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Azrich

Well-known member
Joined
Apr 22, 2010
Messages
533
Location
Tucson, AZ
I've heard from Jason T near Vail. Other Tucson LEAF buyers, please introduce yourself. This is an area where we can discuss local LEAF events, dealerships, charging stations, solar energy, --- anything LEAF.

I've been in touch with Bookmans Bookstores and they plan at least one ChargePoint station at each store. They are already installed at the Grant and Ina stores in Tucson. They will be installing one at the Speedway store before fall.

Here's to many LEAFs cruising the streets of Tucson!!!
 
Today I wrote an email, in their fill in the blank form, to the AZ Dept of Transportation asking them to consider a reduced registration fee for electric vehicles. If you think it could help go to https://wwwa.azdot.gov/contact_adot/index.aspx and send them a message.

Here is what I sent to them today:

Tucson and Phoenix are two of the eight U.S. cities where the Nissan LEAF electric vehicle will be introduced in December 2010. Nissan expects to sell about 1000 LEAFs by early 2012. This vehicle has zero emissions. Would the ADOT please consider reinstating the reduced registration fee for this new type of alternative fuel vehicle? The federal government is investing in the installation of hundreds of charging stations in Tucson, Phoenix, and the corridor between the two cities. I would ask you to please consider creating a special, lower registration fee for all 100% electric vehicles. Thank you.
 
Pardon my ignorance about something that you all here may have already discussed.

What are the 8 U.S. cities receiving Nissan EV's in December 2010?
We at the dealership level really have not been informed much yet.
 
Azrich said:
Today I wrote an email, in their fill in the blank form, to the AZ Dept of Transportation asking them to consider a reduced registration fee for electric vehicles. If you think it could help go to https://wwwa.azdot.gov/contact_adot/index.aspx and send them a message.

Here is what I sent to them today:

Tucson and Phoenix are two of the eight U.S. cities where the Nissan LEAF electric vehicle will be introduced in December 2010. Nissan expects to sell about 1000 LEAFs by early 2012. This vehicle has zero emissions. Would the ADOT please consider reinstating the reduced registration fee for this new type of alternative fuel vehicle? The federal government is investing in the installation of hundreds of charging stations in Tucson, Phoenix, and the corridor between the two cities. I would ask you to please consider creating a special, lower registration fee for all 100% electric vehicles. Thank you.

You could bring up the fact that other states are starting to renew the reduced license fees (in IL, 100% electric vehicles can be registered for 2 years at $38 versus ICE cars at $99/yr); our law on this is quite old but as Chicago could always improve its air quality it's good to see some recent action on it. As always, you'll probably need to contact your lawmakers versus your ADOT but couldn't hurt!
 
redLEAF, I used the AZ DOT formula to determine registration and license fees for the first year and I might be paying $550 !! Then they depreciate the value of the vehicle 16% each year. I know when I bought my Hyundai ($23,000) in 2003 my fee was about $425 for the first year. Now it is under $200. In 2002 they gave alternative fuel vehicles like the Prius a very reduced rate around $35 a year. This no longer exists but needs to be reinstated.

Good idea, I'll write my state legislators but as you might of heard, they are not the brightest bunch.
 
Yes, it's interesting how creative the states get on fees to license cars ... for instance NH did it's annual fee based on the declining value of the car you're registering but of course NH has no sales or income taxes so overall you would still be ahead unless of course you have several expensive cars to register :mrgreen: in my case I went to college there so not so bad. As time goes by, hopefully other states will see the value of adding EV's to reduce air pollution by reducing license fees although I've heard that NE was adding a surcharge as they won't be getting any gas taxes from EV's on their roads!
 
SBNissanLeaf said:
Pardon my ignorance about something that you all here may have already discussed.

What are the 8 U.S. cities receiving Nissan EV's in December 2010?
We at the dealership level really have not been informed much yet.

Actually SB, there will be more than 8 U.S. cities in the initial rollout. Some people get confused about that. For instance, when they say 'Phoenix', that doesn't just mean Phoenix the city or Phoenix Proper, but the surrounding cities like Tempe, Scottsdale, Chandler, Gilbert, Mesa, Avondale, etc. There are many 'subcities' that make up Phoenix. For instance, here in Tempe, the dealer closest to me is going to have the LEAF for the initial rollout, as well as the next closest in Chandler. I also believe that CA isn't just San Diego, but probably at least LA too. The same for all five states. So that's why it is just better to stick to 'a 5-state-rollout' terminology or 5 state regions.
 
Azrich said:
redLEAF, I used the AZ DOT formula to determine registration and license fees for the first year and I might be paying $550 !! Then they depreciate the value of the vehicle 16% each year. I know when I bought my Hyundai ($23,000) in 2003 my fee was about $425 for the first year. Now it is under $200. In 2002 they gave alternative fuel vehicles like the Prius a very reduced rate around $35 a year. This no longer exists but needs to be reinstated.

Good idea, I'll write my state legislators but as you might of heard, they are not the brightest bunch.

Richard, we don't want the hybrid plate reinstated! Hybrids like the Prius use GASOLINE and shouldn't even be allowed to use the HOV lanes. They still may give them to bi-fuels, but they shouldn't for them either. I'm glad that they discontinued that! The LEAF and other DEDICATED alternative fuel vehicles are in a WHOLE different class than hybrids as far as ADOT is concerned. We ALREADY have the reduced fees for BEVs and dedicated CNG vehicles like my Honda Civic GX. So pleeeeease, don't ask for ANY program like the hybrid one. Thanks.
 
Here is the link to intensives for AZ

http://www.nissanusa.com/leaf-electric-car/index#/leaf-electric-car/incentives/show/85226
 
Thank you, Gonewild! I had not explored this section of the Nissan website yet. Here's how I calculated the license fee:

LEAF SL = $33,720 times 1% = $337.50 (AFV assessed value)

$4 for every $100 assessed value = about $13.00 for the first year, $10.50 for the second year, and on down to the $5.00 minimum.

Not bad! That saves hundreds of dollars a year in license fees! Just another reason to buy a LEAF.
 
I too appreciate the link. I was not aware about the $75 credit for the charging station. It's a drop compared to the federal incentive, but it's still something.
 
garygid said:
Registration of a $33,720 EV in CA, $456 plus $2951 sales tax.
Apparently no bargin here.
Hey, you guys get that rockin' $5,000 rebate - isn't that enough? :-D
We don't get a sales tax discount either - if I did the math right it'll be $2,731 in AZ.
 
JasonT said:
garygid said:
Registration of a $33,720 EV in CA, $456 plus $2951 sales tax.
Apparently no bargin here.
Hey, you guys get that rockin' $5,000 rebate - isn't that enough? :-D
We don't get a sales tax discount either - if I did the math right it'll be $2,731 in AZ.

Here in AZ, you are going to pay around $3136 IF the sales tax prop passes.
 
For people who live in Tucson, they know that Jim Click is the automobile sales czar. He owns about ten different dealerships including Ford, Mazda, Hyundai, Chrysler, Suzuki, Kia, and of course, Nissan. He has to be one of the wealthiest people in Tucson and also helps many groups, schools, and agencies. During the past few months I have seen him at several events or restaurants and since he is a very out going person, he has often spoken to me.

This evening we went to dinner at a favorite restaurant and after we finished our meal, I saw Mr. Click and his wife come in. I told my partner, now is my chance to go ask him about the LEAF and the MSRP. Soon after they sat down I went up and introduced myself and reminded him we had met several times before. I told him that I was one of the first people in Tucson to reserve a Nissan LEAF and would probably be one of the first to receive my LEAF in December. He knew about the reservation process online. I told him that the day after I had reserved my LEAF, his LEAF specialist called me to introduce himself and answer questions. He knew the sales consultant I mentioned and reminded his wife that the salesman's father had worked for him for years. I told him briefly about my meeting with the salesman and that after of 30 minutes of sharing my excitement about the LEAF, he told me he was going home to reserve his own LEAF. I told Mr. Click, "I think I might have sold a LEAF for you!" He laughed and shook my hand.

I also told him about this forum and repeated the URL several times. His wife repeated it back to me. I told them that many people around the country are very excited about this new EV and anxiously waiting the time when we get to order our LEAF and have them delivered in December. We spoke briefly about the home charger and being asked by the EV Project to be considered for a free charger. This seemed to be new information to him. I explained how the EV Project will connect to my charger in my garage, via satellite, to keep track of my charging patterns and miles of travel per charge. He seemed truly amazed. I was bubbling over with excitement about the LEAF and he could sense it.

Then I told him that us people who have reserved a LEAF are hoping that it will be sold for the MSRP. I asked him if he knew yet if this would happen. He said the price would probably be set by Nissan. I restated that we would really like to buy this vehicle at the MSRP and not over. He laughed and shook my hand again. I said, "So is this a deal?" He laughed again. I thanked him for his time and allowed him to begin his meal with the beer and appetizer that had just been delivered to his table.

My partner said I should write him a letter and remind him of our brief conversation at the restaurant. I could restate our concern about he price and tell him about this forum again. I'll work on that tomorrow. I know Mr. Click could definitely feel my excitement about this new Nissan project. He liked hearing about it. I'll keep you all informed what happens!
 
The Pima Association of Governments has a page about Clean Fuels / Clean Cities. It has a CleanTimes Newsletter link that has information about the LEAF and Bookman's charging stations.

http://www.pagnet.org/Default.aspx?tabid=180


There is also a PowerPoint presentation about the EV Project - A Tucson Area Update that was presented in February 2010.

http://www.pagnet.org/documents/Com...0/CleanCities-2010-02-19-EVChargingUpdate.ppt

One slide gives the following figures of "Hardware Deployment" of the eTec Minit Charger for Arizona:

In Arizona eTec will be installing: 900 Level 2 Residential chargers
1000 Level 2 Commercial chargers (at businesses)
150 Level 2 Public chargers (parking lots and along streets)
40 Level 3 City chargers (What will Tucson's share of that be?? Probably not many.)
10 Level 3 Transportation chargers (I imagine along Interstate highways.)

I hope to be one of those 900 residential chargers, but I'm not impressed with the numbers of the other chargers, especially the Level 3 fast chargers. I'm not sure a trip to Phoenix will be possible. ????

eTec and the EV Project will also be making an announcement on May 25, Tuesday, about some information, probably about charger locations. I'll post it if I can find it.
 
Some people from Thoroughbred Nissan were at today's EVProject meeting. They were all very excited/enthused about the car, the EVProject... all of it.

I couldn't get an exact "no over MSRP" statement from them, but the impression I got is that they do not expect to be going over MSRP for this first round.

On a different note, they did tell me that Thoroughbred Nissan is planning on getting two L2 and two L3/DC charging stations. If I understood them correctly, one of each will be kept in the service area, but the other two will be available for public use.
 
Jason, I got to speak with Oscar Campos, owner of Thoroughbred, for a while. Yes, he is very excited. I told him we are hoping to organize a group of LEAF owners from the Tucson area. He offered his conference room and chargers for a group to use. I emailed him the business cards I made about this forum, so he could make more. If we could get some more Tucson forum members it might help with getting one of the Nissan dealers here to commit to not going over the MSRP. I mentioned to each dealer that there are dealers posting questions and answers to potential buyers on this forum. I also mentioned that some dealers have made a commitment to members not to go over the MSRP. Jim Click told me that he thought the pricing would be controlled by Nissan, but he might have just been saying that.

I will go to dealer with the lowest price, hopefully not over MSRP. I live about equal distance from each of them.
 
Solar Power 101

What: Solar Power 101: A Community Education Series on Solar Energy.

Presentations

- University of Arizona Solar Race Car Team Update: Students from the University of Arizona will present information on their solar vehicle from their latest race in April. The car will be on display before the presentation to get an up-close view.

- Electric Vehicle Infrastructure in Tucson and Arizona: ECOtality received a grant from the U.S. Department of Energy for $99 million to be used to install electric-charging infrastructure in 5 areas in the U.S. These cities, including Tucson, were selected by Nissan to launch their new all-electric vehicle in 2011. Representatives from ECOtality and TEP will speak on electric vehicle and charging technology, how infrastructure locations will be chosen, and how TEP is preparing their system for the charging stations and vehicles.

- The Basics of Solar Electric and Hot Water: Technicians for Sustainability will give a detailed overview of how solar energy works, what it costs, and who should go solar.

When: Tuesday, June 15, 2010, 6-8 p.m.

Where: Murphy-Wilmot Branch Library, 320 S. Wilmot Road, Tucson, just south of Broadway near 14th Street

Space is limited for this presentation. Please RSVP by Friday, June 11: [email protected] or (520) 881-3588
 
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