Why I Love My LEAF, is the Majority Too Silent?

[DaveinOlyWA]

back to topic!!

why i love my LEAF?? well to explain i will say that today is "gas day" for the Prius. so according to gasbuddy.com Lacey Costco is best bet at $3.839 (Tumwater Costco 10 miles away is $3.899?? like say what?) which is good because that is where i go about 90% of the time anyway

now time before that it was $3.659, the time before that $3.399... thinking about the NEXT time is making me nervous! :shock:

 

[Lopton]

Yup leaf is still treating me great.
-Matt

 

[lkkms2]

Why Nick, his daughter, and wife love their LEAf,

Aug 2012
 Science Project by 8-year old in Florida.
 
An 8-year old Florida daughter completed a math/science project on the savings of driving an electric car for one month (compared to an SUV) and concluded that with the savings she can buy 10 Nintendo DS games and have $3 left over EACH MONTH.
 
Needless to say, all her classmates now want an electric car!
 
The teachers were so impressed that her project was selected to represent the school at the regional science fair!
 
--- Proud Parent’s follow-up ----
 
My daughter's project won first prize at the regional contest. She was very excited. Plugging in the LEAF is now on her list of chores and she follows through every day. She and my wife, who drives the LEAF, have not been to a gas station since we bought the car last year!
 
Our local price (in Florida) for regular unleaded is $3.79/gal this morning (Aug 2012). When my daughter did her project back in January, regular gasoline price was an average of $3.61/gal. Our electricity cost from Florida Power & Light (FPL) averages about $0.11/kWh. The cost to run our LEAF is about $0.03/mile and for our SUV it is about $0.23/mile.
 
We have over 11K miles in almost 9 months of LEAF ownership, so the savings there are about $2,200 over driving the SUV!
 
 
East and West Coast, throughout America, people are learning about their transportation fueling options!!

 

[thankyouOB]

arrived at work today and was plugging into a L1.
Had a fun conversation with a young woman all the way up the stairs and then the elevator -- I park in the basement lower level 3 where there are sockets. She started it out with:
"Do you use any gas at all?"

The 100% no gasoline, Nissan Leaf.

 

[N1ghtrider]

back to topic!!

why i love my LEAF?? well to explain i will say that today is "gas day" for the Prius. so according to gasbuddy.com Lacey Costco is best bet at $3.839 (Tumwater Costco 10 miles away is $3.899?? like say what?) which is good because that is where i go about 90% of the time anyway

now time before that it was $3.659, the time before that $3.399... thinking about the NEXT time is making me nervous! :shock:

The news media was aghast that some stations had raised regular prices to $4.74 in Miami on Saturday before Tropical Storm Isaac fizzled-out.

 

[thankyouOB]

Friday before the holiday weekend and going out the door to work is not my favorite thing. Some days I am eager to go, but not this day.

But now I am in my driveway and things get better. I am unplugging Red and it is the first smile of the workday part of my world. Another big plus for the Leaf; I am always happy that it is out there and ready to take me to work. The commute is better for it and so are my workdays.

I even had a chuckle at the guy trying to squeeze back into traffic from the Chevron station. I dont ever have to do that.

 

[dandrewk]

Friday before the holiday weekend and going out the door to work is not my favorite things. Some days I am eager to go, but not this day.

But now I am in my driveway and things get better. I am unplugging Red and it is the first smile of the workday world. Another big plus for the Leaf; I am always happy that it is out there and ready to take me to work. The commute is better for it and so are my workdays.

Yes, that's it exactly. No matter where I am going, if I get to drive the Leaf, it will be a fun journey. It even keeps me motivated to go to the gym regularly. Yes, driving a Leaf is good for one's health for a number of reasons!

 

[mkjayakumar]

I thought I was the only one who was crazy like this...

 

[sdittm1]

I look for any reason or excuse to drive my LEAF as I enjoy it so much!!!

 

[LEAFguy]

according to gasbuddy.com Lacey Costco is best bet at $3.839 (Tumwater Costco 10 miles away is $3.899?? like say what?) which is good because that is where i go about 90% of the time anyway

now time before that it was $3.659, the time before that $3.399... thinking about the NEXT time is making me nervous! :shock:

This is exactly one of the reasons that we love our LEAF. Back in February I wrote about the price of gasoline versus the price of electricity since 1999. There are very illuminating charts in the article if you'd like to see a visual representation. Basically, gas has gone from under $1.00 to almost $4 (or more in some areas). Meantime, electricity has gone from $0.085 per kilowatt hour to $0.125 per kilowatt hour. In other words, a 350 percent plus increase in gasoline cost versus a 47 percent increase in electricity cost over the same time frame. I don't know about you, but I don't think that the rate of increase will slow dramatically for gasoline over the next 15 years. As Brazil, Russia, India and China (the BRIC countries) get more cars per capita, I see demand pull working its magic on the price of petroleum.

 

[MaxPower]

Back in February I wrote about the price of gasoline versus the price of electricity since 1999. There are very illuminating charts in the article if you'd like to see a visual representation. Basically, gas has gone from under $1.00 to almost $4 (or more in some areas). Meantime, electricity has gone from $0.085 per kilowatt hour to $0.125 per kilowatt hour. In other words, a 350 percent plus increase in gasoline cost versus a 47 percent increase in electricity cost over the same time frame. I don't know about you, but I don't think that the rate of increase will slow dramatically for gasoline over the next 15 years. As Brazil, Russia, India and China (the BRIC countries) get more cars per capita, I see demand pull working its magic on the price of petroleum.

All the more reason to put solar panels on your roof. Mine will pay for themselves in 15 years or so, assuming electric power doesn't keep getting more expensive. When it does, the break-even point will come even sooner. Combine that with the gas savings from my previous 15mpg guzzler, and it's a no-brainer to combine solar and plug-in EV. Toss in the carpool lane access, quiet and comfortable ride, roominess, inherent dependability, and low maintenance for free. Range anxiety is a non-issue for most of my travel. I have a backup SUV for long trips or large/heavy/dirty loads - it hasn't seen much use since I bought the EV. I have learned some hypermiling techniques which have made me a much safer driver, and in the process I have found driving to be a much more enjoyable activity. You do have to be more vigilant about animals in the road, since the car makes a lot less noise than other vehicles. But you also get to see more wildlife in this car.

Since this is version 1.0 of a new technology, I leased instead of buying. In 3 years I'll probably switch to a BEV with 50% more range, so I can drive to San Francisco and return home to the South Bay without stopping to recharge. Quick charging will still be important for highway travel beyond a radius of 50 miles, but as battery capacity increases, the need for charging away from home will be greatly reduced.

 

[abasile]

You do have to be more vigilant about animals in the road, since the car makes a lot less noise than other vehicles. But you also get to see more wildlife in this car.

Driving on a dirt road this evening, returning home from some hiking, we almost hit a deer. It jumped right in front of us. Whether you're actually any more likely to hit a deer in an EV is hard to say, though.

By the way, I now know a sure-fire way to reduce the indicated battery temperature - drive through a stream that completely soaks the underside of the car. Went from six temp bars to five in minutes, and it never climbed back to six. And we have a nice coat of dust and mud on the LEAF.

 

[dandrewk]

You do have to be more vigilant about animals in the road, since the car makes a lot less noise than other vehicles. But you also get to see more wildlife in this car.

Driving on a dirt road this evening, returning home from some hiking, we almost hit a deer. It jumped right in front of us. Whether you're actually any more likely to hit a deer in an EV is hard to say, though.

By the way, I now know a sure-fire way to reduce the indicated battery temperature - drive through a stream that completely soaks the underside of the car. Went from six temp bars to five in minutes, and it never climbed back to six. And we have a nice coat of dust and mud on the LEAF.

The noise a vehicle makes has very little or any affect on animals and their awareness of oncoming vehicles. Generally they don't hang out on the road, but are merely crossing it. Very rarely do they stop, look and listen for traffic.

I was on the last day of a 5000 mile motorcycle trip, just outside Yosemite Park, when I rounded a curve at 55 mph to find a deer had just tumbled out of the roadside woods directly in front of me. It didn't see me, and I had zero time to react. Result - one dead deer, a mangled rider and a totalled motorcycle.

 

[padamson1]

I was on the last day of a 5000 mile motorcycle trip, just outside Yosemite Park, when I rounded a curve at 55 mph to find a deer had just tumbled out of the roadside woods directly in front of me. It didn't see me, and I had zero time to react. Result - one dead deer, a mangled rider and a totalled motorcycle.

Given the damage I've seen deers do to cars moving at half that speed, I'd say you're lucky as heck to have survived! :shock:

 

[edatoakrun]

I have wildlife (and also stray domestic animals- ever been charged by an Emu?) near-misses several times every month.

Actually, it seems like deer may react more to my LEAF, than they do to ICEVs. Maybe because the sound is less familiar to them.

They tend to look right at the LEAF, just before they jump into the road in front of it...

In any case, this hasn't happened to my LEAF yet:

A few years ago, I hit a large Buck, while I was driving at ~50 MPH.

Fatal to the buck, and to my 75 fiat Spider.

I drove it home, but the damage exceeded the car's value.

 

[TomT]

I had a 1968 Fiat 124 Spyder which is still one of my favorite all-time cars. It gave me 100,000 trouble free and fun miles!

Fatal to the buck, and to my 75 fiat Spider.

 

[TonyWilliams]

I was on the last day of a 5000 mile motorcycle trip, just outside Yosemite Park, when I rounded a curve at 55 mph to find a deer had just tumbled out of the roadside woods directly in front of me. It didn't see me, and I had zero time to react. Result - one dead deer, a mangled rider and a totalled motorcycle.

Be glad it wasn't a moose or elk. I hit a deer near my house in western Montana. I was 18 years old, riding my brother's Kawasaki 350. I went over the handle bars, wearing no protective equipment of any kind. Fortunately, I was going slow enough that nothing was seriously hurt; me, the deer, or the bike.

 

[edatoakrun]

Last off-topic post-I promise!

I had a 1968 Fiat 124 Spyder which is still one of my favorite all-time cars. It gave me 100,000 trouble free and fun miles!

Fatal to the buck, and to my 75 fiat Spider.

You probably know, that from 1975 on, Fiat had to raise the ride height, and put those big and heavy bumpers (as on my 75 above) to meet US safety regulation requirements.

Many 75-84 Fiat Spider owners lower the suspension and take those ugly and heavy bumpers off, to drop a few hundred pounds. Doing so does improve the car's handling and performance significantly.

There is a good chance, riding lower, and without the bumpers, the buck would have gone through my windshield, rather than having taken its final flight, an ~30 yard long, high arcing "chip shot".

I still (occasionally) drive my 1982 2000 Spider.

I've left the US spec. suspension and bumpers stock...

 

[dandrewk]

I was on the last day of a 5000 mile motorcycle trip, just outside Yosemite Park, when I rounded a curve at 55 mph to find a deer had just tumbled out of the roadside woods directly in front of me. It didn't see me, and I had zero time to react. Result - one dead deer, a mangled rider and a totalled motorcycle.

Given the damage I've seen deers do to cars moving at half that speed, I'd say you're lucky as heck to have survived! :shock:

True that! I hit the thing at 90 degrees. Since the bike had a good deal of forward, straight line motion it tried to track straight and stay upright (the deer was knocked out of the way several feet). If I had had an aluminum frame, I might not have even crashed. But my steel frame tweaked, and I went over the handlebars and skid quite a few feet.

Result me: Badly skinned knee (full evulsion) as my reinforced ballistic nylon pants flew open because the friction melted the leg zipper. Also a broken pinky. Painful... yes, but I got off pretty good I think.

Result dear: Fully eviscerated, it's belly was lying several feet from the carcass like it was surgically removed. The firemen joked that they would take the deer home for some venison and not having to worry about the messy clean up job.

Motto: WEAR YOUR GEAR AND HELMET! Don't buy motorcycle pants with a full length leg zipper . I would have been far better worse if I wasn't in full battle gear.

Oh, and I HATE deer now. No more Bambi BS for me, I regard them as death traps with antlers. Yeah, yeah I know they were here first, but we've been "here" for several hundred years so we are a bit more than squatters.

 

[blackleaf]

Bought my Leaf in may of 2011. Now have 16,500 trouble free miles and yes I am loving it.

This is my commuter car. I have a normal commute of about 50 miles - no problem. However, around town I frequently will go to a soccer match downtown after work, or go to airport and have made severl trips at 80 miles without too much anxiety. Perfect commuter car for me.

In Puget Sound area, there is a good network of EV chargers and now reasonable QC capability as well. I've made several trips to the San Juan Islands, Bellingham area, etc.

Last weekend we drove up highway 2 and hiked 11 miles. Round trip for the day 130 miles, QC'd a couple times when convenient, probably spent 30minutes total do this. Okay, so if you are in a hurry, you might not like this, but compared to paying for gas, I'm happy.

I haven't noticed any change in battery life or real life range (my ability to do a stretch commute and make it home as predicted).

Love the car so much that i just recently put my first tank of gas in my motorcycle (my former high economy vehicle).