Nissan Addresses Slow LEAF Launch

[garygid]

Who would believe (take at face value) what a car salesman says about ... anything?
Was December the month that you told him you wanted to get the car?

 

[lemketron]

Ah, well, at least I am no longer Pending.
Reserved about 3 PM on Apr 20, ordered a Blue SV on Sep 2, with no options. Plan to use only L1 charging at home.
Delivery: March 2011 [Finally, no longer Pending!]

Right, at least you're no longer pending. I also reserved on April 20, but didn't get to order until late October, and am thus still pending. I was hoping for February or March, but I'm guessing more like May now, or maybe April if they crank things up soon...? :-(

 

[defiancecp]

For some of the kiddies here Santy Claus is late. Boohoo. GROW UP :!:

It's this kind of callous disregard for the validity of others' dissatisfaction that really disappoints me about this forum sometimes. There are people here with real, valid, just complaints, and your response (which, while usually not stated quite so blatantly, is not an uncommon one here) is sarcasm and insults. Please, sir, read your own closing sentence and evaluate whether there's a lesson there for you to learn as well. I would have thought this group to be more enthusiast than fanboy.

 

[sjfotos]

For some of the kiddies here Santy Claus is late. Boohoo. GROW UP :!:

It's this kind of callous disregard for the validity of others' dissatisfaction that really disappoints me about this forum sometimes. There are people here with real, valid, just complaints, and your response (which, while usually not stated quite so blatantly, is not an uncommon one here) is sarcasm and insults. Please, sir, read your own closing sentence and evaluate whether there's a lesson there for you to learn as well. I would have thought this group to be more enthusiast than fanboy.

Rude behavior is, unfortunately, all too common today.

 

[garygid]

You say people should be allowed to complain, but then complain that others complained about the complaints.

OK, does anybody else need something to complain about?

 

[Jimmydreams]

You say people should be allowed to complain, but then complain that others complained about the complaints.

OK, does anybody else need something to complain about?

I'd like to complain about your post because it's making my brain hurt!

:twisted:

 

[garygid]

Jimmy,
I think I have some special "tonic" for that condition,
but I should not offer to share it if you have to go
to work to "keep those dots from touching". :lol:

"Forget what I said, Move along,
Nothing is wrong, You feel fine."

 

[Jimmydreams]

Jimmy,
I think I have some special "tonic" for that condition,
but I should not offer to share it if you have to go
to work to "keep those dots from touching". :lol:

Actually, I am on a break at work right now. And I already have plenty of your 'special tonic'.

You ARE referring to coffee, aren't you?

:lol:

 

[garygid]

No, I do not use the Coffee Drug.
I have a different "Drug of Choice".
Does coffee help make headaches go away?

Nice that you were able to join us
on Saturday. Cheers, Gary

 

[GeorgeParrott]

Many of you are assuming it is an "allocation issue," and perhaps it is, BUT I can find no reports that Nissan is actually delivering the LEAF in any real numbers in Japan or Europe at this time either. Basically there have been a few "media events" in Europe AND Japan for the token intro stage deliveries, but real numbers of cars don't seem to be reported delivered in those areas, as far as I can find EITHER.

My own conclusion and that of a number of others is that Nissan found a serious production/design problem in the LEAF as the early cars were being shipped for final delivery and those vehicles were then held for retrofits. With the hypothetical problem identified, that also MIGHT have meant that the production line was virtually stopped while some kind of new part was acquired and introduced for use.

HOW else can anyone explain the absolute fact that
1. Nissan started production about a month before GM started production on the Volt
2. GM has actually built over 1000 of the Volt model, but
3. Nissan has only delivered less than 60 cars IN THE WORLD that can be actually tracked.
4. Vehicle production lines, even in early "ramp up" stages tend toward 30-50 cars a day and at peak production can hit 20+ cars per hour.

To Nissan's credit, if the conclusion of a production/design problem discovered is correct, then Nissan is getting it fixed before cars actually go TO customers, negating any inconvenience and bad press that a "recall" would generate.

And as long as the media reporters continue to suck up Nissan's smokescreen on this issue/problem/delay and simple report it as "a slow and careful ramp up of production," and a number of us, waiting for the cars with CONFIRMED ORDERS accept and believe that drivel (oops, my own position crept in), then all is well on the Nissan CORPORATE PR front.

Nissan KNEW EXACTLY how many cars they believed they could produce when they opened orders; they took confirmed orders in a carefully programmed sequence of days and geographical locales. What they believed they "could do" was clearly outlined to all of us following this process closely from the early, EARLY, announcements. Heck, I stayed home from work on 20 April to sit by my phone for the "call to order," and I returned my initial email to finalize that order IMMEDIATELY (31 Aug.) since I had explored microscopically price and delivery details with at least 5 regional Nissan dealers.

Ordering the LEAF was wonderful the way Nissan allowed the customer control over what dealer would actually deliver our cars; I was also ordering a Volt at the same time, and that process of finding ANY Chevy dealer who would even take my specific order configuration AND then who would confirm such an order at even MSRP was a 2 week process. HOWEVER as soon as the initial ordering experience was completed, the satisfaction aura TOTALLY SHIFTED. GM has been totally transparent and effective in producing and delivering my Volt; it sits now in my garage here in W. Sacramento. My Nissan "dashboard" told me for the first two months after ordering "December Delivery," and then in November sometime it shifted to "February 2011." Now I also see a number of individuals on the forum spreadsheet report with orders taken on Sept. 1 who HAVE THEIR LEAF CARS ALREADY. This even includes one customer on the spreadsheet with the exact same configuration of LEAF that I ordered on 31 Aug,from the same dealer as I am working with, and who ordered on 1 Sept and HAS HIS LEAF NOW.

YIKES ! What explains that little "misorder" on the whole process?

So, there IS a delay in getting the LEAF cars into final delivery readiness, and there is something other than simply sequence of ordering that is generating actual vehicle deliveries (few as there are).

Has Nissan actually answered any of our enquires on these concerns/issues? Not to my satisfaction for sure, as all I am reading from Nissan USA Corporate is one promise followed by a revised statement followed by a complete rewrite of the first promise, followed by a denial of any problem at all, followed by a claim of a carefully planned slow rollout.....

If I wanted political fiction, I would go to the library.

 

[garygid]

Or, read any newspaper?

 

[johnr]

@GeorgeParrott: Yeah, I'm not buying that "slow roll-out" excuse either. At least they caught whatever problem it was before releasing the cars to customers. But I wish they'd be honest and disclose what happened. It wouldn't hurt their reputation in the slightest to say they discovered something in the assembly process that needed to be dealt with, and this is why the initial launch has slowed. To the contrary, it would demonstrate that they have an excellent QC process and can be trusted to be honest and upfront with their customers.

 

[evnow]

@GeorgeParrott: Yeah, I'm not buying that "slow roll-out" excuse either. At least they caught whatever problem it was before releasing the cars to customers. But I wish they'd be honest and disclose what happened. It wouldn't hurt their reputation in the slightest to say they discovered something in the assembly process that needed to be dealt with, and this is why the initial launch has slowed. To the contrary, it would demonstrate that they have an excellent QC process and can be trusted to be honest and upfront with their customers.

You are being naive, if you think competitors and general anti-ev diehards won't exploit any comments from Nissan. As you know some have made it a part of their political agenda to oppose EVs (and plugins like Volt).

 

[SeattleBlueLeaf]

Was anyone ever given a delivery date or timeframe from Nissan that has not been kept? I don't think so but correct me if I am wrong.

Is there any proof that something was "fixed" at port? or is this all just speculation?

 

[EVDRIVER]

@GeorgeParrott: Yeah, I'm not buying that "slow roll-out" excuse either. At least they caught whatever problem it was before releasing the cars to customers. But I wish they'd be honest and disclose what happened. It wouldn't hurt their reputation in the slightest to say they discovered something in the assembly process that needed to be dealt with, and this is why the initial launch has slowed. To the contrary, it would demonstrate that they have an excellent QC process and can be trusted to be honest and upfront with their customers.

You are being naive, if you think competitors and general anti-ev diehards won't exploit any comments from Nissan. As you know some have made it a part of their political agenda to oppose EVs (and plugins like Volt).

Yes, that is a marketing disaster. Consumers can lose confidence in the build quality, etc. Auto makers wont use a flaw or problem as an excuse as it makes them look unprepared and unproven in their testing.

 

[johnr]

@GeorgeParrott: Yeah, I'm not buying that "slow roll-out" excuse either. At least they caught whatever problem it was before releasing the cars to customers. But I wish they'd be honest and disclose what happened. It wouldn't hurt their reputation in the slightest to say they discovered something in the assembly process that needed to be dealt with, and this is why the initial launch has slowed. To the contrary, it would demonstrate that they have an excellent QC process and can be trusted to be honest and upfront with their customers.

You are being naive, if you think competitors and general anti-ev diehards won't exploit any comments from Nissan. As you know some have made it a part of their political agenda to oppose EVs (and plugins like Volt).

Yes, that is a marketing disaster. Consumers can lose confidence in the build quality, etc. Auto makers wont use a flaw or problem as an excuse as it makes them look unprepared and unproven in their testing.

Competitors and anti-EV types don't need comments from Nissan to exploit. You should be keenly aware of this by now, with all the FUD that has been going around. The silence from Nissan is worse from a PR standpoint, IMHO, because it gives place to all sorts of conjecturing.

For example, we've seen those articles claiming that Nissan couldn't sell many Leafs because there's no demand for an electric car. Nobody expects production of a new product to go off without a hitch, especially something perceived as high-tech and complex (as an EV is perceived to be, despite its actual simplicity). If they simply admitted there was a glitch, but that they took the time to take care of it, people would appreciate it and they would come out looking better than a company who claims perfection only to have a mass recall on their hands later.

 

[StrangerTides]

Was anyone ever given a delivery date or timeframe from Nissan that has not been kept? I don't think so but correct me if I am wrong.
...

Not sure if you're only talking about deliveries, but at least regarding ordering timelines from Nissan - absolutely, reservation-holders in the second tier states were told we would be able to order in December - until December 10th, when we got the email pushing us out to "late summer 2011".

 

[TomT]

Yep. I originally had a January delivery month on my Dashboard and it is now March...

Was anyone ever given a delivery date or timeframe from Nissan that has not been kept? I don't think so but correct me if I am wrong.

 

[Randy]

I had a "Month of December" delivery on my dashboard, and my PD had heard that the cars would come to port a little bit earlier than the actual date of 12/20.

In the end, my delivery date slipped 1-2 weeks, no big deal (except for the missed Federal tax credit in 2010). There's always next year on the tax credit, and I'm loving my LEAF.

 

[ttweed]

Was anyone ever given a delivery date or timeframe from Nissan that has not been kept? I don't think so but correct me if I am wrong.

Everyone who was told that their car would be delivered 3-4 months after their order and then had it changed to 4-7 months was subject to a "timeframe" slippage. That's a lot of folks.

TT