Herm said:
We can also look at the $7500 Fed tax credit as an inducement to buy expensive and flaky batteries.
They aren't flaky. The guy in the Seattle area (where they are experiencing historically lower temps, while the rest of the USA bakes) has over 40,000 miles has a VERY strong battery. It's also never seen real heat.
There's nothing wrong with the battery in moderate temps, and moderate use. Which makes the case for battery TMS all the more pressing. Elon Musk (Tesla, SpaceX, PayPal) thought Nissan was crazy to offer the car without TMS. We thought they had magic.
I think Nissan still has a chance to save the day, by offering either a new battery or a different car, to affected owners. Honestly, I doubt they will, however. It will open them up to lawsuits (yes, they no doubt will get them anyway) which makes any logical outcome less likely. When their corporate back is against the wall, they will do the conservative "all is normal" all the way to quiet, Non-Disclosure-Agreement, back door settlement with a few owners. Any class action lawsuit settlement is so many years down the road, as to effectively be a non-event to a huge corporation like Nissan.
All will continue to be "normal" once the small number of "hot cars" have been silenced (by small, I mean that out of 30,000 cars, only a teeny, tiny number of the most vocal and aggressive "hot car" complainers will get an NDA settlement).
That's business, folks. The LEAF will go on much the same, as planned, throughout the world. They may be re-evaluating TMS for a 2015 or later LEAF with entirely new batteries, but the basic formula won't change before then. Car companies don't have that kind of flexibility. Sales may tank because of mainstream bad press (far beyond snippets on local Phoenix TV stations) as they did for Volt with Faux Noose on their *ss. In that scenario, I can foresee a shutdown of the Tennesee plant to LEAF production, which will then only make gas burners. If Ghosen leaves Renault/Nissan, the LEAF will get cancelled in that scenario.
I feel bad for folks who I predict will get stuck with a seriously diminished car. But, I still think its a pretty good car for moderate climates (not too hot or too cold).