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Lots of nice little changes went into the 2013s, but still waiting for the big battery "breakthrough".
Hopefully we get a 150 mile range LEAF at a similar price point within 5 years.

For the 2013, I wonder if it is possible to get the black cloth seats in with the "all options" SL package?
From the looks of things they want you to have leather if you get the top of the line audio system and 17" wheels. Maybe this is a USA only marketing thing that Nissan Japan HQ doesn't follow closely, but I do represent a small contingent that don't like being forced in to leather seating to get other options.

I hope Nissan continues to work on R&D for charge station finding built into the car. Someday it would be great if the Nav could show you which nearby charging stations were _available_, in other words it would be updated to mark which stations were already being used by someone else at the time. Also, it would be great if they had better pictures / directions to the charging stations. They could look at sites like http://www.plugshare.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;, http://www.recargo.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;, https://na.chargepoint.com/index.php/charge_point" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;, etc. for ideas.


Also, you folks might want to inquire about high speed charging interoperability with other systems.
Will a LEAF ever charge at a Tesla Supercharger or SAE Combo-plug station? I don't know if Nissan has even considered making adapters for these. I am guessing not, but it seems worth asking just in case.
 
darelldd said:
Our first full day is done. And when I say full, I mean full. My day started at 0600, and is just now ending at 2200. The access and open discussion has been non-stop... And our Nissan hosts have been fantastic. Tomorrow promises to be even more exciting. Must sleep now!
+1 Nissan have been terrific hosts!
DaveinOlyWA said:
Other than the hotel, we have not been afforded any wi fi. But we are able to post at will pretty much. I got verizon data roamijg $20/100 mb so not too bad. Its slow but posted about 20 pix on FB yesterday. And yesterday was non stop from 8 am till nearly 10 but today promises to be the most exciting but also the part we will be least able to talk about but just the opportunity to be part of all this has been truly wonderful
Agreed Wednesday was great! We got detailed tours of the Oppama plant where all our LEAFs were assembled and another tour of the Zama plant where our battery modules were made. We also met with Andy Palmer, Roel De Vries, Simon Spoule and Jeff Kuhlman to give our suggestions on how they can improve their LEAF messaging. I will say that I felt they were sincerely listening, so we felt heard.

We have no pictures from the battery plant, but we got lots of pictures of the manufacturing plant. I don't have Facebook, so I haven't seen Dave's pictures yet, but we all have pictures of similar things. I'll post what I got when I have a chance, but I'm generally regarded to be the world's worst photographer! :oops:

Some notes on the 2013 battery:

- The module case was modifiied to reduce weight and materials used. They claimed a 30 kg weight reduction for the LEAF battery just from that change.
- The changes to the 2013 battery module chemistry were mainly intended to reduce cost. (There has been some mention of improvements in thermal capabilities, but the battery experts did not confirm that. They indicated there may be small changes in battery characteristics, but weight and cost were the two major changes.)
- The 2013 battery modules are compatible with the 2012/2012 LEAFs.

Some notes on the drivetrain:
- The redesign of the motor was intended to improve efficiency. They said efficiency is improved in the speed range of 40 MPH to 60 MPH.
- There is also some efficiency improvement which comes from integrating the motor and inverter together and thereby reducing wiring losses. It is clear that the main reason to integrate the electronics is to achieve optimum manufacturing efficiency. With this change, the 2013 LEAF assembly is more similar to the assembly of other Nissan cars than was the 2011/2012.
- I asked about the reduced torque, but I didn't get a satisfactory answer. However, they did confirm that with the lower weight of the car, 0-60 times are improved by about 3%. (I will point out that the torque on the specification sheet is peak torque only. It is possible that torque over a range of speeds could be higher on average, even with a lower peak.). I will try to learn more about the drivetrain today, I'd possible.
- They are continuing to work on the GOM, even after the 2013 release. We should see something in the future.
TEG said:
Lots of nice little changes went into the 2013s, but still waiting for the big battery "breakthrough".
Hopefully we get a 150 mile range LEAF at a similar price point within 5 years.
Yeah, the battery changes for 2013 are incremental improvements. The current LEAF battery technology will likely continue to be tweaked going forward. We may hear more in today's meetings, but, as Dave said, we likely cannot say anything about some of what we will see/hear today.
TEG said:
For the 2013, I wonder if it is possible to get the black cloth seats in with the "all options" SL package?
From the looks of things they want you to have leather if you get the top of the line audio system and 17" wheels. Maybe this is a USA only marketing thing that Nissan Japan HQ doesn't follow closely, but I do represent a small contingent that don't like being forced in to leather seating to get other options.
Like you, I also prefer cloth to leather, but I think all of that is set in stone for 2013.
TEG said:
I hope Nissan continues to work on R&D for charge station finding built into the car. Someday it would be great if the Nav could show you which nearby charging stations were _available_, in other words it would be updated to mark which stations were already being used by someone else at the time. Also, it would be great if they had better pictures / directions to the charging stations. They could look at sites like http://www.plugshare.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;, http://www.recargo.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;, https://na.chargepoint.com/index.php/charge_point" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;, etc. for ideas.
We may meet people in this area today. We will give them your feedback.
TEG said:
Also, you folks might want to inquire about high speed charging interoperability with other systems.
Will a LEAF ever charge at a Tesla Supercharger or SAE Combo-plug station? I don't know if Nissan has even considered making adapters for these. I am guessing not, but it seems worth asking just in case.
We discussed this some on Tuesday night and Nissan is clearly frustrated by the whole SAE combo plug issue. In any case I can ask if they plan to offer any interoperability options in the future.
 
^^^
Thanks for all the info. I wasn't sure if DaveinOlyWA was there by himself (I've been seeing and commenting on his FB uploads) and if not, who was with him. I figured TonyWilliams, Chelsea and others might be there too. Or, perhaps they're on a separate trip?
 
cwerdna said:
^^^
Thanks for all the info. I wasn't sure if DaveinOlyWA was there by himself (I've been seeing and commenting on his FB uploads) and if not, who was with him. I figured TonyWilliams, Chelsea and others might be there too. Or, perhaps they're on a separate trip?
As you can see, DavinOlyWA, darelldd and me are here along with evchels. Also here are Kataphn, Don, and sullyfahs. There are also a few guys from Europe, but some do not have aliases here and I do not know the others' aliases. (I am also not sure if Don and sullyfahs are aliases for the right people. I will correct that if I got them wrong. I hope I didn't leave out anyone!) IMO, Chelsea did a great job selecting a diverse group who are not bashful about sharing our opinions with Nissan!

Tony is not here. I believe Tony and Phil are both focused on the battery degradation issue.
 
RegGuheert said:
Some notes on the 2013 battery:

- The module case was modifiied to reduce weight and materials used. They claimed a 30 kg weight reduction for the LEAF battery just from that change.
- The changes to the 2013 battery module chemistry were mainly intended to reduce cost. (There has been some mention of improvements in thermal capabilities, but the battery experts did not confirm that. They indicated there may be small changes in battery characteristics, but weight and cost were the two major changes.)
- The 2013 battery modules are compatible with the 2012/2012 LEAFs.

Some notes on the drivetrain:
- The redesign of the motor was intended to improve efficiency. They said efficiency is improved in the speed range of 40 MPH to 60 MPH.
- There is also some efficiency improvement which comes from integrating the motor and inverter together and thereby reducing wiring losses. It is clear that the main reason to integrate the electronics is to achieve optimum manufacturing efficiency. With this change, the 2013 LEAF assembly is more similar to the assembly of other Nissan cars than was the 2011/2012.
- I asked about the reduced torque, but I didn't get a satisfactory answer. However, they did confirm that with the lower weight of the car, 0-60 times are improved by about 3%. (I will point out that the torque on the specification sheet is peak torque only. It is possible that torque over a range of speeds could be higher on average, even with a lower peak.). I will try to learn more about the drivetrain today, I'd possible.

Yeah, the battery changes for 2013 are incremental improvements. The current LEAF battery technology will likely continue to be tweaked going forward. We may hear more in today's meetings, but, as Dave said, we likely cannot say anything about some of what we will see/hear.
Great info. I assume you are under NDA for some info and they are making it clear which info can be made public and which can't?
 
Thank you for the update! I would cross-post couple of Facebook photos from Dave, if it helped, and he didn't mind.
 
I figured George and Dave would give great summaries and they have. Nissan has been an exceptional host. We have had several opportunities to have free flowing round table talks with execs in addition to the expected presentations. We each come from our own various perspectives as consumers, advocates, tech folks or some combination thereof. Nissan is listening attentively to all views. Thanks to Chelsea very much for her coordination efforts and her ability to succinctly summarize salient points.
 
Just a quick note on QC . Nissan has a very capable and extensively test QC unit. In Japan, they are all free (considering the bus ride from the airport was $35, anything free around here is a big deal) and whether their reliability.is a reflection of the respect inherent in the Japanese culture or simply superior engineering, it definitely works well here. I suspect its a bit of both and a key driving force behind Nissan taking the initiative to install at their US dealerships. I think it will come down to 3rd party providers stepping up to Nissan's level or going home
 
Hi all,

As others have said, it's definitely a packed trip with really no breaks during the day unless someone happens to be able to dash something off via smartphone or ipad along the way (my fault- I pressed for as much "substance" as possible on this trip, though we get a bit of optional sightseeing time tomorrow. And being geeks that we are, the plant tours have been their own form of sightseeing!) And yes, Nissan has asked for some discretion re some conversations, things we can't take pics of (mostly plant stuff), etc. But, we all have long plane rides ahead of us which should give more folks time to compose some thoughts. I will also be coordinating the written submission of the group's take-aways and input in the next couple weeks once we've had a chance to gather it all and circulate among our own group- so will post as much of that as possible (if not all of it) here as well.

I'm sorry it's not more "real time", but we will keep you all in the loop as this progresses. As with Phoenix, this is also merely a first step ("proof" can only come through ongoing action, I think), but it's been a productive one, and it's been very clear that Nissan is taking this effort and its potential incredibly seriously.

More soon, if not soon enough! :)
 
If you guys are at the Nissan Yokohama headquarters today, can you snap a picture of the QC stations that are there at the entrance to the Nissan Gallery? When I was there last month, I forgot to get a shot of them.

Thanks! Sounds like you are having a great time.
 
Nice summary, Reg!
RegGuheert said:
- The changes to the 2013 battery module chemistry were mainly intended to reduce cost. (There has been some mention of improvements in thermal capabilities, but the battery experts did not confirm that. They indicated there may be small changes in battery characteristics, but weight and cost were the two major changes.)
- The 2013 battery modules are compatible with the 2012/2012 LEAFs.
This is interesting - does this mean that in replacing a single module, say for warranty purposes or other service, Nissan recommended procedure will be to use a '13 module as a replacement for a '11/12 module?

Swapping out all the modules in a '11/12 LEAF for '13 modules would save 30 kg - not bad! That's over a pound saved per module.
 
OrientExpress said:
If you guys are at the Nissan Yokohama headquarters today, can you snap a picture of the QC stations that are there at the entrance to the Nissan Gallery? When I was there last month, I forgot to get a shot of them.

Thanks! Sounds like you are having a great time.

It looked like we all took that shot this morning, so here should be several options from which to choose...when we all get them up. fascinating to me is that every day we have seen multiple cars being fast charged at multiple locations. Something we jut don't see in the US!
 
RegGuheert said:
As you can see, DavinOlyWA, darelldd and me are here along with evchels. Also here are Kataphn, Don, and sullyfahs. There are also a few guys from Europe, but some do not have aliases here and I do not know the others' aliases. (I am also not sure if Don and sullyfahs are aliases for the right people. I will correct that if I got them wrong.
O.K. Don was the wrong alias. It should be DEFrancis2. One of the guys from Europe is electronit, one is not on this forum and the third would like to remain anonymous (I think!). He can post here if he wants. Again, I think it's a great group of people.

We had another incredible day. Yesterday morning we met with quite a few members of the ZeroEmission team at Nissan and had a very detailed and frank discussion about LEAF marketing including many, many issues.

I took a couple of pretty decent photos of that session, but I must apologize because it seems I have an SD card problem and I do not have any pictures from this trip. :( Did I mention I am the world's worst photographer? I submit this as evidence...
RegGuheert said:
We may hear more in today's meetings, but, as Dave said, we likely cannot say anything about some of what we will see/hear today.
As mentioned, we cannot talk about much of what we saw yesterday. Please do not PM us asking for us to reveal these things, as we are honor-bound to keep them secret. I will only say the following things, the first being under approval and the second is my opinion:
- Andy Palmer reiterated what he said in Phoenix about Nissan not wanting to use liquid to cool the batteries. They simply do not think that is a solution which suits their design objectives. (FWIW, I agree with him on this, as I have stated here many times.)
- Everyone working on the LEAF within Nissan ALWAYS quotes LA4 cycle results when they discuss vehicle range. It is not just marketing and sales doing this, but everyone. Their entire culture seems to be built around this concept that the LA4 range of the vehicles is THE range of the vehicles. Most (all?) of the members of the advisory board found this somewhat disturbing. My personal feeling is that it does not bode well for us to get any changes in how they communicate the capabilities of the car outside of Nissan, but we'll see. I think this needs to be a point for further discussion with them going forward. Would anyone else like to propose a different range for them to use in discussions? Perhaps the EPA five-cycle range test result?
RegGuheert said:
TEG said:
For the 2013, I wonder if it is possible to get the black cloth seats in with the "all options" SL package?
From the looks of things they want you to have leather if you get the top of the line audio system and 17" wheels. Maybe this is a USA only marketing thing that Nissan Japan HQ doesn't follow closely, but I do represent a small contingent that don't like being forced in to leather seating to get other options.
Like you, I also prefer cloth to leather, but I think all of that is set in stone for 2013.
While I did not ask this direct question, it was pretty much confirmed that things are set in stone for 2013.
RegGuheert said:
TEG said:
I hope Nissan continues to work on R&D for charge station finding built into the car. Someday it would be great if the Nav could show you which nearby charging stations were _available_, in other words it would be updated to mark which stations were already being used by someone else at the time. Also, it would be great if they had better pictures / directions to the charging stations. They could look at sites like http://www.plugshare.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;, http://www.recargo.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;, https://na.chargepoint.com/index.php/charge_point" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;, etc. for ideas.
We may meet people in this area today. We will give them your feedback.
We gave this feedback to the person in Nissan who is responsible for this issue and it was recorded, so your input was definitely heard.
RegGuheert said:
TEG said:
Also, you folks might want to inquire about high speed charging interoperability with other systems.
Will a LEAF ever charge at a Tesla Supercharger or SAE Combo-plug station? I don't know if Nissan has even considered making adapters for these. I am guessing not, but it seems worth asking just in case.
We discussed this some on Tuesday night and Nissan is clearly frustrated by the whole SAE combo plug issue. In any case I can ask if they plan to offer any interoperability options in the future.
I did bring this up. Nissan's view is that they need to do whatever is necessary to enable growth in the EV movement in general, not just for their own products. They see these various charger options as a barrier to adoption and they are trying to figure out the best way forward, but there seem to be no simple answers here. They did not rule out making adapters available to LEAF owners.
 
RegGuheert said:
- Everyone working on the LEAF within Nissan ALWAYS quotes LA4 cycle results when they discuss vehicle range. It is not just marketing and sales doing this, but everyone. Their entire culture seems to be built around this concept that the LA4 range of the vehicles is THE range of the vehicles. Most (all?) of the members of the advisory board found this somewhat disturbing. My personal feeling is that it does not bode well for us to get any changes in how they communicate the capabilities of the car outside of Nissan, but we'll see. I think this needs to be a point for further discussion with them going forward. Would anyone else like to propose a different range for them to use in discussions? Perhaps the EPA five-cycle range test result?
Well, I did create a poll re: '12 Leaf range (since we don't know the '13 Leaf's EPA range yet). See http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=11201" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;.

http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=11322" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; again reported hearing 100 mile range at the Philadelphia auto show. :(
 
cwerdna said:
Well, I did create a poll re: '12 Leaf range (since we don't know the '13 Leaf's EPA range yet). See http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=11201" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;.

http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=11322" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; again reported hearing 100 mile range at the Philadelphia auto show. :(
Yes, that is very appropriate for this topic! There was a lot of discussion, but no obvious conclusion. What do you think they should do?
 
RegGuheert said:
cwerdna said:
Well, I did create a poll re: '12 Leaf range (since we don't know the '13 Leaf's EPA range yet). See http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=11201" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;.

http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=11322" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; again reported hearing 100 mile range at the Philadelphia auto show. :(
Yes, that is very appropriate for this topic! There was a lot of discussion, but no obvious conclusion. What do you think they should do?
Well, the overwhelming answer to the poll was 73 miles, the EPA range. From http://www.nissanusa.com/leaf-electric-car/range" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;, that was from the 2 cycle-test.

If I Google for nissan leaf 73 miles epa, the first hit I get leads to http://www.nissanusa.com/leaf-electric-car/range" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; and has the text:
Nissan LEAF®: 100% electric car. The Nissan LEAF® has a range of up to 73 miles on a single change. Learn more about the range, and use the range ...
But, I don't see those words verbatim, on that page. It seems to come from the META tag on the page:
<meta name="description" content="Nissan LEAF®: 100% electric car. The Nissan LEAF® has a range of up to 73 miles on a single change. Learn more about the range, and use the range calculator to find out how far your drive."/>
 
RegGuheert said:
- Everyone working on the LEAF within Nissan ALWAYS quotes LA4 cycle results when they discuss vehicle range. It is not just marketing and sales doing this, but everyone. Their entire culture seems to be built around this concept that the LA4 range of the vehicles is THE range of the vehicles. Most (all?) of the members of the advisory board found this somewhat disturbing. My personal feeling is that it does not bode well for us to get any changes in how they communicate the capabilities of the car outside of Nissan, but we'll see. I think this needs to be a point for further discussion with them going forward. Would anyone else like to propose a different range for them to use in discussions?

For US market, I think EPA ratings are the only yardstick that will let consumers honestly gauge range vs. their needs, and compare to other vehicles.

In the US, "real world range" basically means range when freeway driving at 10-15 mph above the speed limit. I can only guess what the Japanese think of this! :| EPA doesn't give that, and I wouldn't expect Nissan to of course. But at least EPA gives a level basis of comparison.

The rationale for LA-4 that I remember, was because EPA had not quantified a test leading up to the LEAF launch. That rationale is gone. I know it's probably hard to let go of that 100 mile value, but LA-4 doesn't help the US consumer. Maybe it's close to the Japan model, but nowhere close to the market standard here. And what is the consumer to make of it when the EPA number on the sticker is nowhere near what the nice lady told them at the Tour? Worse than being unhelpful, it will immediately create mistrust.
 
The Japan model is even crazier than LA-4. Maybe it works for them.

I wish someone on this board was literate in Japanese and could tell us what's happening on the JDM Leaf forums.
 
Just to reiterate a few things. This trip was not designed to be a fact fjnding trip over an intro to each other and an jnside look at the Nissan decision making process. There are a lot of.bb people involved within Nissan whomust come together (frequently by teleconference) to make decisions with their partners and vendors. Jt is a monumental task.

Now, some of you will be disappointed in what we have or dont have to say but this trip begins thedialogue. We are by no means done, we have just begun so keep your questions in mind because the process of seeking the answers is not done
 
Nubo said:
The rationale for LA-4 that I remember, was because EPA had not quantified a test leading up to the LEAF launch. That rationale is gone. I know it's probably hard to let go of that 100 mile value, but LA-4 doesn't help the US consumer. Maybe it's close to the Japan model, but nowhere close to the market standard here.
I do not think the range number is nearly as critical to the Japanese customers as it is to American customers. The reason is that many of the LEAFs in Japan are right around Yokohama and they have access to a bunch of quick chargers. If the battery gets low, no big deal! Simply plug in for a few minutes and continue to your destination.

Where I live, I do not expect to have that option for quite some time.
 
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