clarify that 30 second charging !!! Just make it clear that the 30 seconds is the operators time... and that there is the little issue of hours of charging.

I would add the Prius plug-in (9-13 miles?) to compare to the Volt (40 miles), just to show that those cars are both gas burners (and many/most people know something about a Prius). Then put LEAF at up to 100 miles.

You need to identify what ICE is.

 

[Stoaty]

Suggestion: Charging - It takes 30 seconds of your time to charge...

Reads better that way.

 

[TLeaf]

Under the "And Volt" section, perhaps word the second sentence to read "It runs for about 35 miles on electricity before switching to gasoline for propulsion." I believe the term 'ICE' is still unfamiliar to the masses...

Under "Cost", change "After Tax" to "Final Cost" and perhaps make some mention that the LEAF is cheaper after tax & credits than the average US car ($28,400 according to the FTC, though they don't specify for what year that is); it always annoys me when people say the LEAF is "too expensive" when it's surrounded by $40,000 cars in the parking lot...

Have fun at the car show! Though I don't think I'll be bringing the car down (after the week I've had, Saturday will mostly be reserved for SLEEPING!!), I'll probably swing by on the electric scoot to check things out.

 

[DaveEV]

I would replace ICE with "gas engine" - the abbreviate will confuse people not familiar with it.

 

[evnow]

Thanks for all the feedback. Keep them coming. I'd also encourage you to redo the handout and post it here, if you have the time & inclination (after all mine is an "engineer's version").

I've updated the doc with most of your comments.

I get Flesch-Kinkaid level of 7.5.

 

[davewill]

While I like and appreciate the humor in the "Charging" answer, if I was a newbie, I would expect to get the actual answer after hearing the cute joke.

In the "How do I buy" section, I don't think the April 21 bit is right anymore. Aren't people currently signing up and getting to order in the roll-out states?

 

[jimcmorr]

snip...
In the "How do I buy" section, I don't think the April 21 bit is right anymore. Aren't people currently signing up and getting to order in the roll-out states?

Reservations were opened again on May 1st in the roll out states (AZ, CA, HI, OR, TN, TX, WA). Whether it is still open or not I can't say. It annoyed me when they did that, before allowing states previously known as tier 2 and tier 3 to order. But I'm over that now.

I understand now, that NH is a "Wave 5" state along with Wisconsin. I've been told by Nissan CS that "Wave 2" which includes GA will be allowed to order in August. "Wave 5" which includes NH will be able to order in spring 2012. I couldn't get any information from CS about "Waves" 3 or 4.

 

[z0ner]

It's simple and to the point, and you've actually covered so much on just a single page. Very well done.

However, I'd eliminate the entire paragraph on "Reliability". I haven't had a single issue since taking delivery 4/19, and therefore to me it's 100% reliable. That begs more questions, and actually introduces uncertainty.

 

[evnow]

Reservations were opened again on May 1st in the roll out states (AZ, CA, HI, OR, TN, TX, WA). Whether it is still open or not I can't say. It annoyed me when they did that, before allowing states previously known as tier 2 and tier 3 to order. But I'm over that now.

But only people who had registered before Apr-20, 2011 are allowed to reserve. I should change from 21st to 20th.

beginning May 1, Nissan will reopen reservations to limited US customers* who were registered before April 20, 2011 in launch markets currently selling the Nissan LEAF™ (Arizona, California, Hawaii, Oregon, Tennessee, Texas and Washington).

 

[evnow]

However, I'd eliminate the entire paragraph on "Reliability". I haven't had a single issue since taking delivery 4/19, and therefore to me it's 100% reliable. That begs more questions, and actually introduces uncertainty.

Thats a thought - the reason I included that was to be forthright and let people know, that they should expect some problems.

 

[evnow]

While I like and appreciate the humor in the "Charging" answer, if I was a newbie, I would expect to get the actual answer after hearing the cute joke.

The answer is - it takes overnight to charge. That info is in the "cute joke" ;-)

It hardly matters whether it takes 6 or 7 hours (and then have explain that it depends on your SOC).

I'll add this if I get some space ...

 

[jimcmorr]

Reservations were opened again on May 1st in the roll out states (AZ, CA, HI, OR, TN, TX, WA). Whether it is still open or not I can't say. It annoyed me when they did that, before allowing states previously known as tier 2 and tier 3 to order. But I'm over that now.

But only people who had registered before Apr-20, 2011 are allowed to reserve. I should change from 21st to 20th.

beginning May 1, Nissan will reopen reservations to limited US customers* who were registered before April 20, 2011 in launch markets currently selling the Nissan LEAF™ (Arizona, California, Hawaii, Oregon, Tennessee, Texas and Washington).

Okay. I see. I was tripped up by semantics in that quote. I misread, "reopen reservations" as "reopen registration". Thanks for clearing that up for me.

 

[trentr]

0-60 mph and 1/4 mile times for those folks thinking of racing against prii?

 

[SeaAir]

Under fuel cost you say it costs you 3.1 cents/mile, but in the table it is 3.7 which might be confusing. Also, I think you should include the Volt in the table. It would be tricky and require a few assumptions, but it would answer that question. A Volt I would presume is about the same as a Leaf for commutes less than 35 miles round trip. For commutes of 60 miles RT it is very close to that of a Prius. (A Leaf is still 3.7 cents/mile.) For commutes longer than that you would rather have a Prius than either a Volt or a Leaf (assuming no recharge in the middle).