People keep asking if my car uses any gas

[jcesare]

One guy kept asking me how many "miles to the gallon" even after he seemed to understand it is electric.

I always respond to that question in cents per mile. 3 cents for my Leaf vs 25 cents for my ICE is a real eye opener for most people.

I've also added a brass license plate frame:

Breathe Easy

100% ELECTRIC

 

[ERG4ALL]

I like the idea of making a label for the inverter cover that says, "Flux Capacitor" for those "Back to the Future" fans. Then all you need is a dog named Enstein.

 

[jimcmorr]

Exactly, OilFree!

Like what would happen if something went wrong with the (choose one or more) Fuel pump, Oil pump, Water pump, Air pump, Spark plugs, Coils, Alternator? None of which are present on my 100% electric vehicle!

Sorry, I couldn't resist, I know I am preaching to the choir, and I don't mean to insult anyone.

I love the facial expressions, the pauses, the extra confirmations and the blind reach for a problem: "well... but... um, what if something goes wrong with the battery?"

Christopher, that is interesting how humans do that instead of "Wonderful, I wouldn't have to buy any more gas with an electric car!" They (read: we humans) also often ignore the ICE complexity that results in more breakdowns, required service, and cost ($, environmental, national security, etc.) ... Just because we're used to it and accept it.

 

[Deleted member 1464]

Exactly, OilFree!

Like what would happen if something went wrong with the (choose one or more) Fuel pump, Oil pump, Water pump, Air pump, Spark plugs, Coils, Alternator? None of which are present on my 100% electric vehicle!

Sorry, I couldn't resist, I know I am preaching to the choir, and I don't mean to insult anyone.

I love the facial expressions, the pauses, the extra confirmations and the blind reach for a problem: "well... but... um, what if something goes wrong with the battery?"

Christopher, that is interesting how humans do that instead of "Wonderful, I wouldn't have to buy any more gas with an electric car!" They (read: we humans) also often ignore the ICE complexity that results in more breakdowns, required service, and cost ($, environmental, national security, etc.) ... Just because we're used to it and accept it.

That's right - here's a thread I started with "Things you don't need when you own a Nissan Leaf" -

http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=27&t=4164

52 items so far -

 

[jimcmorr]

That's right - here's a thread I started with "Things you don't need when you own a Nissan Leaf" -

http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=27&t=4164

52 items so far -

Yes. I remember seeing that now that you mention it. Thanks for the reminder.

 

[GinkoLeaf]

My wife had someone ask her "is it 4 cylinders or 6 cylinders" after she had just explained to him that our car is all electric. :roll:

I like the "flux capacitor" label idea. :lol:

 

[gbarry42]

"is it 4 cylinders or 6 cylinders"

I suppose the answer would be "It's a 3 phase"

 

[jimcmorr]

My wife had someone ask her "is it 4 cylinders or 6 cylinders" after she had just explained to him that our car is all electric. :roll:

I like the "flux capacitor" label idea. :lol:

How about this image from Google images...

This Flux Capacitor 4" by 4.5" white/black & red graphic is available from Robradikal for $6.50 at this link.
http://www.robradikal.com/servlet/Detail?no=12

Not advertising for them but figured I should give credit for the image.


Also heres a link with instructions on how to build your own Flux Capacitor.
http://www.instructables.com/id/Flux-Capacitor/

 

[Electric4Me]

My wife had someone ask her "is it 4 cylinders or 6 cylinders" after she had just explained to him that our car is all electric. :roll:

I like the "flux capacitor" label idea. :lol:

How about this image from Google images...

This Flux Capacitor 4" by 4.5" white/black & red graphic is available from Robradikal for $6.50 at this link.
http://www.robradikal.com/servlet/Detail?no=12

Not advertising for them but figured I should give credit for the image.


Also heres a link with instructions on how to build your own Flux Capacitor.
http://www.instructables.com/id/Flux-Capacitor/

I love it! At least our cars will (barely) pass 88 mph...

 

[DrRocket]

One guy kept asking me how many "miles to the gallon" even after he seemed to understand it is electric.

180 to 190 miles to the gallon, to be conservative and in case I made a mistake below.

100 miles / 24 kwh (battery) X kwh /$0.075 (LADWP TOU for EV) $4 / gallon = 222 miles per gallon

 

[DrRocket]

For close friends only, I'll say "...still supporting Saudia Arabia? That's a shame. You know 15 out of 19 highjackers came from there."

 

[Electric4Me]

This cost per mile argument can be used in other ways too, like when folks comment on the "insufficient" range. You can reply:

"Well, the range of this current model may not be what you're used to, but it is inexpensive to drive. It costs about 2 cents per mile. However, the technology exists right now to give this vehicle about 4 times the range! It will even cost slightly less to purchase.

"Unfortunately it will cost you 10x per mile for the energy alone. Oh, and the maintenance costs can be quite high, it is dirty and smelly, pollutes the environment badly, and is really loud.

"I find that I can work with this range very easily given the current alternatives!"
:lol:

 

[ERG4ALL]

In my three ring binder that I carry with me when I display the vehicle, I've put together a page regarding batteries. There is a quote from the May edition of Car and Driver Magazine regarding the battery company "A123". They claim that through the use of nano-particles they can increase the surface to volume ratio considerably. Also, through the use of photolithography they can deposit cathode, separator, anode, etc. one layer on top of the other so compactly that they are getting 4 to 5 times the energy density of current Lithium-ion batteries. I guess all that needs to be done is to see what the cost and manufacturability of the batteries will be.

Also, as reported elsewhere here the CEO of Nissan, Carlos Ghosn has been quoted as saying Nissan's battery energy density will double in the next four or five years.

Finally, for the doubting Thomases, I put together a comparison of the PT Cruiser that I traded in for the LEAF. Bottom line is that over the eight year life of both vehicles WITHOUT THE $7,500 TAX CREDIT that the LEAF is over $7,000 cheaper to own just based on fuel savings (not to mention maintenance) even though the LEAF cost $10,000 more initially. And regarding the battery replacement argument, I tell them that when I traded in the eight year old PT Cruiser I only got $3,400 in trade when the fully equipped car cost $25,000 when new. The point being that after any car has served for eight years, you're not going to get much of a trade-in regardless. Therefore, don't replace the battery, let the dealer recycle it and buy a new LEAF. The $7,000 savings outweighs the trade-in value. Even if you got nothing in trade, you'd still be money ahead. Of course all of that is a worst-case scenario. With the expected life of the LEAF's other components it may make perfect economic sense to replace the battery after eight years, get more kWh and continue driving the LEAF until all of the suspension, etc. parts wear out.

Anyway, that's my story and I'm sticking to it.

 

[davewill]

...With the expected life of the LEAF's other components it may make perfect economic sense to replace the battery after eight years, get more kWh and continue driving the LEAF until all of the suspension, etc. parts wear out...

My current plan is to baby this thing, get new batteries as needed, and end up owning a "classic", the world's first mass-produced EV, to pass on to my great-grandchildren.

 

[kballs]

Several groups of people checked out my car today in the Taco Time lot and the only thing they seemed to notice was the funny looking shifter (they all stared in the drivers window pointing toward the center console). I was inside the building observing so didn't get asked anything. I don't have the eco package so it's just the stock funny looking console, and there was nothing left in the car but a pair of sunglasses, so the shifter is the most likely thing to draw attention.