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Wonder if more than one dealer will have a Volt on their lot?

My wife snapped a picture a couple weeks ago of an iMiEV driving down Cedar Lake Road in Hopkins. It had California plates....wondering what it was doing up here and how it got here.
 
Tonight at Feldmanns Nissan in Bloomington there will be an Electric Vehicle seminar given by Jukka Kukkonen from PlugInConnect. Just found out about this myself but unfortunately have another commitment.

http://www.feldmannnissan.com/nissan-leaf.htm#" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The dealer I have been communicating with reports they have had a lot of interest in their test drive leaf and have 200 orders (by which I assume he means reservations). His information is pointing to spring orders...which is consistent with the other information floating around (see 'Beyond Tier 4, the last 22' thread)
 
Time? I work near the airport but ride public transit to get back to my home north of the cities. I'd have to drive back down when I get home @ 6pm and wouldn't get there until after 6:30pm.

Never mind... I just checked the link. Guess I'll drive into work and head over directly. Thanks for the info!!!
 
Probably Mitsu plate testing vehicle in cold climate

LeafinThePark said:
Wonder if more than one dealer will have a Volt on their lot?

My wife snapped a picture a couple weeks ago of an iMiEV driving down Cedar Lake Road in Hopkins. It had California plates....wondering what it was doing up here and how it got here.
 
Decided to drive into work today instead of taking public transit so I could head over to Feldmann's. Of course, got there and was told the seminar was indeed last night. So I asked if I could reserve a time to drive their Leaf and they said, "Why not now?"

Yessir! Got my first test drive in their Leaf. It was twilight so instrument and headlights were effective. Pretty impressive (and dazzling) interior light display.

It was rush hour so I opted not to hop onto the freeway and get bogged down in traffic. We tooled around the secondary roads around the dealership. Nice pickup and not that bad in ECO which I shifted in and out of. I did note the whine around 40-45mph others have heard but didn't really hear the low speed pedestrian warning system.

Front seat driveability is pretty good. Had no issues backing it up in the dark onto the curb where they keep it parked. Backup camera has a color-coded distance warning thingie which could be used but I just turned and used the rear window.

Now all I have to do is wait.
And wait.
And wait.
But I want one now!
 
Pipemajor said:
Decided to drive into work today instead of taking public transit so I could head over to Feldmann's. Of course, got there and was told the seminar was indeed last night. So I asked if I could reserve a time to drive their Leaf and they said, "Why not now?"

They probably told you, but from what I was told in an email they plan on having this about once/month.

So who did you talk to there? The "Leaf Specialist" that I had talked to this summer is no longer working there...wondering if they have another sales-person designated as their Leaf guy or gal.
 
Younger guy. Name was Josiah or similar. I had spoken to him on a previous visit but evidently was not Leaf "certified" back then.

Frankly, I'd not be much interested in a entry level seminar as I've already studied the technology pretty extensively. More interested in the when/where/why/how/who to get one in my garage.

My best guess is spring/summer of '12? Only about 7 months away...

Maybe because the car is so quiet the turn signal clicker seems VERY loud...
 
Bought my LEAF, and had it arrive in Lake Elmo, MN on 14 Nov 11 (that's why I couldn't go to the opening night of "Revenge of the Electric Car"). If anyone has questions about how it is working feel free to post here, or email me at [email protected].
 
3rdclass said:
Bought my LEAF, and had it arrive in Lake Elmo, MN on 14 Nov 11 (that's why I couldn't go to the opening night of "Revenge of the Electric Car"). If anyone has questions about how it is working feel free to post here, or email me at [email protected].

Details!!!! We need more information (now I feel like that little #5 robot on Short Circuit).

1. How did you source your LEAF?
2. Which home charger did you go with?
3. Electrical utility offer you dedicated rate?
4. Color?
 
So you need more input:

I work for a multinational energy consultancy, and decided I really wanted to get one. I had made my reservation in May of 09, and wondered why I wasn't seeing anything. I called the EV line and they let me know about the market thing, which bummed me out. So I spent the next year trying to get a test drive of both the Volt and the LEAF whenever I was in different cities for conferences and meetings. Got out to LA and drove them both and then sat down with a LEAF expert at a dealership. This was in July.

1) He would only sell me the Cold Weather Package, which I am grateful for, and
2) He showed me that he could sell me a LEAF now, if I had a CA address (unlike Chevy, who required proof of residence)

We had several offices on the West Coast, so I changed my address, and ordered the vehicle. I called the EV line, and asked them to make sure I moved up the queue, due to my new address, and I was on the next order, with delivery in October. After much hassle with the dealership, I took ownership in CA, and had it shipped to MN. Been driving it since.

They gave me the Nissan Charger that someone in CA had bought and never picked up. It's pretty simple, and there is no way to track anything on it, but it serves the purpose, and charges at 240. It was installed by Innovative Power Solutions in St. Paul, great guys to work with.

I had called Xcel back in July and let them know what was going on, but they said they didn't have any programs yet for electric vehicle charging. I am trying to follow up with them now. I also talked to MetroTransit about putting a charging station at my park and ride, but they said they didn't have any plans for that until 2014, and that was at the new 94 and Manning park and ride.

I went with Cheyenne Red.

Feel free to contact me directly at [email protected] to come by and see it, or ask me any questions you want. This is my passion, so I can talk about it for hours.
 
They're here (almost)... Got the long awaited email to...

Start getting local quotes. Delivery information will be provided during the order process.

Yeehaw!!!!
 
Walked through the RAQ process today...everything worked. Not quite ready to hit the 'submit' button until I talk to the dealer.

Pipemajor, what dealer are you planning on using? I'm probably going with Feldmann as they seem to really be on board and even bought their own Leaf for test drives.
 
Same here. I drove their black 2011 last fall. Question I have is when will the 2013 models be available?

If you hit the submit button it will get routed through Nissan to the dealer you checked and I got a call within 5 minutes tonight from Feldmann. They don't really know the particulars yet but promise to keep in touch.

FWIW, I do plan to lease.
 
I went ahead and RAQ'd also...we'll see what happens now.

I too am wondering about MY13...and really will probably hold off on a final purchase until I know. All else being equal, I would just as soon get a car made in the USA if indeed the 13's are rolling off the Smyrna line.
 
Yes, my long wait for RFQ is over. Quote accepted last week by Kline Nissan in Maplewood. Need to waive the charger assessment and go buy one somewhere. Looking at GE's because I have a 6-50 receptacle in the right spot waiting for the charger. More later. This ia a great forum! Thanks to all for the information!
 
Rauv said:
Yes, my long wait for RFQ is over. Quote accepted last week by Kline Nissan in Maplewood. Need to waive the charger assessment and go buy one somewhere. Looking at GE's because I have a 6-50 receptacle in the right spot waiting for the charger. More later. This ia a great forum! Thanks to all for the information!

Welcome aboard Rauv! Spend a couple hours reading up on here and you will know more than the dealers.

Curious on your experience with Kline...did the quote come in at MSRP? How well do the seem to understand the process? What are they estimating if anything for delivery?
 
I live in the NE burbs of the Twin Cities so Kline is the closest to me. I did correspond with one of their sales folks a while back but no communication as of late.

The MPLS Auto Show is coming up in a few weeks. May have to put that on my schedule this year.
 
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