Field Trip!!!! The LEAF to Manhattan!

I am fortunate to be off from work today to celebrate Martin Luther King. To help recognize the day we took a field trip to the New York Historical Society In addition to their MLK exhibit, we spent quite some time in the Rogers Groups exhibit [Our family owns about 20 Rogers Groups - a story for another day].

Originally I was going to park in a parking garage with a Chargepoint or Beam charging station.  The Customer Service person at Beam was really helpful in finding a parking garage near where we were going, but we didn't need to.  We made the 40 mile round trip with plenty of charge to spare when we got home so we parked in the closes garage to our destination.

We left the house with a 73 mile range, drove into Manhattan mostly via highway using ECO Mode averaging 50 MPH, except for the last 7 city blocks off the Westside Highway.  We used heated seats and the heated steering wheel because we had preheated the cabin using shore power and we really didn't need to use the heater.  We arrived at the parking garage beneath the American Museum of Natural History with 57 miles of range remaining (we only used 17 miles of our original range to drive 20 miles!!!!).

The garage scene was a blast.  The attendants asked me to leave the key in the ignition... Here's where it got fun.  It took showing them how to start and turning off the LEAF before they realize this was no ordinary car.  Once they found out the LEAF was 100% battery electric, all the attendants agreed it was the coolest car they have seen in awhile.

On the ride home we got on the highway and immediately blew past a Volt in the slow lane.  I beeped my horn in respect as we passed by.  Confident there was ample charge, I averaged 60+ mph and we had the heat on the entire trip.  We arrived home with 24 miles of range left and we averaged 3.5 miles/kwhr.

I will definitely do this trip again.

JS

Dad? Why did they do this..................?

Today, from the mouth of my 17 year old, the student driver who is learning to drive on our Nissan LEAF:  

• 17 yr old: "Dad?"
• Me: "Yes?"
• 17 yr old: "Why did they do this [pointing to the parking brake lever]?"
• Me: "What do you mean?"
• 17 yr old: "Because everything is so cool on this car [the LEAF], why did they make the parking brake so weird?  It is like... all the other stuff on the car is cool, but this brake is like basic - not cool."

Ah, from the mouths of babe's......

Thanks Car and Driver for the photo.

Jim S.

"Eco-radical interests??" What!

I was reading the following editorial from Investors.com They don't sell so let's make more?, and started to think; am I an "eco-radical" because I love my Nissan LEAF and can't stop blogging about it?  Well, I hope I am not "eco-radical", but I do consider myself passionate.

After that thought stream I started to realize there are a couple of things that can be done to increase EV sales, including, but not limited to:

• Stop the naysayers who continue to preach and brain wash the American driving public to think battery electrics have too short a range to be any good.  So instead of being always negative, speak up the positive attributes - there are so many not to know any!

• Educate Americans!  100% coal-fired electric generating stations are several times more efficient as gasoline engines and coal plants are constantly being monitored and are becoming cleaner.

• Stop letting people get away with saying car companies are losing money on EVs.  So EVs may be a loss-lead for some companies, but for others they are covering their costs, they just are not showing a profit - there is a big difference between no-profit and not covering costs.  I don't think the big auto companies are going to go broke making EVs.  Besides, most people I know really don't want their hard earned income becoming someone else's profit - that leaves a bad taste in our mouths. [keep the price as low as possible - profit/earnings will come as more are sold]

• Support alternative cultures!  Learn and support the EV culture, too many forget how devastating the "automobile" culture has already been to our planet - now is the time to start cleaning it up, we can't afford to wait.

OK, I'll stop because I am just rambling, but I hope my point has been made: create a positive culture for EVs and they will sell.   How did they say it in Field of Dreams?  "Build it and they will come?", there is something to that.

JS

Are Electric Cars Real?

The following is an interesting blog my sister-in-law sent me this morning and I found it worthy of sharing.

Are electric cars real?

My Nissan LEAF is real!

Jim S.

I met Steve

Heidi (wife) and I had just finished one of those doctor appointments where you can't eat for 48 hours before hand and we were hungery (I had sympathy hunger...).   Our goal was to break our fast (definite play on words) at the City Limits Diner in White Plains, NY.  While this blog isn't about the diner, I do have to say they had excellent food and above excellent service - I am going back there and would recommend the place to everyone - it was good, really good!

I had to mention the food and service because they were excellent, but this entry in my blog is about the parking lot, more specifically about Steve.  I was considering myself lucky that I had pulled into the first parking space to the front door of the diner that was not a "Handicap Only" space,  Heidi and I were chatting away, I can't even remember what we were talking about.  We got out of our LEAF and right away there was this "High!", O.K. hairs up on the arms, a little startled, and running through the back of my mind was; "did I screw up and park in a Handicap Space?", you know I am a New Yorker and I have learned to be "on guard".  Well, I got it all wrong.  It was Steve.

In addition to being a professional photographer, it turns out Steve is a huge Nissan LEAF fan!   Ours was one of the first Steve had seen where he was able to meet the owners, us!

We had a nice long chat, and Steve if you ever get to read this I will take you up on the offer to ride in the Saint Patrick's Day parade - you can even ride shotgun.  It was a pleasure meeting you.

Jim S.
New Ro

What where you thinking? Ugh!!!!!

Now a couple of thousand miles into my relationship with my LEAF I have found something annoying about the car.  Yes, I have.  It is just a little detail.  One that is encountered only ever so often, but when there is nothing else to be critical of, this is what I have found - the little leavers on the steering wheel bug me!!!!!

I don't know about you, but when I start into a turn or I am making tight maneuvers, these little buggers (leavers) are just plain in the way.  I am always brushing them with the palms of my hands and inadvertently changing radio stations, and God Forbid, I actuate the cruise control to go faster than is safe!!!!!!!

Nissan.  Get rid of the little levers.  They are useless. Stick to push buttons, they work much better.

Thanks.

I still love my LEAF!

100 Year Old EV with 200 mile range

Detroit Electric Cars have always been one of my all time favorite cars.  I didn't realize when my Grandfather and I were building a Testors model of one that my Great Aunt (Pop's sister-in-law) from Buffalo, NY owned and drove one daily.