I took a day off from work on Friday to get the car, but after 3+ hours at the dealer--which was rewarding and interesting, thank you Ryan--we (partner and I) had to leave at 6:15pm because of a dinner date with our daughter. We did the paperwork and learned allot about the car. But there was more paperwork to do and also the car wings would not accept our ID. The tech had gone home and so it couldnt be fixed.
We returned Saturday and spent another 4+ hours, finishing all the details, including break for lunch at a nearby soba shop. By then, we were pretty worn with the process. The staff is very nice. They rewashed and detailed my car, and I found a way to thank the detailer. The General Manager discussed with us his philosophy that has them selling Leafs for 1k off msrp and NOT ripping folks on orphans. They also make their chargers available to all. There was another Leaf customer there in the afternoon checking out his Black Leaf with his son, both in the front seat and books out. Dad was in a t-shirt that said FARM HAND.
The drive home (15 miles mostly freeway) was flawless in RED. The car is like a giant video game what with trees and kWh/mile functions. The car has zip in drive, and the eco system and regen are impressive. I can see where the daily commute is going to be even more amusing than the mpg games I was playing in my stick-shift Volvo with its instantaneous read out.
I am trying to figure out how coasting in Neutral works in extending mileage; It was a key thing in my Volvo driving. It seems to be a negative in the Leaf as opposed to ECO, but I am not clear on that.
Overall, I am fine with the purchase--not wild-eyed and with the big EV smile-- and overwhelmed with all the gadgetry and the manuals. My wise daughter -- who is trying to decide which of two graduate schools to attend, says: "You will be all over that, dad, in no time." As an aside, the phone APP won't accept my car wings and no one is home at LEAF dial-up to solve the problem on Sunday. (turns out that the ID and password you enter are NOT the carwings ID/Pwrd, they are the ones associated with the nissanowner site sign on.)
Charging last night went fine. The Blink runs flawlessly. I used the timer bypass, though I scheduled the auto-charge on the Leaf timer, which I will test out after the commute Monday. I learned from folks here not to use the Blink timer.
The twin rebates with the reduced price EVP install (still had to pay $400) makes Red a good deal, and I ache for the ease of the HOV sticker. The charging deal from LADWP is the bomb--about 8.5 cents a kWh, for the power that doesn't come from my PV array. I expect I will get more excited about it as I drive it more and work the vroom a bit. My commute is 50 miles rdtrip. I love the quiet, though I wonder about whirring noise I heard getting onto the freeway.
I was surprised at the size of the car. I was thinking more Mini than family Hatchback, as I never saw one before I saw Red on Friday. I do like the height of the vehicle, and the seating and driving positions are comfortable.
I doubt I would pay 37k with tax for this car without the rebates, but that is a snap judgment. Our ICE is a basic Audi Avant--32k bought at end of model year; very fine car. I will know more in a week, but I do not think I will reach the level of enthusiasm of the dedicated EV folks here, or the geeks who are so ready to tear the car apart and spend hours and hours at it, nor be as totally happy with the car as I am with my 2.5-year-old solar system. I simply love that; it was the smartest thing I ever bought.
I remain an advocate for EV cars. To me, Red is more transportation than hobby or religion. It is simply the RIGHT thing to do here in SoCal and if you have a normal commute. We need to get off oil and supporting its collective corporate greed, out of the blood-for-oil game, throttle back on the air and the production/pollution chain of petroleum, and do more with less -- nuclear power is also a death cycle. The batteries from our cars can be transitioned to storage units in our houses when their capacity dwindles so that they are not efficient enough to be driven around. I still marvel that so few houses in SoCal have solar with all the sun pouring down here.
I thank the forum for all its collective wisdom. I expect to be around to share more information and learn. (apologies to all the left behinds who are still waiting for their cars and blessings to the Japanese people who are enduring their catastrophe and the unfolding nuclear nightmare.)
