Nashville/Middle TN LEAF Gathering -- August 28th, 2011

[ralphmc]

Tnleaf, this still our goal to meet at the Smyrna Nissan Site, for Leafers comming from the South they can top off at the Double Tree Blinks (2), for others comming from the north or the west they can top off at Marriott Airport Hotel there are also 2 working BLINKS and both Hotels have great attitude towards there service, and are happy to h help out. And yes my Home BLINK is availiable as well of off Bell Rd and Elm Hill Pk.

BTW the Marriott would be a great altefnative to meet up as well.

I also noticed that Nissan REMOVED all my Facebook comments from there FB page, I believe now that they are doing this on purpose!!!!

 

[TNleaf]

Tnleaf, this still our goal to meet at the Smyrna Nissan Site, for Leafers comming from the South they can top off at the Double Tree Blinks (2), for others comming from the north or the west they can top off at Marriott Airport Hotel there are also 2 working BLINKS and both Hotels have great attitude towards there service, and are happy to h help out. And yes my Home BLINK is availiable as well of off Bell Rd and Elm Hill Pk.

BTW the Marriott would be a great alternative to meet up as well.

I also noticed that Nissan REMOVED all my Facebook comments from there FB page, I believe now that they are doing this on purpose!!!!

Absolutely, I'm still good for the meetup, just wanted to make sure if the Blink EVSEs not being active would make someone not come, that there would be plenty of alternative places to charge (including my house ~10miles away and the Smyrna Rexall less than 3 miles away).

I don't think Nissan has removed your facebook comments. I see the following from you:

Ralph Coleman
Metro Nashville Leaf Owners are meeting for the first time at the Smyrna Nissan Plant on Sunday 28th 2011, please join us check event details at: facebook.com/event.php?eid=160152717392560
1st Nissan LEAF Owners Meet-Up
Yesterday at 11:48am

When you visit their page, you need to click "Most Recent" which is right below their photos. Unless there are other comments they deleted that I didn't see before.

 

[JPWhite]

Well, the managers did not know anything about the LEAF sitting out there. One of the guys mentioned that this could rented by nissan since the lot they are sitting in is a restricted lot.

So I took a Sunday drive out to Smyrna Nissan Plant to check on our feeding site for our green rides, and guess whatI found their?

9 BLINK chargers that where POWERED OFF !!!!!!

Ok I grant Nissan the wright to do with there equipment what th er y please, but that is more than slap in the LEAF owners face, and now clearly underlines that managers in the south Nissan region are about brain dead there cows they are raising in there back yards.

Ralph

Ralph,

I must have barely missed you! Around 1pm we set off to the Nissan Plant in Smyrna to check on the location. (my other reason was to test out the second Blink RFID card that I just got in the mail). When I pulled up, I noticed the units were off. I tried scanning the RFID and touching the screen, to no avail. I did call the Blink customer support number and spoke to Jordan. He told me that he could not remotely turn the EVSEs on, but that he would look into why they were off. I gave him my email address and he said that he would open a ticket and send me an email.

So this could put a dent in our plans for next Sunday? Was anyone depending on a charge at our meetup site? (I know JPWhite mentioned that it was a 82 mile round trip for him) If this puts anyone "out" of the meetup, I live about 12 miles away from the location (2 miles from I24 in LaVergne) and would volunteer my outlets for anyone needing a charge for an hour or so before or after the meetup. If we wanted to carpool, I could support 2 LEAFs in my driveway, 1 on my Blink EVSE and another on a 120v outlet (suitable for the non-modified EVSE that comes with the LEAF).
Alternatives would be:
-Choose an alternative meetup location
-Get in contact with Nissan (I've sent an email to my dealer to ask for a contact at the plant) and have the Blinks turned on for us
-Change the meetup date until we can get it all resolved

I would like to have as many LEAFs as possible physically present at the meetup location, but as I mentioned above, I could support 2 LEAFs charging and carpool the owners over. There is also another public location that IS online (I just plugged in and charged to verify) at the Smyrna Rexall building. It is only 3 miles from the meetup location if someone wanted to charge for free on a public solar assisted level 2 EVSE.
Located here.

Gotta say that the specter of the chargers being off when I arrive is somewhat unnerving. Could someone check the power status earlier in the day and let us (ie me) know

So if this is solar powered, why would they switch them off? It's not like it's gonna cost them anything if they are used over the weekend. Are they trying to maximize the electric they sell back to the utility company?

 

[TNleaf]

Gotta say that the specter of the chargers being off when I arrive is somewhat unnerving. Could someone check the power status earlier in the day and let us (ie me) know

So if this is solar powered, why would they switch them off? It's not like it's gonna cost them anything if they are used over the weekend. Are they trying to maximize the electric they sell back to the utility company?

JPWhite,

I plan on swinging by the facility at lunch today to see if the Welcome Center is open and if the chargers are still off today. I can swing by there the day of August 28th and post here what I find (hopefully before there I will be able to contact someone from the facility to see about leaving the chargers on).

The way TVA works with Solar Production is that they pay 12 cents for every kW*h produced. Big emphasis on produced. As big as a facility as it is, they consume more than the produce. So I imagine the Blink EVSEs are on a schedule (M-F is my thought unless I confirm they are off again today) to avoid the power loss even in "sleep" mode. Another possibility is that they realized the units have only been used a few times (ralphmc, myself, the Nissan owned LEAF I saw parked there and whoever else has used them) and decided it was not "worth it" to leave them on. Hopefully I can speak to someone there today and find out exactly what is up.

I'll keep you all posted.

 

[ralphmc]

I did go back by there last night a 7:00PM and guess what all was turned on and lit up - BTW the use great LED lights under the Solar Roof - it is really a site to see.

I believe the call to BLINK & them calling Nissan did the trick (I believe if they are part of the EV project, then they are suppose to have the Power on to the chargers 24/7). As far as I know we can call there support line to check if any known chargers are on/off. So we probably don't have to go by there just call BLINK support, they will be able to tell us.

I live 15 miles away from the plant - and I could go by there too the day of the event -

Any one use Google Latitude - it is is great way to find out where we are at a given time, and may even a good way to assist each other if we close.

Ralph

 

[JPWhite]

I did go back by there last night a 7:00PM and guess what all was turned on and lit up - BTW the use great LED lights under the Solar Roof - it is really a site to see.

I believe the call to BLINK & them calling Nissan did the trick (I believe if they are part of the EV project, then they are suppose to have the Power on to the chargers 24/7). As far as I know we can call there support line to check if any known chargers are on/off. So we probably don't have to go by there just call BLINK support, they will be able to tell us.

I live 15 miles away from the plant - and I could go by there too the day of the event -

Any one use Google Latitude - it is is great way to find out where we are at a given time, and may even a good way to assist each other if we close.

Ralph

I use Latitude. However I've noticed recently that my position doesn't refresh as often as it used to when I first signed up. It used to be it would be just 1-2 minutes behind my true location. Now I can go 3-4 days and it doesn't refresh once. Not sure what has changed.

 

[TNleaf]

I did go back by there last night a 7:00PM and guess what all was turned on and lit up - BTW the use great LED lights under the Solar Roof - it is really a site to see.

I believe the call to BLINK & them calling Nissan did the trick (I believe if they are part of the EV project, then they are suppose to have the Power on to the chargers 24/7). As far as I know we can call there support line to check if any known chargers are on/off. So we probably don't have to go by there just call BLINK support, they will be able to tell us.

I live 15 miles away from the plant - and I could go by there too the day of the event -

Any one use Google Latitude - it is is great way to find out where we are at a given time, and may even a good way to assist each other if we close.

Ralph

Nice. I went today on my lunch break. There was the Silver LEAF with dealer plates that I saw on my last trip parked and plugged in. There was also a White LEAF with Rutherford County tags, Nissan of Murfreesboro sticker and still had the "World Car of the Year" sticker. I went inside to speak to the receptionist, however, she was on lunch and there was a temp security guard covering for her. I asked if he could give me the number to the phone and he dialed the number he thought it was, but the phone did not ring. Instead, I left my name and phone number with him to leave for the regular receptionist. That was at 11am, I have yet to receive a call back. (also when he wrote my number down, I noticed for the last number when I said "seven" he wrote down a "zero" so I had him correct it... not sure if that is a sign of my chances at getting a call back).

I may stop by after work (hopefully before the welcome center closes... the guy couldn't even tell me the hours there) and hopefully catch the person before they leave for the day.

So 7pm on Sunday, the EVSEs were on... that's kind of strange, unless they were on due to my call to BLINK.

 

[JPWhite]

So 7pm on Sunday, the EVSEs were on... that's kind of strange, unless they were on due to my call to BLINK.

Ralph's comments make sense. They are part of the EV project so they are required to keep them connected during the EV program lifespan. That's pretty much the terms and conditions myself and other EV Project members have to adhere to, so I don't see what Nissan would be an exception.

Thanks for making the call.

JP

 

[kg4bec]

Yes, I will be glad to accommodate you on this...

Hi Ralph,

As we discussed, if the weather holds then I will attempt this flight. But I have good news... the local Nissan dealer took delivery of their demo LEAF yesterday and if all goes well I'll get to take it for a spin tomorrow! Sweet! It'll be nice to actually experience the car at last and I'm sure it will just whet my appetite and make me want my car to be here even faster!

Thanks for your offer, hopefully we'll be able to hook up as planned.

Cheers/73, Bert/KG4BEC

 

[TNleaf]

Does anyone have any updates on their news/PR contacts? I saw that Stephanie Cox (from Ecotality) had accepted the invite on facebook.

I still have not heard back from Nissan (my guess is the temp security worker didn't give my information as he promised), I'll probably head that way today... when it's NOT lunchtime :?

I will also plan on visiting Saturday afternoon/evening to see if the chargers are still online for the weekend.

 

[JPWhite]

Does anyone have any updates on their news/PR contacts? I saw that Stephanie Cox (from Ecotality) had accepted the invite on facebook.

I still have not heard back from Nissan (my guess is the temp security worker didn't give my information as he promised), I'll probably head that way today... when it's NOT lunchtime :?

I will also plan on visiting Saturday afternoon/evening to see if the chargers are still online for the weekend.

I contacted Holly Thompson of Channel 4 via Facebook, but no response. She's had issues with her kid being ill, so probably not on the top of her priority of things to do.

JP

 

[ralphmc]

Does anyone have any updates on their news/PR contacts? I saw that Stephanie Cox (from Ecotality) had accepted the invite on facebook.

I still have not heard back from Nissan (my guess is the temp security worker didn't give my information as he promised), I'll probably head that way today... when it's NOT lunchtime :?

I will also plan on visiting Saturday afternoon/evening to see if the chargers are still online for the weekend.

Yes we are still on for Sunday - no matter what, if they blink out then we just call BLINK support and ask them to do something about it -

BTW - a representative from BLINK has confirmed that he will show up on Sunday as well, so I bet the units will be powered up and going - trust me!

Ralph

 

[TNleaf]

Is it sad that I'm more excited for Sunday's meet-up than I am about today being Friday?!? :lol:

From the attendee list on here, it looks like we'll have 7 LEAFs present, unless I'm missing someone on facebook or someone is lurking and hasn't said they'd be in attendance. Not bad at all for a first meet-up I think. I'm excited to meet everyone and get a picture of all of the LEAFs. It will easily be the most LEAFs I will have seen in person in the wild (excluding the LEAF tour).

To recap, I'm going to swing by tomorrow and Sunday before to event to check on the status of the Blink EVSEs. I'll post here the current status so everyone can plan accordingly.

Otherwise, I'll see everyone around 1:00pm on Sunday!

 

[garygid]

A pot luck might be good.

In any case, congratulations on getting your first LEAF-Gathering organized. You will really enjoy the time together. You are roughly the 10th Cluster to have a Gathering.

Tomorrow we (SoCal LEAF Gathering) are finishing our 12th month of Gatherings. We now have two a month, at different locations to better serve a larger area. Tomorrow I will Update Firmware in several SOC-Meters.

Welcome to the Forest!
Sincerely, Gary

 

[Eleafgrrl]

I might come even if I don't have my Leaf yet...delivery date is September 5th.

 

[Eleafgrrl]

So I am actually really dissapointed at there attituted - I guess they are just simply to big of a company and DON'T need us "customers".

Ralph

At the test drive event in March, Nissan corporate staff were conspicuous by their absence. The event crew from California were quite nice to deal with. It seems the corp crowd at Nashville couldn't care less about their latest vehicle being well received in the local area.

Your impression matches mine.

Corporate pukes are corporate pukes.

I'm bummed there is no response from Nissan about this first meet-up, it would be nice to see them support the event. I have to say, though, that I disagree about them not being excited at the test drive event. I saw A LOT of them with their corporate badges on, walking in the rain down to the drive event. I talked to a couple of them and they were jazzed to finally physically see/touch/drive what they had been working on for so long. Hopefully, they will get on board and follow up with equal enthusiasm for any upcoming events here in N'ville...

 

[garygid]

These Gatherings are fun for all, but MOST useful to those
who have not yet decided/ordered/received a LEAF.

Yes, go if you can!
Take a camera.

Note: Nissan USA has much bigger concerns there right now,
with 2 factories to build and bring on-line.

 

[TNleaf]

Note: Nissan USA has much bigger concerns there right now,
with 2 factories to build and bring on-line.

Our meet-up location is within view of the up-and-coming LEAF facility. This past week I've driven by it a few times and see the crane workers busy moving the structural materials around. Currently it's just a bunch of frame, but it's nice to see some progress!

 

[kg4bec]

I might come even if I don't have my Leaf yet...delivery date is September 5th.

I'm green with envy... mine's on order and I'm hoping I get it before the end of the year; it'll be nice to be able to claim the federal tax credit for financial year 2011.

Provided the weather holds (and it looks like it's going to be spectacular), I'll be there too, with grateful assistance from Ralph. He'll be picking me up from the local airport, and if I remember to bring my camera, I'll see about getting some aerial shots of the factory site as I fly over.

Cheers, Bert

 

[ralphmc]

and all the leafs parked in front of the Solar array, that would be one great picture and is hard to beat by any LEAF owners Group ...

Honk the horn while you are up there so we can all look up and Wave - that would be awesome!!!


Ralph

See ya at 11:00 AM Sunday Morning at the Smyrna Airport...