San Francisco Area?

[planet4ever]

To earther: I sent you a PM, Steve.

 

[EVDRIVER]

I agree SF is better than Santa Rosa or Sonoma, at least for those of us south of both, but I'm hoping that means the SF region, not just the city. It seems to me that down here in the heart of Silicon Valley (and maybe the Gilroy area too) are better spots to kick off because the flat terrain, higher incomes, warmer weather, and very receptive high-tech atmosphere here would be more conducive to a successful early experience with EVs than SF. SF is great for scenic vistas and tourist attractions but it's a horrible place to buy, drive, or park cars of any kind.

Higher incomes over SF, that's funny. There have been more charging stations in SF proper than anywhere else for years and you can see EVs charging in those slots daily for years. The entire bay area will be loaded with charging stations soon. If you work for google you may never have to pay to drive.

 

[DaveNagy]

Livermore

Work in Pleasanton. About a 15 mile round trip commute. Takes a good 45 minutes, however.

While I've given Nissan my $99 deposit, I won't actually be purchasing a Leaf unless I qualify for the CA tax rebate. And in order for that to happen, I'll need to be one of the first 800 buyers. This seems pretty unlikely.

It would be neat if it happened, though.

 

[Rat]

Higher incomes over SF, that's funny. The entire bay area will be loaded with charging stations soon. If you work for google you may never have to pay to drive.

Maybe SF lawyers or doctors make more than Palo Alto lawyers or doctors, I don't know. I wouldn't bet on it; salaries and wages are high in both places. Percentage-wise SF has a lot more low-income people, though, and a much higher population of non-drivers. What I was driving at is that both in absolute numbers and in percentages, I believe Santa Clara County probably has a lot more people than SF who are willing and able economically to put out the higher initial cost for an EV, or who are subsidized by employers like Google, HP, Cisco, etc. as you say, and thus if I were an EV company, I would think Silicon Valley is a better target market for initial deployment for that and the other reasons I cited. I didn't mean to disparage SF or its residents.

 

[EVDRIVER]

Higher incomes over SF, that's funny. The entire bay area will be loaded with charging stations soon. If you work for google you may never have to pay to drive.

Maybe SF lawyers or doctors make more than Palo Alto lawyers or doctors, I don't know. I wouldn't bet on it; salaries and wages are high in both places. Percentage-wise SF has a lot more low-income people, though, and a much higher population of non-drivers. What I was driving at is that both in absolute numbers and in percentages, I believe Santa Clara County probably has a lot more people than SF who are willing and able economically to put out the higher initial cost for an EV, or who are subsidized by employers like Google, HP, Cisco, etc. as you say, and thus if I were an EV company, I would think Silicon Valley is a better target market for initial deployment for that and the other reasons I cited. I didn't mean to disparage SF or its residents.

I don't think you are disparaging Sf residents but I think you are missing the demographics and trends, commuter base, etc. Taking google out of the mix for pro ev companies offering subsidies I don't see all of those companies being as generous. Many of the EV buyers will be commuters from SF, if you work for Google you are lucky in EV speak. In fact I know about 20 people in SF that will be getting Leafs, one possible south of the city. There is a reason SF was selected as the pilot program for the Think and other EVs. There are far more cars per sq mile in SF then you would imagine and many EVs. I could easily find charging in SF at hotels and the many parking garages but in San Mateo county it was a real pain. One had to go all the way to Palo Alto. The non-drivers in SF are usually those who could not afford an EV and the population density is far higher, in fact I would not be surprised if the census is off 100% in some areas of SF, at least. South of the city is very spread out, I don't expect too many people in Burlingame or Hillsborough to be trading in their SUVs for Leafs nor East Palo alto to be making many reservations. The entire peninsula tends to be more conservative and convenience oriented, of course with some pockets of Los Altos and PA being exceptions. In SJ you will need to pry quite a few BMWs away from people to get Leaf sales and most of the areas with the wealth tend to have fewer EV buying types. There are many EVs south of the city but Newsome has finally made EV infrastructure a priority.

If the Think was sold this year at a reasonable price they would be as common as MINIs and the Prius in SF.

Regardless, this will all change in time with more and more EVs in the bay area. Berkley has the worst options for charging, practically none working, there is some irony. Perhaps Larry Ellison will get a Leaf to drive his guests about his complex

 

[Guipo]

Anyone going to see the Leaf over the next couple of days?

Sacramento tomorrow
Santa Rosa Monday
Santa Cruz Tuesday
Modesto Wednesday

http://www.amgentourofcalifornia.com/Route/stages.html

Could you report back on what you see/hear in the 'Leaf in California this next week' thread?

I might be able to make it up to Big Bear on Friday. I'm off work that day...I think I'll wait and see what others report before committing. If it's a mock-up that you cannot touch, I'll wait for a real test drive scenario.

I plan on seeing it in Modesto. I work a block away from where its going to be.

 

[Rat]

For whatever reasons, the map on this forum seems to show the biggest density of future Leaf owners in the Bay Area is in the South Bay. Or maybe more people here are Internet forum oriented and forum density doesn't correlate to Leaf density.

 

[garygid]

Guipo,
Ask them if they would open a rear side door and fold the rear seat down.

Look forward to any pictures you get.

 

[Guipo]

Guipo,
Ask them if they would open a rear side door and fold the rear seat down.

Look forward to any pictures you get.

Ok will do!

 

[garygid]

If they do it, try to get a shot in from the side, and one in through the back hatch.

If they cannot do it, ask them in the rear seat folds forward FIRST (about 180 degrees), and THEN the back of the seat folds forward.

Thanks

 

[palmermd]

Guipo,
Ask them if they would open a rear side door and fold the rear seat down.

Look forward to any pictures you get.

I asked them in Sacramento, and they would not even open the door let alone move the back seat. But its worth asking again. I'm going to try again in Modesto as well.

 

[garygid]

I can understand that they might not be allowed to touch anything, and even the possibility that the car's insides are not even (fully) functional.

But, you can ask if they know how it folds down.

But, perhaps even they have never seen a LEAF that works.

 

[palmermd]

I can understand that they might not be allowed to touch anything, and even the possibility that the car's insides are not even (fully) functional.

But, you can ask if they know how it folds down.

But, perhaps even they have never seen a LEAF that works.

They were extremely knowledgeable folks. Well, there were folks in black who knew the car very well and others in red who where just there to sign people up for Nissan email list and such. The gentleman that I spoke with said that the seats fold nearly flat. There is a slight uphill toward the front of the car slope when it is down. He said it is not unlike the Rogue when it is down (I've never seen a Rogue, but they had one there...never went over to look). Anyhow I'll ask again later today when I'm in Modesto, and we'll see what happens.

 

[garygid]

Thanks

 

[garygid]

Try to ask what the "B" means, what it does, and how one enters that mode.

Or, is it just the same mode as "D", ... and one just puts one's foot on the brake pedal to increase Regen-braking.
Thanks Again

 

[Guipo]

Just saw it. I'll hafta figure out to host the pictures to throw them up. The people there are very knowledgeable, and know alot. The guys really talked my ear off about it. The Seat does fold down, but wouldnt open doors. They said that this one is a prototype, so who know what will change.

 

[Guipo]

scenes from Modesto

So they aren't the greatest pictures, its was kinda crowded, but it was nice being able to see it and touch it.

Guipo

 

[garygid]

TOUCH? Wow!

The under-body clearance looks quite reasonable.

 

[Guipo]

TOUCH? Wow!

The under-body clearance looks quite reasonable.

Why yes, those are my fingerprints...lol

 

[garygid]

Nice pictures, THANKS