planet4ever wrote: Included in that document are the five examples of range that are now familiar to us here on this board, from 138 miles ideal (constant 38 mph) down to 62 miles in a winter traffic jam. None of them shows more than 70 miles in highway driving.
My experience was the same. I not only had to agree on the reservation page that I understood the range issue, but also had to sign the disclosure document before I took delivery on our LEAF.
I've posted this before but maybe some are new. The drag goes up by the square of the speed. Thus, just a 5 mph increase in speed can use up a considerable amount of extra energy. For example, the extra energy required to go 60 mph vs 55 mph is 19%. The extra energy required to go 65 vs 60 is 17% and the extra energy to go 70 vs 65 is 16%. Looking at the total difference between 55 and 70 yields 62% (70 squared = 4,900 divided by 55 squared [3.025] equals 62% greater energy). It is easy to see why the government during the oil embargo of 1973 imposed a 55 mph national speed limit.
I just finished reading John Hofmeister's book "Why We Hate the Oil Companies". Hofmeister is former President of Shell Oil North America. It is an interesting book. In it he states that the U.S. consumes 21 million barrels of crude oil per day. 13 to 14 million barrels are imported from foreign countries. This causes the U.S. to hemorrhage over one billion dollars per day to foreign countries, some of which aren't particularly fond of the U.S.
As all you LEAFers know, the energy to propel the LEAF is nearly all (coal, nuclear, hydro, wind, solar, geothermal, natural gas) generated in this country providing jobs for its citizens.
What I am suggesting is that those with poorer than expected range test their cars by making some trips deliberately at the slow speeds to see if there is a battery problem before we start talking about class action suits. What is at stake is too important than to try to denigrate the LEAF's image because of poor driving habits or lack of attention to the paperwork they signed.