My Leaf is Invisible

[Jimmydreams]

I had to make a quick trip to Home Depot in my Leaf this morning....as I was driving through the parking lot (my window was down), a guy literally stopped in his tracks when he saw the car, dropped his jaw and went "wooooooaaaaahhhhhhhh!!!!!" I smiled, waved, and parked a few spaces away prepared for an onslaught of questions, but even though he saw me park, he just got in his car and left.

By far the funniest and biggest reaction I've had to the car. :mrgreen:

 

[planet4ever]

Home Depot seems like a good place to find interested people. I talked with two guys there about my LEAF yesterday. One was an employee who helped me load something heavy, but he hung around and asked questions for a couple of minutes after the loading was complete. The other was a customer who was walking toward the store as I parked. We must have talked for at least five minutes; I showed him the charging port, under the hood, and the hatch area with my organizer in it complete with charging cord and 240v dryer outlet adapters.

Ray

 

[JimSouCal]

Driving less than 48 hours and had a guy park behind me and ask how much it had raised my utility bill. Told him I was unsure as I had not charged it yet. Went to dinner at a local Brentwood Gardens Restaurant, Provence, (where I usually take my Porsche CS and they know me as being very detailed about my car's arrival and leaving condition), and they parked kept it in the main staging area for all to see who was coming and going.

Then all 6 valets checked out the car when I was leaving--they wanted to see the charge port, asking questions about charging, mileage, costs. All good questions--I stayed to answer them.

I think more folks are learning enough to know they want to know more. After driving for a few short hours, it's even more clear to me this is the real deal, and ICE's are on the way out sooner than most people think.

 

[Yanquetino]

Don't know if it will make much difference, but here's my latest attempt to "advertise" my Leaf:

Plugging for Plugs

 

[TickTock]

My wife got a very interested response from one of the teachers at our kids school. Didn't even know it was electric but really liked the look and wanted to know what kind of vehicle it was.

 

[Nubo]

Early on, I removed all of the badging except for the front Nissan logo, to avoid aggravating those sensitive to the "zero emissions" claims. I even removed the badge from the "valve cover" :lol:

After that I noticed people puzzling over the car.

To restore a bit of "LEAF awareness" I put those letters back on, and a bit more prominently. The license plate frame has a subtle "electric" message too.

I do see some recognition from people following. Some point and discuss, some seem pleased, others set their jaw and become determined to pass and score a victory for the gasoline hegemony.

Just a few miles away in San Francisco, I felt like I was in a ticker-tape parade. Lots of excited people pointing and cheering, friendly honks, etc... There's a lot of LEAF love in SF! :mrgreen:

 

[MrIanB]

At a stop light yesterday, something caught my attention and looked to the right. It was a cougar lady giving me the thumbs up on the car.

Ian B

 

[tps]

For the most part, not too many people seem to notice that the LEAF is anything other than a normal car. I'm guessing that most people believe it is a hybrid, at best.

 

[dgpcolorado]

Don't know if it will make much difference, but here's my latest attempt to "advertise" my Leaf:

Plugging for Plugs

Good idea and well done!

I never get noticed except by people who know me and my car. Even pedestrians, joggers, bicyclists, and dog-walkers don't seem to notice that they were passed by a car that made hardly any noise. But since I have the only EV in the area, the concept of an electric car is pretty much unknown here. The only two comments from strangers, both women, I got about my car were that it was "cute". It was clear that neither had any idea that it was electric. It will be a long time before EVs become common out here in the boondocks, if it ever happens at all.

 

[kubel]

I don't really feel it's necessary to advertise my car or what it does. In fact, I was thinking about debadging it.

 

[nosuchthing]

I advertise Leaf by leaving everybody eat dust on the freeway lane changes or 2-lane onramps.