Leafs in Utah

same here very nice credit for CNG cars and 0 for EV

Yanquetino said:

KJWL said:

Since Darren is coming from the Valley maybe we could meet at the Sweet Tomatoes in Sandy on Febrary 18th at noon. That would help split the distance somewhat. We also could do something else or just get together for coffee. Kelly

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When you lucky owners on the Wasatch Front get together for your next Leaf Storm, perhaps you would consider discussing a united effort to tell our Utah legislators to give EVs the same $2,500 tax incentive they bestow upon CNG vehicles...? I have contacted legislators, the governor, the DMV, the SL mayor's office, consumer groups like the Clean Cities Coalition, and written several letters-to-the-editor about this inequity:

In the Ogden Standard Examinar:

• Natural gas isn't the only clean fuel for cars
• Natural gas processing uses coal-fired plants

In the Salt Lake Tribune:

• Energy equity
• Snubbing electric cars

It might (?) help if the powers-that-be in this state were to realize that mine is not the "sole voice in the wilderness." :idea:

Happy Leafing to you!

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KJD said:

KSL wants to interview Leaf owners, so I set up Monday afternoon 1 PM at the EV charge station in Liberty Park.

Darren if you can make it that would be great. I already talked to Michael and Kelly on the phone and they will be there also. I figure the more EV's we can have there the better.

KJD

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I can't believe I missed this in the thread. I would have definitely tried to have been there. I am glad to see that NOW they want to talk to LEAF owners. Six months ago they ran an article on electric cars and only focused on the Volt. I immediately sent them an email asking if they wanted info on the LEAF and never got a response.

Has the article with you interviews already aired?

Darren said:

KJD said:

KSL wants to interview Leaf owners, so I set up Monday afternoon 1 PM at the EV charge station in Liberty Park.

Darren if you can make it that would be great. I already talked to Michael and Kelly on the phone and they will be there also. I figure the more EV's we can have there the better.

KJD

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I can't believe I missed this in the thread. I would have definitely tried to have been there. I am glad to see that NOW they want to talk to LEAF owners. Six months ago they ran an article on electric cars and only focused on the Volt. I immediately sent them an email asking if they wanted info on the LEAF and never got a response.

Has the article with you interviews already aired?

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The reporter who I talked to cancelled at the last minute, so no interview and no article has been done.

I think that we should start contacting local reporters again and let them know that EV's are here and now and for real.

Clean air articles have been in the press today.

http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/politics/53416138-90/businesses-campaign-clean-governor.html.csp" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/705398480/Governor-announces-clean-air-initiative.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

These reporters often ignore emails because they get so many. Try doing an email and a phone call on the same day. I hope you have better luck with these people than I do.

KJD

Glad I didn't come up for the interview.

Thanks for the links to the articles.

I agree that we need to push this more in UT.

Here is the article KSL did last August to which I responded.
http://ksl.deseretdigital.com/jobs/listings/0/24/index.php?nid=148&sid=16751946" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Soup Plantation and Sweet Tomatoes
at noon on Saturday 18 Feb for Lunch?
Sounds like a Good place, with extra parking nearby if needed.

For a better "display", perhaps line the LEAFs up, parked butt-in, in the last row of parking (furthest North of the building, but it is still close)?

10060 <something> State Street?
(give full address and zip for entry into Nav systems)

Famlies and all EV-interested, kind souls welcome.

Good work Utah LEAFers,
May your Gatherings be Fruitful!

Just curious. Which one of you Leafers on the Wasatch Front loaned your car to the Guv' for his U-CAIR initiative speech?

Governor announces clean air initiative

I think that is the LEAF from the dealer that they bought out of CA. I want to say it is Tim Dahle.

If the governor is pushing clean air maybe that will change incentives for electric cars.

Darren said:

If the governor is pushing clean air maybe that will change incentives for electric cars.

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I do see that Utah has finally added the Nissan Leaf and the Mitsubishi "i" (MiEV) to its list of vehicles eligible for its Clean Fuel Vehicle Tax Credit --probably in response to the links that I, myself, had to provide them to the EPA's fuel economy pages for those vehicles.

Unfortunately, that list only qualifies for a measly $605 credit, instead of the $2,500 credit awarded for CNG vehicles.

In the comments for the above article, I admonished the Guv' to rectify that inequity and give EVs the same incentive as CNG vehicles. Shall I hold my breath? :roll: Not gonna happen. Our state government is in bed with Questar Gas, thanks to their special interest lobbyists. Which is the very reason that Utah is at the tail end of Nissan's rollout.

If we really want to solve the clean air problem we need more EV's right away.

I agree that EV's should get the same or better tax breaks as CNG, but I think it would be really difficult to get that law changed.

The biggest problem I see for EV's right now is the lack of public charge stations. Everyone that I talk to about EV's the first question they have is how far can it go and where and how do you recharge it.

Think about how gas stations are everywhere and then compare that to how many J1772 stations we have for EV's. The 75 mile range would not be such a big issue if we had a way to buy electricity as easy as how we buy gasoline.

I would like to hear your ideas on how we get more public charge stations in Utah ?

KJD

KJD said:

I would like to hear your ideas on how we get more public charge stations in Utah ?

KJD

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I dunno... but it seems like a chicken-and-egg dilemma. I mean, when gasoline vehicles first appeared, there were not a lot of gas stations either. And nobody wanted to start installing gas pumps until there were sufficient gasoline vehicles to make it worth the effort and expense. Similarly, even in EV-rich California they are still behind with the public charging infrastructure.

I do suspect, nonetheless, that the ultimate solution will lie more with private businesses than government. Yes, a bit of seed money from government will start the ball rolling, but when Wal-Mart, shopping malls, movie theaters, restaurants, motels, parking garages, even gas stations, etc., begin to realize that they could attract customers by also providing EVSEs... the infrastructure will quickly expand to "compete" in the marketplace. Then more people will purchase EVs, which will create more demand for public charging, which will cause more businesses to also install EVSEs, and the numbers of both chickens and eggs... will spiral upward.

For now...? We few early adopters can show others the advantages of EVs, and continue to encourage both government and private business to look to the future. In the interim... well, even Nissan's data to date show that 95% of charging takes place at home. The other 5%? Probably at work, and maybe once in a while at a friend's house using the L1 cord. The public infrastructure will come eventually, but the stats suggest that it is not as crucial as believed. I might be wrong, but nothing convinces potential customers more than actually seeing, touching, and driving an EV.

Nothing makes you a QC convert quicker than actually using one.

Having several reliable, well-placed QCs to use is a SIGNIFICANT game changer!

garygid said:

Nothing makes you a QC convert quicker than actually using one.

Having several reliable, well-placed QCs to use is a SIGNIFICANT game changer!

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Yeah, I'll bet that's the case! I can tell you that, whenever we stop for gas along an interstate, my wife inevitably takes at least a half-hour to visit the restroom, dump our garbage, take our pooch for a walk, buy a drink or snack, etc., etc. So for us a QuickCharge station would be just as fast.

I sure hope that Nissan starts to install its QuickCharge stations around the country. I suspect that this is their plan, since now the QC port is standard on the SL models. They might be hoping to thoroughly dominate that niche with CHAdeMO so that SAE will face a no-win situation with its all-in-one monstrosity. That's my guess anyway.

Darren said:

I think that is the LEAF from the dealer that they bought out of CA. I want to say it is Tim Dahle.

If the governor is pushing clean air maybe that will change incentives for electric cars.

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I just talked to Josh at Tim Dahle and that was his red Leaf in the picture with the Guv. I asked him about the state of Utah doing something to promote EV's and he said all they wanted to talk about was CNG.

On a more positive note, Tim Dahle Nissan does have several J1772 charge stations installed. Some on the north side and some on the south side of the building. He invited me to come down and see them and I plan to do that soon.

I also asked about L3 charge stations and he said the dealership does not have any plans to install any L3 stations in the near future. The cost is just too much right now. They still do not have any information on the sub 10,000$ Nissan quick charge L3 stations. He said that if he hears anything new he will let us know.

KJD

This morning I wrote to my state senator and representative --again!-- to push the case for EVs. Here is what I told them in this letter, in case it helps other Utah EV advocates also contact their legislators:

To my legislators I said:

[Senator/Representative XXX]:

I see that Utah has now updated its list of "clean fuel" vehicles to include both the Nissan Leaf and the Mitsubishi i-MiEV electric cars:

http://www.cleanfuels.utah.gov/taxcredits/taxcreditsintro.htm

It is about time! After all, these are the most efficient vehicles identified by the EPA:

http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/topten.jsp

In fact, the i-MiEV is now the greenest car on the ACEEE's top ten list, and the Nissan Leaf's score again ties with that of Honda's CNG vehicle in second place:

http://aceee.org/files/image/sectors/2012Greenest.jpg

Isn't it also time, therefore, for Utah to award the same $2,500 tax credit to electric vehicles that it does to CNG cars? After all, is the incentive to help clean our air? Or to subsidize Questar Gas? How and why should CNG vehicles be given a credit four times larger than that for cars that are even cleaner and more efficient?

We depend upon our elected representatives to enact regulations that are in the best interest of all Utah's citizens, and not just one corporation. Please do the right thing and bring to the floor a bill to raise the tax credit for EVs to the same level as for CNG vehicles.

I hope to receive a response from you soon.

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When the "petrol" (gas, cng, etc) lobby "gives the state" a LOT of money to support "cars with emissions", then those cars get benefits.

Who is giving "electricity" lobby money from "deep pockets"?

Just a reminder about lunch at Sweet Tomatoes in Sandy at noon on the 18th. See you all this Saturday! K

KJWL said:

Just a reminder about lunch at Sweet Tomatoes in Sandy at noon on the 18th. See you all this Saturday! K

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OK I will be there. What was that address again ?

KJD said:

KJWL said:

Just a reminder about lunch at Sweet Tomatoes in Sandy at noon on the 18th. See you all this Saturday! K

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OK I will be there. What was that address again ?

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10060 South State St. Sandy
Hey! Word is there's a guy named Byron (?) in Murray w a black LEAF. Anyone know of him? A friend of ours says they spoke in the IFA parking lot & he was happy to show off his LEAF, offered a ride! You think Nissan realizes or cares that we are all their best, most eager salespeople? Seriously. :mrgreen:

I've talked to a lot of people and offered a lot of rides in my black LEAF but I don't remember an IFA. I'm not ruling it out that it might have been me as I don't know of any other black ones in UT.

Glad to see Sat is still on. We will be there.

Studies link air pollution to increased risk of strokes and dementia.

All or parts of five Utah counties — Cache, Weber, Davis, Salt Lake and Utah — have been designated as "nonattainment" in meeting National Ambient Air Quality Standards set by the EPA through the Clean Air Act for PM2.5.

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865550217/Studies-link-air-pollution-to-increased-risk-of-strokes-and-dementia.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;