Minnesota Leafs?

[Pipemajor]

I almost had one of the very inaugural heated seats on my '69 VW beetle.

The 12v battery was under the rear seat. The windshield wiper mechanism inside the "dash cover" behind the dash had sawn through a heavy gauge insulated wire with it's back and forth motion causing it to short out. I was driving the car and it suddenly started to cut out violently then I smelled smoke in the cabin.

Luckily, the short stopped and I was able to find the source of it and temporarily pushed the wires away from the wiper mechanism until I could get home and reinsulate. The battery was pretty hot and could have very well exploded inside the cabin.

 

[LeafinThePark]

I recieved the following email today from IPS (Innovative Power Systems).

Solar and Electric Cars at the Living Green Expo!
Living Green Expo: May 7-8
This weekend Innovative Power Systems hosts a solar car charging station at the Living Green Expo. The 18-panel, 4.23 kilowatt array provides enough power annually to support any of the new electric vehicles hitting the market this year. As a Gold-level sponsor we'll have a booth inside the exhibit area and at the new EV test track.

This year you can test ride in the new Chevy Volt, Nissan Leaf, Tesla Roadster, and more at the EV test track. The Living Green Expo will be located in a new area of the State Fairgrounds in St. Paul. For more information visit the Living Green Expo website.

The website link is http://www.livinggreenexpo.mn/expo-highlights/car-show/

While the email claims they will have a Leaf, the website only lists the Volt, Tesla, Ford Transit EV, and a Focus conversion. I will be going either way, but keeping my fingers crossed that I will be able to drive a Leaf.

 

[Pipemajor]

Anyone make it to the fairgrounds this weekend? Unfortunately I had to miss it.

 

[LeafinThePark]

Anyone make it to the fairgrounds this weekend? Unfortunately I had to miss it.

Sorry for the delay in posting...but I did attend. Was worth the trip as the Expo is most certainly getting bigger every year with lots of neat stuff...can't wait to see how the electric vehicle continue to expand in the next few years. I Did a test ride in the Volt...emphasis on 'Ride'. Basically you pile in and drive around the block while the driver proclaims 'you can drive this car across the country if you want. Unfortunately but not surprisingly no Leaf, but it was great to actually get to see and touch some of the chargers. Was pretty impressed with the ClipperCreek L2 charger...seems like it would be a piece of cake to install.

The ReGo display was also pretty impressive...they have done a lot of good work in converting hybrids (mostly Prii). Could be the way to go if you wanted a plug-in hybrid...find a used Prius and have them do the upgrade.

 

[LeafinThePark]

In other news, a friend of mine reported that there are now public charging stations at the Mall of America...one in each of the two ramps. Of course they are right near the entrance so they will always be ICEd. Why did they do that?

 

[SkiTundra]

Charging stations in Twin Cities:

http://www.startribune.com/local/north/122756724.html

 

[SkiTundra]

Kwik Trip is installing charging stations. 110v though. Better than nothing?

http://www.startribune.com/business/123485854.html

 

[mynameisjim]

Feldmann Nissan in Bloomington has bought a Leaf and has it available for test drives. I just got back from driving it around France Ave. It was great!

 

[Pipemajor]

Feldmann Nissan in Bloomington has bought a Leaf and has it available for test drives. I just got back from driving it around France Ave. It was great!

They are the ones who had the Leaf at the Twin Cities Auto Show. I saw it when it was in their showroom but they weren't about to let anyone drive it.

As I understand it, the non-release states will get the 2012 model with the cold weather package.

 

[LeafinThePark]

Did they say how long they would have it? I work across the freeway from them and would love to go check it out over my lunch on Tuesday.

 

[LeafinThePark]

I drove it over lunch today....what a treat. It sounds like Feldman's is aiming to be the Leaf specialist for the twin cities.

It was explained to me that this is a Leaf they purchased themselves from a dealer in California (An orphan I'm guessing but they could not confirm). They plan on owning this car to provide test drives until more cars are available (so figure they will have this car on hand for at least a couple of years).

They do have a designated Leaf specialist, but he was not in when I was there. Wondering if they will let me come in for a once-a-month fix until I can take delivery of my own Leaf?

 

[Pipemajor]

Good news, bad news department...

Our building manager confirmed they will be installing 20-30 L2 220v charging stations hopefully next year. Best news is you can plug in and charge all day at work for FREE!

Bad news is Nissan probably won't offer any Leafs locally until late 2012?

 

[LeafinThePark]

There is also a new charging station at Southtown shopping center between Applebee's and Kohl's. Pretty random location if you ask me!

 

[LeafinThePark]

Good news, bad news department...

Our building manager confirmed they will be installing 20-30 L2 220v charging stations hopefully next year. Best news is you can plug in and charge all day at work for FREE!

Bad news is Nissan probably won't offer any Leafs locally until late 2012?

That's great!! Hopefully more businesses follow suit. I have the feeling we are going to be ordering early in 2012 and taking delivery late spring...just my guess.

 

[LeafinThePark]

Threads been dead for awhile...wondering if any of my fellow Minnesotans are looking at Orphans or otherwise getting a Leaf before we can 'officially' order.

I have friends in both California and Oregon that would let me use their address so I can order now. Otherwise it will likely be a full year or so before I climb into my own Leaf. I will be traveling to Portland for work in a few weeks and may take a look at Orphans while I am there.

 

[Pipemajor]

I'll be in Atlanta next week but will have no car for after hours "hunting". I usually take a personal trip out to Portland around Thanksgiving or middle of December. Even if you or I were to latch onto an orphan, it'd have to be trucked back here to the vast open tundra.

Or we can wait another 12 months. I'm sure when the Smyrna plant starts producing batteries then cars the supply situation will change in a hurry.

 

[SkiTundra]

I'm in no rush to get an orphan before early 2012, mainly to see what others experiences are in cold weather and ideally MN kind of cold weather. I'm also not convinced that Nissan would honor the battery warranty in an out of market location with extra cold weather.

 

[LeafinThePark]

My only problem with waiting is whether my current car is going to make it that long. I am at least going to look into either buying an orphan or 'borrowing' a friends address in Portland to order a Leaf there. There have been some threads discussing transporting the car from California to other states...does not sound like it would be prohibitively expensive.

Based on a chat session I had with CS back in August, they are saying we would be ordering here in 'summer' 2012...which would likely make delivery late 2012/early 2013. Probably safe to assume we have 12-16 months more to wait.

And slightly off topic...just saw that Suburban Chevy in Eden Prairie has a Volt in for test drives. May have to check that out one of these days.

 

[SkiTundra]

One option if you're in a hurry might be to get the Elgin, IL Nissan dealer to find an orphan for you and then just drive it home over 4 days (assuming you can find hotels where you can charge) or drive down to union station in Chicago, load it on the train, and then enjoy a nice journey back to MN knowing your new electric car is being hauled by electromotive engines.

 

[Pipemajor]

And slightly off topic...just saw that Suburban Chevy in Eden Prairie has a Volt in for test drives. May have to check that out one of these days.

Saw my first Volt tonight being backed out of a lot gate in Vadnais Heights. It was a dark color and had a huge white VOLT graphic on the side. Obviously a demo car.