Tesla December sales finally beat Nissan Leaf

i was surprised at how low the mitsu iMiEV sales were only 196 last year. i saw one a block from my house 2 weeks ago.

http://insideevs.com/december-2014-ev-sales-hit-record-high-us-almost-120000-sold-year/

Some dubious data there !
Tesla sales are only "estimates" , and at 3 times the November figure, are hard to believe ?

i believe it. i think the part of the EV market that does well is the glamor car like the Tesla which also sells because it gets the white flag so the hov lane.

i think cheap gas just shot the nissan plans to hell. the thing that i am watching is the number of EVs they have to produce to meet california law and how cheap they have to discount or lease them to make their total car fleet averages meet the guidelines.

i think the price of used hybrid cars is gonna be seriously impacted too. as you can see here, people worship fast and now gas is cheap again so they are buying the big pickups again too. there will be a flood of used fleet pickups into the auction yards too as the service companies shrink and sell off excess equipment and pickup fleets.

people finally woke up and sold Caterpillar. three months too late.

The Leaf sales are steady and growing,..based on firm sales data.
Tesla Dec sales are "estimates" and 50% more than any previous month (which was also a freak !)
Believe it if you want, but watch for the drop back over the next month or two once the real figures show up.

I got to go for a ride in a Leaf this past summer, real cool experience !!.. ( first one sold in my province if i understood correctly ) ... smooth ride, quiet... fun !

i read that the Leaf sales were off about 13% in december, and the introduction of the P85D dual motor was the reason for the sales spike in december.

for those considering the leaf because the fuel savings the price of gas may be making a difference already.

crude reached $45.73 early today and closed right above $46 and we have not seen crude prices like this for 6 years.

i think it will be the high end EV market that shows sales growth in the current gas price climate. but cadillac is not gettin the lovin.

dnmun said:

for those considering the leaf because the fuel savings the price of gas may be making a difference already.

Click to expand...

It would be pretty dumb for anyone considering a car purchase to think that these current gas prices are a long term trend .

As methods sees it....

LEAF FACTS:
* Averaging the numbers from all the different Leaf owners (who I just walked up on...) I can have one for $500 down and $150/mo (with luck, good timing, and a 3 year contract)
* A representative from Nissan stayed at our house and engaged us in a dialog about customer satisfaction leaving us with a feeling that Nissan was engaged.
* My friends own them - even salvaged / wrecked ones
* I feel like one is within the reach of my family.
* They are not as sexy as a Model S or Roadster

TESLA FACTS:
* Uh... they cost like $100,000.00 I think.
* I tried like mad to get into one... even went there and worked for months... asked like every person I worked with while there how I could get into a used one... Never even got a ride.
* Went to a dealership after I was no longer working there. Did not succeed in getting a test ride on the spot

Result:

Well... since my wife has been stranded at her mothers house for 3 months with no car... (dont ask how that happened... as it involves my Jeep being full of water... and mind boggling incompetence)... I have instructed her to buy a Leaf ASAP.

Because we can afford it
Because her credit is good and mine is shot
Because I did not really feel like anyone wanted to put me in a Tesla
Because leaf owners are cool
Because I can make the range anything I want it to be

I am waiting for her to lease the car and try to drive it home.
Its totally do-able.

Goes like this:

(RING) methods wife talking to her friend at Nissan: "Yo... set me up so I can lease a car in the OC.. then hopscotch up the grapevine dealership to dealership... eventually keeping the last car I drive"

Of course... being methods wife... she would be happy with a used one, returned one, scratched on, dinged up one, low range one, smoker-owned one, pink one, crashed one, or whatever is stinking up the lot.

Different Scenario:

(RING) methods calling people he knows from Tesla: "Yo - hook it up so that my wife can drive a Model S from her moms house by Disneyland up to my house in Santa Cruz. In return... I will do a quick and dirty write-up of the car in a favorable light"

Eventual Outcome: methods writes a favorable review of whatever car he first gets his hands on.
I mean... the only EV's I have even ridden in have been those that I build myself.

{sigh}
Methods starts drinking moon-shine in the evening, selling his tools, and conforming to being "just the same as everyone else".
Do this long enough... and I wont even want an EV anymore.
Speaking of that... how the hell do you guys drink like you do? wtf? I drank last night and all day I felt like someone was pissing in my oatmeal. What a shit heavy bio-load this substance has. I must not be doing it right.

<Target>
Money-grubbers get the frock out of the way and let the revolution happen please.

Immediate: I get a job that pays enough to afford the lease on a Leaf
Short Term: Instead of spending my money on hookers and booze I start modifying my Leaf
Long Term: Due to my actions... in synchronicity with the actions of others like me... Nissan is adopted as the "modders car" and forever benefits from the love and admiration of a technical following.

Like Honda.
That name means quality to me. It is the very definition of quality. It is how I MEASURE quality.
WHY?
Well... because I had one... and because I could get affordable aftermarket parts for it... and because the ECU was mod friendly... and because it responded well to upgrades... and ... it just happend that way.

I thought it would be that way with Tesla but while my family and I wait for an affordable car years are getting punched out.

LEAF

Now... someone please direct this half-intoxicated man to the LEAF forums so I can start salivating over modifications.
(I am sure there are many... send me to the good forum)

Or do we want to get into that here?

-methods

Leafs really are the modder's car. No matter what you do to it, it's gonna look better than how it looked rolling out of the factory. I keed, I keed. I'm only in this thread 'cause I'm one of the fifteen thousand people Linkedin slurped from your Google contact list, methods.

I remember you.

As far as aesthetics go... they are a strange thing. I was once in a "car crew" where one of our members had a modded WRX Wagon. Now... most people would never think of a station wagon as being sporty. Right?

Well... you can make a sick ride out of a WRX Wagon.
I suspect the same is true for the Leaf.
K - where do we start?

Wheels and tires make a big difference. Economy is not always #1
Larger diameter wheels
Lower profile tires
Much, much wider tires

Then we have to dump it to the ground. I am talking like... Scrrrraaaaaapppppeeeee every time someone throws a ciggy-butt out the window.

We dont tint the windows... (because thats only for ugly people)

We do rub off all the little fussy stuff like bump guards and trim and clutter.

Try it in Flat Primer Black

K
Now we are getting close. What it really needs is to make an IMPACT.
Not... an impact with a tree (which I have already done thanks)
I am talking about a mental impact.

Picture this: Large Intersection... like one that opens onto the freeway with a long straightaway.

Leaf... explodes away from the pack with fierce acceleration and just the right amount of sideways.

Yep
Thats how you change the way people see them. Wait and see... sexy they can be.

-methods

P.S. May have to saws-all the fenders a bit... hope thats OK ... right :lol:

How about a custom paint job with lightning bolts across the front quarter panels, instead of flames?

Nope
Those never work out as well as planned.

I am serious... I am going to "pimp my ride" with a Leaf and zero budget.


-methods

Wheels and tires make a big difference. Economy is not always #1
Larger diameter wheels
Lower profile tires
Much, much wider ...

Click to expand...

Nahh !..that's really old red nek rapper style....and expensive !
You need something more original. 8)

methods said:

Nope
Those never work out as well as planned.

I am serious... I am going to "pimp my ride" with a Leaf and zero budget.


-methods

Click to expand...

Aesthetically styling a car is just broadcasting an expression of personal insecurity. How a thing looks is inherently subjective to the nature of it's superficiality. Making it do something better is for yourself.

Arlo's motor controller and a 2015 LEAF (because the 2015+ LEAF's have low impedance cells) would make for a staggeringly potent LEAF build.