The troops are getting restless!

[Timaz]

I just found this article and it sounds like a few people are starting to get restless waiting for delivery and I am no exception:

http://www.allcarselectric.com/blog/1052832_will-2011-nissan-leaf-sales-suffer-due-to-delayed-roll-out

I do hope Nissan can turnaround this bad press by actually delivering more than 5 cars this year!

 

[mitch672]

restless? I doubt I'll buy a Leaf at this point... for the "forgotten and now shunned 36" (had to modify the original "forgotten 36", because we are now shunned as well), there will be many more choices by the time actual ordering opens up, which is kind of sad, really. Having given our $99 deposits back on April 20th, 2010, and to not be able to even order until the end of 2011, with delivery sometime in 2012, thats just inexcusable. The plug in Prius, the Chevy Volt, perhaps the Imev, and Tesla model S, even the Mini ED, may all be arriving on the scene by then, even converting my 2010 Prius is more attractive than waiting another 1.5 years.

Nissan opening up ordering again in the Spring of 2011 for the "privledged 6" is the final straw for us, kick us in the teeth when we are already depressed, why don't you Nissan?

 

[EVDRIVER]

Perhaps they should not make rental car agencies a priority. I don;t even see value there from a marketing perspective.

 

[Timaz]

The Tesla model S is still on my radar for sure. I had a Mini which I loved so the a Mini E reallly does sound appealing as well. The Plug-in-prius as I understand it is still not all that exciting with only 12 miles of EV range, I mean why bother! My impressions of the Volt have changed significantly as well. Its still just a re-engineered plug-in hybrid, but with the 30+ EV range, could take a person practically oil-free. The biggest thing that worries about the Volt other than the fact its a Government Motors product is how it will hold up. Its kind of a science project of sorts with no track record of reliability. I guess thats no different than many of the hybrids in the first generation, but still, there is a lot going on under the hood of that car.

 

[mitch672]

Perhaps they should not make rental car agencies a priority. I don;t even see value there from a marketing perspective.

sometime during 2012 Nissan will be able to mfr 150,000 Leafs per year in Smyrna, TN.

Nissan needs a market for those 150K cars/year, and the rental car agencies is it, they will save Nissans bacon, once all of the "early adopter" demand is satisifed, and the general public, well, they are less than accepting of EVs for several more years.... $5 or higher gasoline could change that, but Nissan wants to place all of those 150K cars and sell them as they are made...

 

[evnow]

sometime during 2012 Nissan will be able to mfr 150,000 Leafs per year in Smyrna, TN.

Nissan needs a market for those 150K cars/year, and the rental car agencies is it, they will save Nissans bacon, once all of the "early adopter" demand is satisifed, and the general public, well, they are less than accepting of EVs for several more years.... $5 or higher gasoline could change that, but Nissan wants to place all of those 150K cars and sell them as they are made...

Yes - we don't know what the demand is past the early adopters. Will all the people who talk abut energy independence or AGW actually do anything about it if it means giving up some (supposed) convinience ?

 

[johnr]

Nissan is in a difficult position here too, they have a limited production and are trying to decide where best to deliver the few cars that will be available until they can add production capacity from TN. They're going to piss off some customers, no way around it. As for the Tesla, people have been on their reservation list for years. If you really want something bad enough, you have to be willing to wait a long time. It's tough, yes, but as you said there will be several choices in a couple years.

 

[DaveinOlyWA]

the proposed 15 cent per gallon federal gas tax increase over the next 4 years will go a LONG way towards boosting sales.

what we need is American car companies with a viable product in the mix. this will help the legislation. as far as restless. that wont happen for me until Jan 31st. i have been advised it will be Jan so be it.

but that has not happened. so we shall see. i think the next two weeks will tell us a lot

 

[lne937s]

Perhaps they should not make rental car agencies a priority. I don;t even see value there from a marketing perspective.

They absolutely should be delivering to car sharing programs (like Connect by Hertz) first, despite your selfish objections. Urban car sharing programs are a perfect application for EV's, will get far more people behind the wheel, lead to far more electric miles driven, and make far more environmental impact for each car delivered. Convenient sharing tends to replace multiple cars on the road with one vehicle, as people who use the service tend to stop ownership. Multiple people use the same care each day, rather than having it sit in a driveway most of the time. And unlike "owners", people in car sharing programs do not have range concerns, they just pick the right car for their trip.

Some people are very concerned with themselves, but car sharing will make the most difference in terms environmental impact, exposure and usage from a limited supply of vehicles.

 

[smkettner]

All I will say is if the rental companies or car sharing signed up on April 20, waited for RAQ, completed the order, and still ended up first in line then so be it. Otherwise if Nissan gives priority above regular consumers that just seems like a load of BS. When the Leaf is sitting on the showroom floor getting hawked by the two-bit salesman then it will be time to ship to the rental companies or fleet orders.

 

[Jimmydreams]

The plug in Prius, the Chevy Volt, perhaps the Imev, and Tesla model S, even the Mini ED, may all be arriving on the scene by then, even converting my 2010 Prius is more attractive than waiting another 1.5 years.

Then again, they may see delays just like the Leaf. (insert dramatic pause here)

How many times have you jumped from one line in the supermarket to another because that line is moving faster. Or switch lanes during rush-hour traffic for the same reason? How often does that move REALLY work? Don't buy the Leaf if you don't want to, but don't whine about what they're doing because you don't think other companies will do the same.

Just food for thought.

 

[tps]

Nissan opening up ordering again in the Spring of 2011 for the "privledged 6" is the final straw for us, kick us in the teeth when we are already depressed, why don't you Nissan?

I'm assuming that much of the "infrastructure" we lack here in the forgotten 36 is the ability of Nissan dealers to service the LEAF. That's likely why they are so intent on providing cars in the privledged 6; it's their way of bootstrapping past the servicing chicken-and-egg problem. It's a bummer for those of us who are geographically disadvantaged, though.

I'm wondering if holding a reservation will end up making any difference for those of us in the forgotten 36? (Other than the fact that Nissan gets to hold onto our $99 deposits interest-free for a LONG time.) May be that by the time we see LEAFs here in the east the reservation system will have ended and you'll just be able to buy one off the lot...

All of you who are pissed about losing your place in line to a few rental LEAFs: get over it. It is becomming apparent that we in the east never really had a place in line, and we will continue to get pushed further back. Nissan will roll out the LEAF as they see fit, not how we think is fair or unfair. I can only say that I'm glad they are rolling it out and that I'll eventually have a chance to buy mine.

 

[lne937s]

All I will say is if the rental companies or car sharing signed up on April 20, waited for RAQ, completed the order, and still ended up first in line then so be it. Otherwise if Nissan gives priority above regular consumers that just seems like a load of BS. When the Leaf is sitting on the showroom floor getting hawked by the two-bit salesman then it will be time to ship to the rental companies or fleet orders.

You shoudn't be whining when many of us who signed up on April 20 still have to wait another year to place our orders due to not being in one of the initial launch markets.

But Hertz put in their order last February and were working on developing the partnership before that to facilitate EV adoption, so they have you beat anyway:
http://www.wired.com/autopia/2010/02/hertz-rent-nissan-leaf/

 

[mitch672]

The plug in Prius, the Chevy Volt, perhaps the Imev, and Tesla model S, even the Mini ED, may all be arriving on the scene by then, even converting my 2010 Prius is more attractive than waiting another 1.5 years.

Then again, they may see delays just like the Leaf. (insert dramatic pause here)

How many times have you jumped from one line in the supermarket to another because that line is moving faster. Or switch lanes during rush-hour traffic for the same reason? How often does that move REALLY work? Don't buy the Leaf if you don't want to, but don't whine about what they're doing because you don't think other companies will do the same.

Just food for thought.

I'm not cancelling my $99 reservation, I am just not hopeful that the Leaf will ever be a real choice for me, as the more I hear about it, the less I want it, and the more I want a PHEV. I already have a 2010 Prius, 1st quarter of 2011, PICCs 2010 PHEV conversion kit will be ready for it, so it might just end up being a 40mile PHEV for me, and have it 2 years sooner, and have a nice PHEV to boot, with great mileage when using gasoline... sure it won't have the EV aceleration of a Volt, but it has a gas engine that can assist for that. It doesn't have to be all or nothing for me, as some people feel.

 

[Jimmydreams]

I'm not cancelling my $99 reservation, I am just not hopeful that the Leaf will ever be a real choice for me, as the more I hear about it, the less I want it, and the more I want a PHEV. I already have a 2010 Prius, 1st quarter of 2011, PICCs 2010 PHEV conversion kit will be ready for it, so it might just end up being a 40mile PHEV for me, and have it 2 years sooner, and have a nice PHEV to boot, with great mileage when using gasoline... sure it won't have the EV accelration of a Volt, but it has a gas engine that can assit for that. It doesn't have to be all or nothing for me, as some people feel.

Well, therein lies the silver lining to all this, if you ask me: choices and options!! The next few years will indeed be interesting as new cars come out (and more are rushed out).

Leaf, Volt, Plug-In Prius, Tesla S, Coda, Aptera (ok, that was a joke).....the whole point is to get off gas. How we accomplish that doesn't really matter much to me.
:mrgreen:

 

[charlie1300]

As a proud member of the "forgotten 36", I don't see any other realistic EV option to the Leaf between now and 2012 except the Volt. Prius plug in not significantly different from the current Prius (12 miles on the battery - really!) The rest will probably get delayed Just like Leaf and Volt (remember, they were originally scheduled for beginning of 2010). I already made the decision some time ago that the Leaf was a better fit for me than the volt. So, as they say, patience is a virtue.

My wife always wants to switch lines at the store. Drives me crazy! :lol:

 

[Boomer23]

a Mini E reallly does sound appealing as well.

I agree, I'd jump at the chance to lease a Mini E, if it were at a reasonable price, for a 3 year period.

From what I've read (quite extensively), there is no intention to build a Mini E for actual sale or extended lease, beyond the few people who were able to lease the prototype car for a year at a time. This was just a test project for BMW to learn about consumer behavior and preferences for EVs. So about half of the Mini Es that were leased were taken back after the one year period and about half of the people were interested in a second year at a reduced price.

But a Mini E is not an option for new customers. BMW's follow-on test model is the 1 Series "Active E" project. These cars will be offered to the Mini E project customers first, then to others. Still, not a long term lease, nor available for sale.

 

[evnow]

This was just a test project for BMW to learn about consumer behavior and preferences for EVs.

No. This was a pure CARB play by BMW. They used the loophole in the law to get full credit even if leasing for just 1 year.

 

[mynameisjim]

the proposed 15 cent per gallon federal gas tax increase over the next 4 years will go a LONG way towards boosting sales.

In my city gas has gone up 30 cents in just a few months and no one seems to care. Will 15 cents spread out over 4 years have any impact?

 

[Bud]

restless? I doubt I'll buy a Leaf at this point... for the "forgotten and now shunned 36" (had to modify the original "forgotten 36", because we are now shunned as well), there will be many more choices by the time actual ordering opens up, which is kind of sad, really. Having given our $99 deposits back on April 20th, 2010, and to not be able to even order until the end of 2011, with delivery sometime in 2012, thats just inexcusable. The plug in Prius, the Chevy Volt, perhaps the Imev, and Tesla model S, even the Mini ED, may all be arriving on the scene by then, even converting my 2010 Prius is more attractive than waiting another 1.5 years.

Nissan opening up ordering again in the Spring of 2011 for the "privledged 6" is the final straw for us, kick us in the teeth when we are already depressed, why don't you Nissan?

Mini ED, what an unfortunate name. I get emails all the time to cure that.