Post your Leaf encounter with people about car itself

[MrIanB]

Wanted to start thread on your encounter with strangers and asking about the leaf. Here is a couple ones.


My friend whenever I pick her up to drive somewhere she gets real close and says, " is this car on", me laughing say yes, gotta love this car. I had a 9-12 year old kid at the gas station ask me if the car was electric and when I said yes, he said cool. Caught me off guard someone that young entuned with electric cars.

Ian B

 

[mark1313]

Most people come up to me and ask if my car is also suffering from premature battery capacity loss..No one ever ask me about the car from all the bad news coverages, but after the big article in the AZ Republic ran,a lot of people ask me about the battery problems..

 

[philipscoggins]

First question asked is range (I've only had it 4 days, so I fumble about what I should be able to get). And they are always surprised that there is no gas backup.

Second question is "Where do I charge & what happens when the battery runs down?" At home on my Blink & if I travel there's quickchargers spaced out along the interstate (TN) & I tell them about Nissan giving my 10 days of free car rentals for long trips. And when battery dies from driving, the same thing happens when you run out of gas except I can linp along for about a mile at the very end looking for a place to plug in my 110 instead of carrying a gas can down the road.

Third question is cost of battery pack replacement... Wish I had an answer for that?

Fourth is cost. After all the govt rebates and everything it's close to $25k

Last night ran across an old man who had a solar panel on his workshop, so I struck up a conversation thinking he would like the car and he ended up lecturing me that EVs were a big Obama conspiracy & that we NEEDED to use the oil we had, that it was un-American not to... I wasn't ready for that.

Like I said, I live in TN (town of 12,000) and I'd say 98% have never seen a LEAF in person & I've only ran across a few who say "Hey is that on of those LEAFs?" I'll spread the word on this side.

Philip

 

[eclecticflower]

I've gotten mostly weird looks :? from people in the wild (Quick Trip). At a shopping center, Obvious Man bent his head sideways, looked at it oddly and asked why my license plate read, "G'BYGAS" ("because it uses no gas," "no, none at all," "yes, it's all electric") and why it says "zero emission" on the side ("because it uses no gas and doesn't pollute." :roll: ). Given its unique shape and giant badge, I've expected more than fleeting curiosity. Oh, well, baby steps....An inquisitive retired lady discussed it at length with me while it was charging at Walgreens (she was excited for it ).

Left it unlocked in Mom's garage when we swapped cars recently (mistake). Brother popped by, got snoopy and nosed around inside her (felt so violated...I'd NEVER invade someone's car in their absence!). He called with a few good questions; wondered about the headlights shape. Not bad, coming from an auto service business owner.

Got some love from 2 coworkers exiting our parking garage recently. Camaro Guy dropped his passenger window to say, "Love your car!" and Blue Prius Gal did same a few days later saying, "I like your car!"

 

[MrIanB]

Lady at Wendy's drive thru saw it and said, is that the Nissan Leaf? I said yes, to her replying had seen on tv but never on the road.

Ian B

 

[Stanton]

These are the 2 most common questions I get as well, with an occasional "how much does a battery cost".

First question asked is range (I've only had it 4 days, so I fumble about what I should be able to get). And they are always surprised that there is no gas backup.

I always say "less than 100 miles". Notice I don't say 100 miles, or 70, or 80 or anything else: the real answer is "it depends".

Second question is "Where do I charge & what happens when the battery runs down?"

My favorite response to the second part of this one is "I don't let it run down"! With a little planning, you shouldn't end up with a "dead" battery.

 

[tps]

Last night ran across an old man who had a solar panel on his workshop, so I struck up a conversation thinking he would like the car and he ended up lecturing me that EVs were a big Obama conspiracy & that we NEEDED to use the oil we had, that it was un-American not to...

Oh, the conspiracy... The way I heard it, the government is promoting EVs so they can take away our rights. It's a RIGHT to be able to get in your car and drive 300 miles whenever you want. EVs are designed to control us by taking away that right. However, the anti-Obama crowd might actually like EVs since they are "coal burners" and thus help fight against the "war on coal".

Mostly the response to my LEAF has been posititve. People seem to think it's a nice car.

 

[thankyouOB]

Last night ran across an old man who had a solar panel on his workshop, so I struck up a conversation thinking he would like the car and he ended up lecturing me that EVs were a big Obama conspiracy & that we NEEDED to use the oil we had, that it was un-American not to... I wasn't ready for that.

Philip

Haters gotta hate. there is no cure for what they hear on the radio.
and, they are sore losers.

 

[nosuchthing]

I always tell them it's 73 miles on the freeway. And maybe over 80 combined miles. And I quickly add, it's the best thing ever.

Haven't had that many people walk up to me. Nowadays, I tell them, wait for 2013 model. Sorry, Nissan.

I wonder if the glove compartment light is making a comeback. I'll certainly be checking on that. That was a cheapo move by Nissan to deprive 2012 owners of a glove box light. The Chevy hole is there, the wiring is there as far as I know. But no light. I thought it was a short supply issue. May be it's systemic...

Who knows.

 

[GoingGreener]

Periodically, we'll be approached by individuals at our car while parked. Those are wonderful opportunites to share our joy re EVs. In recent weeks, we've been transporting a relative to a local hospital for treatment Mondays-Fridays. Since I mostly run errands etc, during treatment time, I don't use the busy valet service available. I will wave "hello" & let the valet staff know I'll be double-parked (uggh), and, if lucky... in the white, blue (we have a placard) or red (uggh) zones for a couple of minutes to dash for a wheelchair and at least transport my relative in the front doors, if not to the elevator or all the way to the treatment room. Once, the valet staff saw a metered street space open up and offered to park our LEAF while I was wheeling the chair. And a great job they did zipping it across multiple lanes of heavy traffic (yikes) :!: . A couple of days later, on a day I did secure a white zone at pick up time, they asked me a bunch of questions and we had a great conversation re the awesome things, and, in all honestly, some unknowns/risks about EVs for now. They had driven one other LEAF before and a BMW ActiveE, but they had alot of the expected curiosities. I opened the hood and charging hatch for them to see and told them a little about the fed tax credit, state rebate & EV Project. They seemed really enthusiastic and said they learned so much! Sounds like they have L2 charging in their garages. We don't need to use them since we're local. Maybe I should let them park it one day just to experience plugging the LEAF in . Just awesome to meet people who are, first, open to exploration, and then, totally up to them if/when EV will work, change/adoption!

 

[PracticingHuman]

I get all the same questions as I've seen here: How many miles can you drive on a charge? What do you do if you run out of charge (my favorite response... What do you do if you run out of gas)? Do you like it? etc...

However, my favorite responses are the nonverbal ones I get while driving. I can't tell you how many times I will be driving along, and a pedestrian will look at the car... they have this look on their face like they're thinking, "There's something odd about that car. I can't put my finger on it but something is different, something is a bit off..."

 

[cra]

Yup, same questions as here in Norway also, along with the "how does winter affect the performance", and "how is it on winter roads"?

For the range question I always (truthfully) answer that I have never had the chance to find out; i haven't had the need to drive anywhere near the maximum range of a charge, but from my experience I'll manage to get XX range. I also add that just like an ICE car, the driving style affects the range a lot. Pretend you're Michael Shumacher and you'll be out quickly. Drive the way everyone should be driving, and you'l get great range.

For the winter part I say that the heating takes away some of the capacity, but not so much that it affects how I can use it. And I haven't tried it much on snowy roads yet, but from experience in my other EV (a Think City), electric motors are great for winter. No starting problems due to cold weather, and on snowy hills it's great to have a motor that has full torque all the way, so there's no shifting involved that can loose your grip.

Anyone that approaches me to ask about the car seem genuinely interested, and many are not sure I'm driving an EV until I confirm it. They are used to see the small, easily identifiable EVs (like my Think), but this one looks just like a "regular car". They also ask about if it's still free public parking, and when I confirm it, along with free passage on toll roads, no VAT on EVs, allowed to use bus lanes, free ferry transport and no road-tac (about USD 500), they really start to see the advantage of an EV. Add to that the fact that gasoline and diesel currently cost about USD 8 / gallon, while the electricity to get you the same distance as a normal car will cost you about 30 cents, they all start to get really interested.

 

[Nubo]

... And they are always surprised that there is no gas backup. ...

Yeah I notice that too. I think the Volt concept has gotten enough traction that people have become comfortable with the serial hybrid approach. Sort of like graduating from a tricycle to a 2-wheeler -- the training wheels make it ok, but it takes another leap of faith before you go full-on 2-wheeling. But when you see the other kids doing it, you eventually go for it. :mrgreen:

 

[MrIanB]

Had someone pull beside me on Tuesday and ask me to roll down window. They wanted to know how I like the leaf and all I could say before light turn green was, "gotta love 10 months of gas free driving" and he thanked me.

Ian B

 

[mazdaboi]

Over the past 2 months I talk to 1-2 people per week about the car. People are amazed its all electric and curious on actual range and charging locations. I show them the Plugshare and network apps (Sema, Chargepoint, Blink) then I usually let them sit in the car and turn it on....SILENT. Their jaws drop and I tell them what dealer I went to and usually on my way by then. I'd have to say most of the people I speak with all drive significantly less than me, and I explain my 68mile RT commute and how I drive effects the overall range. Not one person i spoke with would have any range anxeity. My sales rep has already called me 2x thanking for referrals and the people I sent him. My idea behind taking a few extra minutes talking about the car is, #1 Better knowledge, #2 Possible New owners, and #3 More EV's = Higher Demand for Charging Infrastructure and ultimately its nice saving time from wasted time at the pump.

 

[thankyouOB]

... And they are always surprised that there is no gas backup. ...

Yeah I notice that too. I think the Volt concept has gotten enough traction that people have become comfortable with the serial hybrid approach. Sort of like graduating from a tricycle to a 2-wheeler -- the training wheels make it ok, but it takes another leap of faith before you go full-on 2-wheeling. But when you see the other kids doing it, you eventually go for it. :mrgreen:

i agree. i have to tell folks several times that there is no gas at all.
they just cant accept that at first.

 

[TinMachine]

Since leasing my Leaf and the daily questions I get from co-workers and using all the same or similar answer so far stated here, two volts have appeared in the parking lot (I guess I was not convincing enough) and now I have competition for the one 120v outlet available to charge from.

I have been stopped in parking lots while on errands a few times and the same questions are always asked and I fall bak on the same answer, about 90 miles give or take. But I always add the low maintenance and no -gas savings and that most people truly only drive 30-60 miles a day.

One old guy I know told me that he drives way more than 40 miles daily and I asked where he was going everyday (he's retired) and he stated to the store and running errands. I knew it was peception and not reality so I asked him to actually keep a milage log for a week and when I saw him again he chuckled and laughed and then told me his log for the week has him only driving 5-15 miles per day and he asked that I not tell his wife that so he can keep his Ford F250 tank filled up, just in case he needs to drive over 100 miles at a clip. I told him I would as he was a fellow traveler.

 

[RWatkins]

Over the past 2 months I talk to 1-2 people per week about the car. People are amazed its all electric and curious on actual range and charging locations. I show them the Plugshare and network apps (Sema, Chargepoint, Blink) then I usually let them sit in the car and turn it on....SILENT. Their jaws drop and I tell them what dealer I went to and usually on my way by then. I'd have to say most of the people I speak with all drive significantly less than me, and I explain my 68mile RT commute and how I drive effects the overall range. Not one person i spoke with would have any range anxiety. My sales rep has already called me 2x thanking for referrals and the people I sent him. My idea behind taking a few extra minutes talking about the car is, #1 Better knowledge, #2 Possible New owners, and #3 More EV's = Higher Demand for Charging Infrastructure and ultimately its nice saving time from wasted time at the pump.

+1
I really like your approach and hope Nissan is paying attention. As many have noted, Nissan hasn't followed through with effective education for many of their dealers let alone the public.

 

[dcxplant]

I had a "high mileage" day last week, about 100 miles, so I needed to plan my day carefully.

Between meetings/chores I had about an hour and a half.

I went to a 220 Blink station in the parking lot of a Twin Peaks restaurant in Scottsdale, AZ and plugged in.

While working on my iPad, enjoying a choc. shake, the windows down (70deg day), and streaming iTunes via Bluetooth lost in my thoughts, I finally noticed a guy on the phone making passes back and forth by the car.

I looked up and smiled, and he immediately hung up his phone engaged me in conversation about the car.

We had a very nice chat, and he really loved the car and the idea of an EV for his wife, and was going to bring her by the Nissan dealer. He admitted he was an avid ICE guy (fancy truck he never uses it as a truck, wife in an Escalade etc.) but was so impressed with the LEAF I think there is a real possibility with this family getting a LEAF.

I was very honest with him. No BS. I gave him my real-word experience with daily living with the car, including the interior that gets dirty looking at it and the back seat belt buckles that make me nervous every time I buckle in my boy into the booster seat.

ps.
I was going to be the primary driver, but my wife has totally hijacked the LEAF!! She takes it every day now, and after being very skeptical and a bit critical of my decision to get the LEAF, she is now a hard-core LEAF lover and advocate! Oh, well, I still get to drive it now and again....

 

[kubel]

Here are a couple random reactions / comments that I just pulled off my dashcam just from this week.

Looks like a spaceship!
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SCrIiV_aacQ[/youtube]

Is that an electric car?
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gHcuY49cznE[/youtube]