redLEAF
Well-known member
bigtlb said:
Welcome -- Welcome -- Welcome
With how late the LEAF will finally arrive here I'm pleased to see there are more of us from the midwest still interested !!!
On your comments about Libertyville VW (it's actually Liberty Auto Plaza as you'll see below)
I wasn't sure that the Nissan dealer was connected with VW as when I bought my '88 it was on the other side of the street --- it is however now as:
http://www.libertyautoplaza.com/
so your more recent experience (not sure when they merged) should hold true. I actually also owned a TDI New Beetle (the first year out, a '98); it was a great little car but we outgrew it (back seat is really just for kids). Being a diesel, it did hold its value quite well and traded it in on a (new at the time) '06 Mazda3 5-door hatch which may be the car the Nissan LEAF replaces when they do finally arrive out this way. The Mazda3 doesn't get the mileage of the TDI but it holds tons of stuff and carries 4 adult size people with relative comfort and has proven to be very inexpensive to maintain versus the VW.
As far as the add on post as to what other EV's were being considered, the Tesla Model S sedan would have been great but I was hoping for a more main stream mfg (like Nissan) to become available. We do own another very small car (an '08 smart fortwo coupe) which will go to my son here very soon -- the smart ED (pardon the puns -- ED is for Electric Drive not the other thing, they really should have stuck to EV) looked promising but at such a high lease only price, just not a good value. The new to U.S. Fiat 500 EV will be out later than the LEAF (2012/13?) and others should be to market from other carmakers but nothing appears to come close to what Nissan has that I've seen yet.
As far as the cold weather -- not a concern for me as it will typically be stored overnight in a heated garage while it's charging, I have heard that Nissan is actively testing how extreme cold will effect battery range, etc. so perhaps that's another reason for the delay to colder weather states (although TN does get the occasional frost and snow, it's nowhere near as cold as Chicago most times).
Being a TDI owner, I'm sure you've properly prepared for winters with anti-gel additives (although the 1.9 TDI engine has fuel pre-heaters); the LEAF won't need these as its a pure EV but many in the far extreme north still 'plug-in' their engine heaters so the crankcase oil doesn't thicken so much -- could be some similar cautions for the LEAF but still too early to tell. I would think the cold will simply be something that will shorten the range (like extreme heat) and nothing else.
