LEAF advisory group

[GRA]

Among regular MNL contributors who would like to own an EV but find the Leaf and other current EVs just don't meet their needs, Cwerdna comes to mind. I'd volunteer for the same reason, but my lousy hearing makes in-person group meetings a waste of everybody's time.

And just to (re)nominate them, I think Leaf owners GaslessinSeattle (George), Planet4Ever (Ray) and/or abasile would provide excellent, balanced opinions, although they're all clustered along the west coast. Other than that, I heartily concur with the other nominations. Aside from someone from the hot weather areas (opossum/azdre/Ticktock), you should also have someone from the colder ones, Colorado, Chicago etc.

 

[evchels]

One thing you might want to consider is some type of rotation. This could be sort of like the UN Security Council with the permanent main players and the rotating outliers.

I agree. At this point I've simply noted that I'm thinking in roughly 1 year "terms" until we see how this actually starts to unfold, but I like the balance of stability and new blood. I also expect the regional group sizes and composition may change as the issues facing each do.

One point on your opening post with which I would disagree. EV's are mainstream. They are just an underpopulated branch of the stream.

That's an interesting way of looking at it, and I didn't mean to diminish the contribution of the current numbers just because they're small. Though I would suggest that even in Kansas (or wherever) it's still the early adopters of the area embracing EVs. "Mainstream" is somewhat a volume reference (gas cars are mainstream, but the Viper isn't), but it's also a buyer mindset. Right now, EVs are still a novelty to most, and will be for a while.

 

[evchels]

Not chiming in on each one here, but I'm still noting the nominations and volunteers, thank you!

I like that you are creating the terms now, in front of us. Even if my opinion is never voiced, much less headed, I still feel that I had the opportunity and that means a lot to me.

Thank you! That's absolutely my intent.

Not once did I hear that Nissan said they had a problem, or even that they were trying to make an improvement. That lack of communication left me feeling ignored by Nissan, when the truth was that Nissan was working to address my concerns and I should have been feeling valued. If Nissan wanted to really WOW me, they could have even included a few of the vocal people on this board to test their fix before it was released. Even if it made my brakes worse, I would have been willing to try the fix in the interest of helping make the car better and sharing the progress with the community. Heck, participating in an alpha or beta test is a badge of honor.

+100 I sometimes think I'm in "Groundhog Day" for all the times I've had this exact conversation with different people at different automakers, including Nissan. But hey, I'm stubborn...and not the only one here, I know.

 

[redLEAF]

If you're looking to get diverse rep's from as many areas as possible within the U.S. as 'GRA' says please include someone from Chicago ... Ford left us out as a 'launch' city (even though they had planned it) for their Focus EV and Nissan came through pretty much before all others coming up in a few weeks to close to a year now. EV's at the very least have been recognized by our IL state government through a few EV incentives (10% MSRP IL EPA + 50% EVSE home or commercial rebates) and we're starting to see more charging stations pop up -- our winters ARE a bit of a challenge but it appears not as bad as extreme heat on battery life; we just have a bit of a different perspective than others that don't have true 4 season climates and in some ways it may help make our batteries last longer ... time will tell. I certainly don't have the post count of some of our avid west coast people but would please to be considered. I'm active over on the FFE forums as I really thought that Ford would beat Nissan here as well as I'm interested in the C-Max which has finally arrived here in hybrid form, soon to be followed by the plug-in Energi as a replacement for another ICE that I own besides my LEAF. It still excites me when someone stops me in a parking lot to ask about my LEAF and they get (almost) as enthused when they find out that you can buy one in Chicago now!! Am I in the camp that Nissan can do now wrong --- absolutely not! But what they have done in my own eyes is come up with something not before available (w/o conversions, etc.) and it can only get better from here --- if not me than please peruse the Chicagoland thread and find some likely candidates ...

http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=48&t=357&start=1030

 

[Bitterest]

I've met Kelly and I support his nomination. He has a good grasp on many of the issues that concern me and others as well. He was well spoken and able to effectively explain new ideas to me.

Yes, Kelly would be great. Same for Bill Clendinning, although he is likely not on MNL. I had an opportunity to interact with Kevin Sharpe and Nikki Gordon-Bloomfield, and I would heartily recommend both as well. Nikki drives a Leaf in and around Bristol, UK.

I support Kelly Carmichael as well for Canada - he's been instrumental in both Canada and the Province of British Columbia in creating a sense of community for owners and dealing with governments and program officials in a balanced way to get real world EV experiences to influence policy and program deployment decisions. His day job in emerging smart grid tech at the BC Institute of Tech means he's realistic about the tradeoffs / constraints of new technology.

Thanks surfingslovak for the shoutout/nomination. I've got my hands full "influencing behind the scenes" this year, but who knows in a year from now?

Keep up the good work Chelsea!

Bill
Twitter: @BClendinning

 

[evchels]

Aside from someone from the hot weather areas (opossum/azdre/Ticktock), you should also have someone from the colder ones, Colorado, Chicago etc.

Agreed. Am aiming for at least one person from each side of the thermometer!

 

[tbleakne]

continued...

Physical meetings will be infrequent given the global nature of the group- maybe once a year, a few conference calls between, and maybe an online (private) space for ongoing discussion. I expect and hope that the regions (esp US) will convene more frequently on an individual basis, though again more likely virtually than physically.>>>

Communication- I'm aiming for balance here. There's no expectation that anyone promote Nissan or this effort as part of being in the group, or stay silent about your opinions. While it's impossible to guarantee what all we'll accomplish, this is not merely a PR stunt. At the same time, I want to facilitate as much genuine dialogue between Nissan and the group as possible, and that may involve NDA's or similar "cone of silence" agreements around the actual meetings or proprietary information. This type of distinction has worked well for other similar efforts I've seen and been a part of, so I'm hopeful that we can create a framework that's credible and comfortable to both sides.
>>>>>>
chelsea

Since you are meeting physically so seldom, I encourage you to consider arranging group Skype or other forms of video conferencing. There are quite a few sites around the world where high-quality video conferencing is available, it you have the budget for that.

What kind of outputs to you envision from this panel? A series of position papers, authored by one or more members and reviewed by the full panel ? Would you have some outputs public and others for Nissan only ? Given NDAs, could you consider "declassified" summaries that are made public to reassure us that are concerns are being listened to by Nissan people in engineering and product planning, not just PR and marketing ?

One overall theme I would suggest is an attempt to get Nissan to truly think differently about handling the LEAF customer vs conventional car customers. For example, I feel an electric car should have periodic firmware updates that add features, not just correct errors. The customer would pay a nominal fee, much like Apple sells annual updates to its products. The fact that Palmer was "shocked" that anyone would want to buy a replacement battery shows how much movement in corporate attitude is needed.

Another area where the electric car needs to be treated differently is greater support from Nissan for public infrastructure, including both L2 and QC. Both L2 and L3 are woefully behind in Southern California, and to fix this I believe Nissan has to go beyond the "we just sell cars" mentality. In this area Nissan could be reviewing best practices, including what that other EV company, Tesla, is doing, or at least hopes to do, in installing a viable QC network.

 

[cwerdna]

Among regular MNL contributors who would like to own an EV but find the Leaf and other current EVs just don't meet their needs, Cwerdna comes to mind.
...

Thanks!

I haven't had a chance to carefully read the latter part of this thread (and don't want this to become a political/popularity contest) but OTOH, I'd give my +1 to these folks, so far:
Phil aka Ingineer
Tony Williams
surfingslovak

More may come.

I do agree that it'd be a good idea to arrange some sort of teleconference via phone, Skype, etc. There should be some face to face meetings, but teleconferencing is obviously a real time saver and can be had way more often.

The one big challenge of having people from all over the place (geographically) is the issue of time zone differences. But, we definitely shouldn't limit it to folks in the West Coast.

 

[ElectricVehicle]

TEG has perspective as a multiple EV driver and is involved in several EV communities.

 

[msuding]

I would like to be in the advisory group. How do I apply? I live in Santa Barbara, Calif. We have leased our LEAF starting in April 15, 2011. I met you and Carlos Ghosn once back in 2010 at a Nissan sponsored party in Santa Monica where a LEAF was unveiled after a press event at Dodger Stadium with politicians etc.
I am 48 and my wife and I both drive the LEAF. Last Saturday we drove our longest trip ever from Santa Barbara to see our daughter at UCLA (94 miles). We charged up at Thousand Oaks Nissan on the way down, at UCLA structure 9, and Oxnard Nissan on the way home. Like many EV drivers we have solar panels on our home.
Thanks

 

[Ingineer]

Thanks everyone for the nominations. I will be happy to accept this position, as I believe I could be of good benefit to Nissan, it's Leaf customers, and most importantly; the success of Electric Vehicles in the marketplace overall.

Nissan took a lot of risk with it's EV program, and if they fail for any reason, it doesn't not bode well for the immediate future of EV's.

It will be difficult to establish open communication in a place traditionally devoid of it, but I'm willing to help any way I can!

-Phil

 

[surfingslovak]

Thanks everyone for the nominations. I will be happy to accept this position, as I believe I could be of good benefit to Nissan, it's Leaf customers, and most importantly; the success of Electric Vehicles in the marketplace overall.

Best news I heard all day, I hope you get selected.

 

[evchels]

Hi all,

Just a quick update...have sent initial US invites and have confirmation from several, most members of this forum and recommended by you guys. (Not sure what it says that all confirmations so far are from states that end in "a", no two from the same states, and the only "rejection" I've gotten so far was from AZ! ) Couple more I am tracking down, and am grateful to have so many good candidates to draw from if needed.

Meanwhile, am firming up the international folks, getting short bios, etc. And am continuing to bug Nissan for answers about the various things we've talked about (and still building that list of questions as needed) and to get back into this forum directly. Mostly just dropping in here to assure that I'm still moving these things along...

chels.

 

[cwerdna]

^^^
Cool. One suggestion, if I may, to help w/scheduling meetings and finding a time that works for most, you might consider using http://doodle.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;. Someone on Priuschat scheduled a Bay Area meet once and arrived at a time and date that worked for most people by using Doodle. It was the first time I'd heard of the site.

There's currently at an example at http://doodle.com/BSPceks66spc9yec" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;.

 

[TEG]

Tony Williams, are you staying in the group even though you just got rid of your LEAF ?

It seems you are embarking on a RAV4EV adventure now.

 

[TomT]

Excellent! I can't think of anyone better qualified!

Thanks everyone for the nominations. I will be happy to accept this position.

 

[SalisburySam]

Not sure if this Board is still recruiting, but if there's a spot open to an owner in Central Ohio, I'd love to participate. I own and really like my LEAF, have an AV L2 charging station in my garage, a great local dealership, and am willing to share. I also won't take offense if turned down, though pouting will likely be involved.

 

[evchels]

Tony Williams, are you staying in the group even though you just got rid of your LEAF ?

Tony is staying on, indeed! From this forum, RegGuheert and DaveinOlyWA are also on board.

 

[DaveinOlyWA]

Tony Williams, are you staying in the group even though you just got rid of your LEAF ?

Tony is staying on, indeed! From this forum, RegGuheert and DaveinOlyWA are also on board.

Even if Tony is not driving a LEAF, he is still a great choice for EV advocacy in general. he has experience dealing with the local status quo in getting public charging out there and that goes a long way towards providing insight on the potholes in the road. after all, it aint really about the LEAF, its really on what needs to be done to kick EVs into higher gear

 

[mwalsh]

after all, it aint really about the LEAF, its really on what needs to be done to kick EVs into higher gear

I disagree. In the greater sense, sure, we are interested in the EV movement going forward. But for right now, we have to dismantle this firewall between owners and Nissan. And if your focus isn't initially on THAT, then you've already lost the plot.