Abandoned Leaf on 405 freeway?
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Oh, dear. Distributor plates probably mean a Nissan fleet car, possibly loaned out to a dumb journalist who ran it down to zero wanting a "NISSAN LEAF LEFT ME STRANDED" headline! :?
TomT
Well-known member
Interesting that it has car pool stickers... I didn't think you could get those with 562 distributor plates... Perhaps it was registered to someone else first?
mwalsh said:
TRONZ
Well-known member
mwalsh said:
Too funny! Nissan plates and someone who did not know what they were doing. Better start looking for a "Hit Piece" article.
ENIAC
Well-known member
Perhaps, but I thought the protocol was to run it flat (after ignoring every alarm) and leaving it in the middle of traffic for greatest effect. Then you and your side kick take a bunch of video and photos as the truck drags off your loaner LEAF. This technique was utilized by two Barrons reporters earlier this year leaving their LEAF in mid town Manhattan traffic, when curb side parking spaces are clearly seen in their photos.mwalsh said:
DarkStar
Well-known member
Here's more info:
http://blogs.insideline.com/roadtests/2011/08/2011-nissan-leaf-sl-waiting-for-a-tow-live.html
Basically the driver wanted to see if he could get away without plugging in to charge overnight (17 hours):
http://blogs.insideline.com/roadtests/2011/08/2011-nissan-leaf-max-range-round-trip.html
http://blogs.insideline.com/roadtests/2011/08/2011-nissan-leaf-sl-waiting-for-a-tow-live.html
Basically the driver wanted to see if he could get away without plugging in to charge overnight (17 hours):
http://blogs.insideline.com/roadtests/2011/08/2011-nissan-leaf-max-range-round-trip.html
DarkStar said:
So basically....FAIL!
johnr
Well-known member
Not much info yet. We need more info. Did the car let him down? Apparently it stopped with 5 miles left and without entering turtle mode. Or am I missing something?DarkStar said:
I just posted this to his "should I do it?" blog posting:
TRONZ
Well-known member
Can't you get a ticket/fine for knowingly pulling a stunt like this?! Any car on the side of the road causes huge traffic jams, costing LA millions in economic loss (not to mention pissing everyone off). What makes a journalist think that its OK to totally drain the battery of an EV but would never consider running a Camry dry on the 405 just to see what would happen?!? Just another "hit piece" article. I hope Nissan is making an idiot list of Mags to NOT loan their cars to.
If he were a pilot, the FAA would have him in a small room about now asking about basic airmanship, required fuel reserves... while terminating his license/career.
If he were a pilot, the FAA would have him in a small room about now asking about basic airmanship, required fuel reserves... while terminating his license/career.
tps
Well-known member
I guess my long-ago flight training must have kicked in. On my first long trip on the Hertz NYC LEAF, I specifically made sure the longest planned segment between charges was 60 miles. I felt sure, with conservative driving, I could get 60 miles out of the LEAF. As it turned out, it took a bit more than half the total charge to go those 60 miles.TRONZ said:
My biggest worry was would Hertz have the LEAF ready in time for my rental, because the previous renter had run it out of charge and Hertz had to tow it back. They might have been nervous about me renting it for two days, but I drove it 275 miles in those 2 days without incident and returned it on-schedule.
People need to realize that the right way to do this type of thing is to be conservative in your planning and gradually increase your plans as you learn more about the capabilities of your equipment. The first time I drove the LEAF 47 miles and returned with a little less than half, so I was confident I could make 60 on my second trip. Plus I drove my planned route twice in my ICE car to reduce the chance of surprises.
You know, the FAA has this thing about an "alternate" (I've certainly diverted to my alternate a couple times); and it's probably a good policy to know chargepoints near your route ahead of time so one can have contingency plans made as well as predetermined "decision points" which set a contingency plan into motion if unforeseen circumstances disrupt the primary plan. This is especially necessary when your primary plan will push the limits.
It's unfortunate that the public won't be likely to hear much about the many thousands of miles successfully driven by sensible LEAF drivers, but the news media will have a field day with the few who don't make it.
davewill
Well-known member
Yep. the times I've pushed the edge, I always had a place to bail to if things went wrong, and I always decide ahead what level of charge I have to have to pass up my alternative. Didn't know it was my inner pilot coming out...tps said:
P.S. Can we add the "IDIOT ALERT" to the title for THIS thread instead of the poor guy who got caught by his charge timer?
DarkStar
Well-known member
The driver posted an update here:
http://blogs.insideline.com/roadtests/2011/08/2011-nissan-leaf-round-trip-attempt-fail.html
http://blogs.insideline.com/roadtests/2011/08/2011-nissan-leaf-round-trip-attempt-fail.html
davewill
Well-known member
Great. So now he's a triple idiot...once for crossing the double double, and twice for waiting on the freeway for the tow truck when the car wasn't dead. He should have got off the freeway, THEN called the tow truck. And finally the third time for not having his backup plan all set before he took off on this jaunt. He could have simply shifted to his backup charging point instead of going nuts.DarkStar said:
I-D-I-O-T
I think he's had a Eureka moment. Though I think his 70 miles is now too conservative. Not far off the mark, but he should be able to get 10 miles more at the very least, at a steady 65mph, given the terrain he was covering. And that's without even mentioning ECO mode.
gbarry42
Well-known member
"none of that mattered to the CHP officer sitting about 10 cars ahead of me..."
I have never seen anyone get popped for cutting into the HOV lane. About time.
"You'd think an electric car's range meter would be hyper-accurate..."
First day with your LEAF, sir? :lol:
"In the process of getting pulled over, the range meter dropped down to "---", meaning I no longer had any way to judge my remaining range"
But, informed readers of MNL do know what's left at this point.
I have never seen anyone get popped for cutting into the HOV lane. About time.
"You'd think an electric car's range meter would be hyper-accurate..."
First day with your LEAF, sir? :lol:
"In the process of getting pulled over, the range meter dropped down to "---", meaning I no longer had any way to judge my remaining range"
But, informed readers of MNL do know what's left at this point.
IBELEAF
Well-known member
I totally agree with "30 miles is probably a better maximum commute radius if you want to drive like a normal person." Exactly my experience with Leaf.
TRONZ
Well-known member
That is a completely different article that what Edmunds wrote while it was happening (Live). Hard to comment when the story keeps changing....
IBELEAF said:
I can do that and have a good 20 miles left. The only compromise is a maximum speed of around 65mph (I can give it the occasional blast to get past something esle moving that speed or slower, but I can't sustain).
ENIAC
Well-known member
You're right TRONZ. That photo at the start of this thread shows a LEAF parked and marked by CHP on the side of the highway. In his new story he never left the LEAF and drove it to a charge. Hmmm... Also, he makes it seem like the far right lane is the only lane an EV can take. Well at least in SoCal, the far right lane often move much faster than the left lanes.TRONZ said:
