NegativeCarbon said:
I've read through the comments here and I find them fascinating. That some of the most prominent Leafers in existence could be so clueless about what I'm trying to do and the difficulties inherent in it is pretty mind-boggling.
The only thing I've been able to deduce from this thread is that the majority of you are wasting a bunch of time that I don't even have the luxury of wasting. Cwerdna, you in particular disappoint me. From the start I've listened to and evaluated your suggestions--at one point taking you seriously enough to buy an atlas. What's it doing for the $17 I could have spent on a meal or lodging? Taking up space and adding a bit of weight is what. And now I see, "if he had taken my [brilliant] suggestions..." lol!
Wow. I have offered suggestions since you'd run out of juice once early on (that I know of) and you've had numerous cases where you had cellular signal issues, so why not use a method of navigation that doesn't depend on it to begin with? I have 2 Garmin GPS portable navigation devices, an old handheld Magellan GPS unit and nav systems in both my cars. They all provide location and navigation (well, sorta navigation on the Magellan handheld) in the absence of cellular signal.
I suggested an automatic beacon because well, TonyWilliams used one on at least one of his BC2BC journeys.
I had only known of 1 place to look for updates initially (listed at http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?p=443207#p443207), over time, I discovered more. The purpose of http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?p=444774#p444774 and being interested in updates is for some of us cared about your safety and well-being.
Obviously, it's easy for anyone to be an armchair quarterback. As I learned long ago about forums and the net, if someone posts something, it's probably going to get opinions.
Yes, your trip is not easy in a Leaf and is obviously full of challenges.
NegativeCarbon said:
The point of the project I won't even bother to explain, because it is self-evident. If you wanted to be constructive, why not take the obvious step of contacting me directly instead of badmouthing me on what you probably (but errantly) believe is the source and destination for all things Leaf--this forum?
Thru what method? Some from me were thru comments on your blog. And, some later came thru your other channels that I found you were using.
NegativeCarbon said:
Why not contact Nissan and see if you could convince them to assign an unpaid intern to help with the gigantic task of coordinating this trip?
Did you do that? Did you ask us to do that? If that's what we knew you needed/wanted, sure, a bunch of us could've contacted them. Not sure if they'd assign anyone. How many unpaid interns would take this on and that you'd trust to understand all the issues and give you proper/good info? After all, garbage in --> garbage out.
Less than 0.5% of all vehicles sold in the US are pure electrics, so to me, it seems a bit difficult to find someone who understands all the issues and challenges but ALSO willing to do it for no pay, at a for profit company.
There are can be labor law issues with having unpaid interns at for profit companies (e.g. http://www.dol.gov/whd/regs/compliance/whdfs71.htm). Even if that issue didn't exist, hiring someone competent and trustworthy doesn't happen overnight. It at least takes time and effort on the part of a hiring manager, HR, IT and whoever has to provide them building access and computer access.
AOL got hit w/a class action lawsuit from unpaid volunteers: http://www.nytimes.com/1999/05/26/nyregion/former-volunteers-sue-aol-seeking-back-pay-for-work.html, http://www.cjr.org/the_news_frontier/aol_settled_with_unpaid_volunt.php and http://priceonomics.com/the-aol-chat-room-monitor-revolt/.
NegativeCarbon said:
why doesn't ONE of you--aside from Sal Cameli, who is a very busy person himself--offer something tangible like reposts
We didn't know you wanted reposts.
I did post about your effort and your Leaf Spy readings at http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?p=10729139#post10729139 (you need a free account over there to see it). It also included links to some of the social media sites you've been updating.
NegativeCarbon said:
"He should just do [THIS AND THIS]." lol. Yep. And instead of giving me a hard time about what *I* shoild be doing better, you should all be spending your energies harping at Nissan--since last I checked that entire corporation has barely done more to publicize the Leaf than I have, and certainly less to educate the dealerships on how to take care of their DCFCs than I have. They're cowtowing to people who think range is a factor while I've spent 16 weeks proving that infrastructure is the real issue.
Nissan runs TV ads all the time here in the Bay Area featuring the Leaf, esp. w/the '16 w/107 mile EPA range rating (which they emphasize). They show up to auto shows w/the Leaf. They were at a Cupertino Drive Electric event earlier this year and previous years, besides being sponsors (https://driveelectricweek.org/event.php?eventid=342). I'm sure they were at others.
The Renault-Nissan Alliance recently made available for use 200 pure BEVs as shuttles at the UN COP21 climate conference: http://www.nissan-global.com/EN/NEWS/2015/_STORY/151026-02-e.html, http://www.nissan.co.uk/GB/en/experience-nissan/nissan-live/COP21.html and http://nissannews.com/en-US/nissan/usa/channels/us-united-states-nissan/releases/video-news-release-renault-nissan-alliance-ev-shuttle-at-cop21.
I was at Tokyo Motor Show for 2 days (it ran from Oct 29 to Nov 8). There was at least 1 Leaf (including the 30 kWh unit) and e-NV200 van on the show floor, besides them premiering the 60 kWh IDS Concept (http://nissannews.com/en-US/nissan/usa/releases/nissan-ids-concept-nissan-s-vision-for-the-future-of-evs-and-autonomous-driving and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h-TLo86K7Ck). http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?p=445534#p445534 has a pointer to a backstage video, showing it's no small feat to set up and run booth there + press conference.
Per http://www.tokyo-motorshow.com/en/press_release/20151108.html, there was 812,500 visitors to Tokyo Motor Show 2015. In addition, there was press coverage of Nissan's announcements and discussion here.
There were 197K views of https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h-TLo86K7Ck, another 21K views of https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yx8XPU3driU and almost 10K of https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ZyCvMGsdZI.
As for dealer education on taking care of DC FCs (keeping them working, accessible, etc ), this is something we've harped on for a long time here. Unfortunately, due to state franchise laws, with only a few exceptions, automakers CANNOT own dealerships, so they have limited control. And franky, the overwhelming majority of all vehicles sold at Nissan dealers are not EVs, so it's no surprise that they don't know/don't care much.
For reference, here are some BEV and Nissan sales and production figures:
http://nissannews.com/en-US/nissan/usa/releases/nissan-group-reports-november-2015-u-s-sales - Of the 107K vehicles sold/leased in the US by Nissan + Infiniti for Nov 2015, 1,054 were Leafs
http://www.nissan-global.com/EN/NEWS/2015/_STORY/151210-01-e.html - Nissan finally passed 200K cumulative Leafs after ~5 years
http://www.nissan-global.com/EN/NEWS/2015/_STORY/151127-01-e.html - Nissan global retail sales from Jan to Oct 2015 = 4.4 million vehicles
http://www.hybridcars.com/november-2015-dashboard/ - (US) "Battery Electric Take-Rate: 0.46%"
Some folks from Nissan corporate do monitor MNL and there is the Leaf Advisory Board (aka LAB: http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1079357_nissan-launches-global-leaf-advisory-board-to-understand-electric-car-problems, http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?t=10267 http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?t=18015).
If you watched Revenge of the Electric Car, Carlos Ghosn (Nissan CEO) himself said he didn't care about the long distance EV driving scenario. The Leaf wasn't intended for that.
It's at about the 76 minute mark. I found someone w/a transcript (possibly from closed captions):
Carlos Ghosn said:
PEOPLE SAY, YOU KNOW, "HOW ABOUT THE GUY WHO'S MAKING"--
YOU KNOW, "DRIVING VERY LONG RANGE?"
WE DON'T CARE.
WE ARE NOT ADDRESSING THE CAR FOR THESE PEOPLE.
NegativeCarbon said:
Why not do *SOMETHING* that is actually constructive, rather than pretend constructive--like hassling me on a forum it's obvious I pay scant attention to is?
Not sure what you're looking for. I've offered suggestions and pointed you to locations of certain known good charging spots.
NegativeCarbon said:
The net net here is that I appreciate your comments on this forum just as much as you appreciate what I've been trying to do. That is, essentially not at all.
There's a disconnect between what you envisioned and have in your head, including your wants/asks vs. what others have interpreted or can know w/o the ability to read your mind.
I appreciate your effort and wish you well, but wow, if that's your response, I guess I won't bother to comment, follow or offer any more suggestions.