DougWantsALeaf said:
Hmm. Visions of the vehicles in a number of science fiction franchises (mostly dystopian ones, at least in their origins) come to mind.
I wanted a radio with a CD player, one that didn't require opening the screen to access the drive. And all my research had convinced me that I couldn't get that beyond the 2017 model year. And I learned that it had continued to 2018, and ended up with a 2019 Leaf.
I wished that it came with sonar, because I intensely dislike backing into things (and I like backing into
people even less). So within days of my pink slip being locked away in the fire-chest in my safe, I had a local autosound shop install a sonar kit.
I wished (especially after the autosound installer left it ajar without realizing it) that there was an alarm that would warn me if I tried to power up with the flap ajar. So I designed, built, and installed one.
I wished that it came with at least a donut spare, instead of just a compressor and a jar of slime, and wished that the portable charging unit were anchored a bit better in the trunk, rather than hanging on a plastic rivet that would get pulled out by any maneuver that was even
slightly violent. So I bought an EZ-Spare, and a jack, and a set of wheel chocks, and built a plywood rack for my trunk that kept all of that, and my lug wrench, and my portable charging unit, secured and organized.
I wished that, with regard to having both a CD player and a GPS navigator, that I could "have my cake and eat it, too" (or as a bigamist might say, "have my Kate and Edith, too"). So I asked for one as a birthday present (speaking of cake), and built a bracket to mount it just to the right of the radio. I'd already installed a dedicated power socket for it behind the HVAC panel, when I'd tapped the lighter socket circuit to power my "flap ajar" alarm.
I wished it had a heated driver's seat. And so I found a reasonably-priced Dorman kit, and spent an afternoon wrestling with the upholstery (thankfully without having the side-curtain airbag blow up in my face -- thanks to all on this Board who advised me on how to avoid such mishaps).
And I wish that seat-heater were actually tied into the seat-heater circuit, and had a control mechanism that would unlatch itself when the car is powered down (instead of staying latched when the power went back on). I'm building that now, and it might be ready to come off the solderless breadboard during Thanksgiving week.
I wished, when I was still saving up the money to buy it, that I'd be able to charge it in the driveway, from a level-2 charging station that would be perfectly happy plugged into a 30A electric dryer circuit that had literally never been used, and didn't require a smartphone (or easy front-panel access) to operate it, and with the unit in the garage, and the charging cable hiding behind a bush when not in use. And thanks to the nice folks at United Cha
rgers of Canada (the "Grizzl-E" people), I made all that happen, albeit a full week after I bought the car, instead of a full week before.
If you can wish it, and it doesn't violate the laws of your city, the laws of your state/province, the laws of your country, or the laws of physics, then you can probably find a way to make it happen. Of course, by then, you'll be so invested in your Leaf, that you'll want to be the
last owner.