Webchat w/Mark Perry today @ 1:00PM CDT

[Herm]

I asked if they could comment on newsarticles mentioning new battery chemistry coming online in 2015. While it's understandable that they might not want to talk about it, I thought that it was innocuous. Several manufacturers are already using NMC, so in a way, it's yesterday's news.

Any news about batteries would impact current sales..

 

[mkjayakumar]

I wanted to ask this question:

Why can't Nissan continue to offer the base 2011 SV model with no QC, no backup camera, no solar panels and no specialized heating options, and keep the MSRP at 32K ?

In my opinion this is the best value for money for someone in the Dallas area.

Many of my friends who have test rode my LEAF, not only love the ride but also the price of the base model. They have very similar driving patterns and don't need an L2 charger at home. That means your cost on the road, with title, tax & registration is around $26K. But there is no base model available any more at that price, apparently. Nissan should be looking to push more cars on the road with a a minimum no-frills model and capture the market. In fact I think the GPS NAV option itself is useless. My iphone google map and the plethora of car charging station apps is all I use all the time.

 

[Stoaty]

I wanted to ask this question:

Why can't Nissan continue to offer the base 2011 SV model with no QC, no backup camera, no solar panels and no specialized heating options, and keep the MSRP at 32K ?

Hopefully they will have such an option once the Leaf is made in the U.S. and no longer supply (and exchange rate) constrained.

 

[lpickup]

Its just supply and demand, you cant compare a Leaf upgrade that they will sell perhaps 1000 in 10 years to several hundred thousands of a Tom-Tom GPS unit.. big time apple and oranges.

That's my point: they SHOULDN'T be selling it. They should include lifetime updates in their initial cost. And before you say that the NAV units are only in a limited "niche" vehicle like the LEAF, go to the NAVTEQ website and see all the vehicles and devices their maps are in! They sell plenty!

 

[LEAFfan]

Sven...we updated the owner's manual. Multiple quick charges are ok. The BMS protects the battery in all cases. If temps get outside normal range the charging rates simply slow down.

Well, well, well...like I said...some people on here were just spreading FUD about QCs. I learned that info a long time ago, but very few believed it even though these battery packs were tested here years ago.

 

[SanDust]

Several manufacturers are already using NMC, so in a way, it's yesterday's news.

What manufacturers are using it? There have been a lot of announcements but apart from some aspects of the Volt battery I wasn't aware of anyone using it.

Could be a touchy subject with the Argonne patents out there. Certainly Nissan has talked about having the next generation batteries use NMC technology.

 

[EVDRIVER]

I asked about the capacity warranty and they cut my connection off and banned me from the web chat :shock:

 

[EdmondLeaf]

I asked about the capacity warranty and they cut my connection off and banned me from the web chat :shock:

I am so sorry for you, If you want me to I can help you to restore your connection and resubmit your question.

 

[EVDRIVER]

I asked about the capacity warranty and they cut my connection off and banned me from the web chat :shock:

I am so sorry for you, If you want me to I can help you to restore your connection and resubmit your question.

Thanks, but I was told no capacity questions or they would erase my firmware via Carwings, don't want to risk that.

 

[TonyWilliams]

Sven...we updated the owner's manual. Multiple quick charges are ok. The BMS protects the battery in all cases. If temps get outside normal range the charging rates simply slow down.

Well, well, well...like I said...some people on here were just spreading FUD about QCs. I learned that info a long time ago, but very few believed it even though these battery packs were tested here years ago.

We've known officially from the Nissan team (not from a vendor) since Dec 3, 2011.

 

[EdmondLeaf]

I asked about the capacity warranty and they cut my connection off and banned me from the web chat :shock:

I am so sorry for you, If you want me to I can help you to restore your connection and resubmit your question.

Thanks, but I was told no capacity questions or they would erase my firmware via Carwings, don't want to risk that.

No risk, CW is only able to do 97.5% completion (2.5% reported difference) so your firmware is safe due to all or nothing rule

 

[surfingslovak]

Several manufacturers are already using NMC, so in a way, it's yesterday's news.

What manufacturers are using it? There have been a lot of announcements but apart from some aspects of the Volt battery I wasn't aware of anyone using it.

Could be a touchy subject with the Argonne patents out there. Certainly Nissan has talked about having the next generation batteries use NMC technology.

The ActiveE is using NMC, and so was the MINI-E, at least according to what I've gathered. I believe that the upcoming Model S will have some blend of NMC as well.

 

[EdmondLeaf]

Several manufacturers are already using NMC, so in a way, it's yesterday's news.

Excuse my ignorance what is better about NMC (density, no of cycles), any good reading on that subject?

 

[Herm]

I wanted to ask this question:
Why can't Nissan continue to offer the base 2011 SV model with no QC, no backup camera, no solar panels and no specialized heating options, and keep the MSRP at 32K ?

How about a version without Nav or carwings?.. replace it with 0-100% SOC meter, save some more money and go to a manual AC system.

 

[Herm]

Several manufacturers are already using NMC, so in a way, it's yesterday's news.

Excuse my ignorance what is better about NMC (density, no of cycles), any good reading on that subject?

Density, supposedly 30-50% higher.. and that could mean lighter/cheaper batteries or more capacity at the same weight/cost

 

[SanDust]

The ActiveE is using NMC, and so was the MINI-E, at least according to what I've gathered. I believe that the upcoming Model S will have some blend of NMC as well.

Yes it is. Interesting. I was under the impression that Argonne is claiming broad patents on NMC technology but maybe not.

I'm pretty sure the Mini-E used the old 18650 batteries and the Model S will use the new Panasonic 18650 batteries.

My guess would be that the Volt battery uses much the same chemistry as you'd find in the battery for the ActiveE. I think all the Korean battery tech came out of the same government labs.

 

[Nubo]

I missed this, and Mark did respond to one of my questions:

We are running 13 lines using 13 different colors (not all for LEAF). We can fit in a green if we drop another color.

There are a lot of non-colors in that lineup. Surely they could do with one less variation of silver, grey, or black? :?

 

[surfingslovak]

I'm pretty sure the Mini-E used the old 18650 batteries and the Model S will use the new Panasonic 18650 batteries.

My guess would be that the Volt battery uses much the same chemistry as you'd find in the battery for the ActiveE. I think all the Korean battery tech came out of the same government labs.

Indeed, and based on anecdotal facts and casual observation, these prismatic cells seem to be quite robust and have great thermal properties. To be honest, I find it neat that the battery in the ActiveE has the exact same voltage as the Leaf. Who knew? It appears that a lot of what we learned about Leaf's pack design applies to theirs as well. And it's a similar story with the Volt.

I spent quite some time sleuthing all the MINI-E data I could find, including numerous Molicel datasheets. To the best of my knowledge, BMW used 18650 form factor cells with some unspecified NMC blend. They never said what it was, but it's pretty clear that BMW selected Molicel as their supplier for this project for a reason. It was a notable departure from the vendor list AC Propulsion typically used in their conversions.

I have a lot of respect for Tesla, and only relatively few problems have been reported for their cars. To be honest with you, based on what I've gleaned from the MINI-E project and the stories I have heard, I don't think that cylindrical 18650 cells are a good choice for an automotive application. Price considerations aside for a moment, such cells might have been appropriate in 2005 or 2006, but not necessarily now. Custom-built prismatic cells are so much better!

 

[EdmondLeaf]

Nissan's Mark Perry conducted a webchat today answering questions about the Nissan LEAF, electric car fast charging standards, fast charging networks, Nissans low price CHADEMO station, and more.

http://www.torquenews.com/1075/niss...questions-electric-car-fast-charging-and-more

 

[DaveinOlyWA]

thanks for transcript to chat. at work and...weird my boss expected me to work??