EV's Tailpipe?
A recent study by a non-profit group called the Union of Concerned Scientists in Cambridge Mass, looked at the pollution footprint and cost savings of EV’s compared to conventional vehicles. What their study actually shows is a mystery to me, here are a selection of headlines from the media reporting on this study. Continue reading
Stewart's Ferry Fast Charger - Click to Enlarge
I got my first fast charge today. Wow how amazingly fast it is!!. What would normally take 2 hours at a 240v charging station took 15 minutes. I found myself on Lebanon Pike in Nashville with ample charge to get home (if I drove carefully). The prospect of going through slow traffic on side streets was not enticing. I noticed on my smart phone that the fast charger at Cracker Barrel on Stewart’s Ferry Pike was just 3.7 miles away Continue reading
Driving Range Gauge
The driving range indicator in the LEAF, lovingly known in the LEAF community as a ‘guess-o-meter’, is notorious for predicting mileage that is not achievable. The problem is partly the algorithm Nissan provide, however no algorithm can predict how you are about to drive only how you did drive recently.
Factors like speed, hills, ambient temperature, use of cooling or heating, battery charge level all have varying degrees Continue reading
Lance Crawford, the Park Ranger has retired. EV’s are no longer welcome at Bledsoe Creek. Shame. I wish Lance a long and fruitful retirement.
Update: 2014-02-22. Bledsoe Creek have changed their policy towards EV’s. We are no longer welcome.
Original Article:
Bledsoe Creek State Park is friendly towards EV’s offering free charges if you ask the camp host kindly before hooking up.
Everything is so Green!!
I recently had the charger that came with my vehicle modified to work with either 120v or 240v, meaning I can get relatively quick charges from anywhere Continue reading
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The LEAF is a compact car so one wouldn’t equate it to being able to move furniture; that’s what trucks are for. I found out that with the rear seats down a decent sized piece of furniture fits inside a LEAF, with the hatch closed!!
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We saw a piece of furniture advertised on Facebook at a good price, the owners Continue reading
It’s not often one can take a car to a car dealer and pay for the service with a $20 bill and get change.
I took my LEAF in for it’s first scheduled service at 7,500 miles. The only item called for at this service interval is a tire rotation. In addition I had two software updates performed that Nissan informed me about recently via email and snail mail.
Newton Nissan are trying to reach out to customers using social networks, I was able to acquire a $10 off coupon by checking into Newton Nissan with Foursquare as I arrived. That reduced the tire rotation charge from $19.99 to $9.99. Taxes and environmental fee increased the total to a princely sum of $11.02. Had I purchased a gasoline car, I would have had to have performed two oil changes already at this mileage. I found it amusing that Nissan charge a dollar environmental fee, even though it is the most environmentally friendly car they make.
Next scheduled service is 15,000 miles.
EPA Sticker - Click to Enlarge
Every time gas goes up by 32 cents at the pump, I stand to save an additional $1,000 in fuel over 100,000 miles of driving my LEAF. Or in other words for every $1 of gas price rise, that’s another $3,000 in avoided expenditures.
I keep track of the costs of running my LEAF in a spreadsheet. The Blink charger I have at my home let’s me know how many kWh of electric is used each month charging my vehicle. I devised a spreadsheet to keep track of miles driven each month and the average gas price each month. Armed with this information and the combined MPG of my last vehicle a Chevy Malibu and the price of electric on each monthly bill, I can calculate my actual savings per month and project savings over 100,000 miles.
With just 6 months of ownership I have saved $700 in fuel versus running by old Chevy Malibu (which got above average fuel economy). I had projected $10,000 in fuel savings over 100,000 miles. Now that gas has risen quite a bit since Christmas, the projected savings have risen to over $11,000. It is rumored that gas may hit $4 per gallon again this summer. If it does and stays there, my savings will increase to $13,000 over 100,000 miles.
Obama wants to raise the EV tax Credit from $7,500 to $10,000. With the extra tax credits and increased fuel savings, buying an EV keeps getting cheaper.
Taxes paid by EV’s and gas cars – Click to Enlarge
Several states have proposed taxes for Electric Vehicles like the Nissan LEAF. The motivation to introduce these new taxes is based upon the fact that 100% electric vehicles use no gasoline so pay no tax per gallon of gas. The gas tax is meant to pay for road maintenance, so the argument goes that the EV owner needs to be taxed differently in order to restore parity and fairness, otherwise there will be no money to repair the roads as EV’s make up a larger percentage of total vehicles on the road.
Some of the tax proposals are as follows Continue reading
I’ve had my LEAF 6 months now, it’s a great car and continues to provide a better driving experience at vastly reduced running costs. The car hasn’t come up to its first scheduled service yet, that’s due at 7,500 miles when the only item to be done at that service interval is rotate the tires.
Reliability
Reliability has been flawless. I anticipated Continue reading
I have become accustomed to driving the LEAF over the last 6 months and rarely concern myself with the range of the vehicle anymore. Range anxiety is something a new EV owner experiences until they become confident of how far the car can go on a single charge and where the public charging places are located.
However I experienced range anxiety by proxy (aka RAP) yesterday. Karen my wife took a trip to Portland TN. Continue reading
Tesla Model 3 