RegGuheert said:
...Whatever technical problems may or may not exist with the LEAF are truly the least of Nissan's problems. If their potential customers decide that the batteries may not "last" and that Nissan will not stand behind their product, all of their technical efforts to date will be for naught.
If Nissan plays their hand improperly, they will turn an issue which affects a small portion of the potential market into a massive disaster. Failing to communicate on this issue is absolutely the WORST thing they can do right now.
If they let their scientists study the problem much longer without taking some action to address the needs of their current and potential future customers, then it won't matter how great of a technical solution they have, they will have already failed.
Although I do think the thread title and premise are a bit of hyperbole, I do agree wholeheartedly with the above opinion.
To illustrate I'll use my last car as an example: 2004 Mazda RX-8.
The car was awaited with great anticipation by many fans of the rotary engine. The new incarnation was supposed to deliver unheralded horsepower and mileage from a normally-aspirated rotary engine while meeting stringent emissions requirements.
Problems started immediately as the horsepower claims were found to be false. Engines were de-tuned in port when they were unable to meet EPA requirements for catalytic converter life. The de-tuning made the mixture overly-rich, causing further problems with flooding. Oh, and the mileage was nowhere NEAR what had been promised. This was just the beginning. As time went on, owners began experiencing engine failures -- particularly in (*ahem*) places like
Phoenix. The list of problems continues...
Point being, Mazda did not get in front of these issues. There was a lot of silence, obfuscation and stonewalling. Dealers began complaining because in the Mazda world they live and die by the customer survey results. Poorer results mean less favorable allocations, etc... Mazda made the horrendous move of trying to placate the dealers by deciding that the RX-8 survey results would not count! RX-8 owners tempers went from a simmer to a full boil.
After quite a long time, Mazda did finally take steps in favor of the owners. The engine warranty was extended, for one thing. Unfortunately the failed engines were replaced by remanufactured engines that had even shorter lives than the factory engines.
At long last in 2009 there were design changes to rectify some of the engine's deficiencies. By then it was far too late. Sales had slowed to a trickle and nobody but die-hard rotary fans would even look at the car. Dealers still hated it. I don't think I saw a TV ad for the car after 2005.
I myself didn't have many of the problems even though mine was from the most problematic year of production. I did sell at about 55,000 miles though, figuring I was living on borrowed time. I'm sure there were plenty of other RX-8 customers with decent reliability stories. However the fact remains that the car never did reach the success Mazda had hoped. Sales fell in year 3 and continued to dwindle thereafter.
Had Mazda acted quickly instead of letting the problems fester, they might have turned things around.
I wonder if there's a Japanese culture issue that makes their car companies slow to react to problems? Generally they make great cars but when there's a problem...? Stonewalling just does NOT work in this day and age. I would advise folks not to shoot the messenger. And I'd advise Nissan to bust a move.