Nissan Leaf EV

[Toorbough ULL-Zeveigh]

they really should be giving the chargers away free,

ha ha, good one.

the hang up preventing the widespread adoption of EV's has never been technical.
the problem has always been the sheer simplicity of the system doesn't allow for a cheap way to implement a choke-point onto which subscription costs can be bridled & a monopoly based upon.
otherwise we could have easily been tooling around in electric cars for over the past century.
the mpu has now changed all that with closed source code being the pass key locking out the end user which is why the EV push is now on, more so than improvements in battery capacity.

[MitchJi]

Hi,

Interesting battery information here:
http://electric-vehicles-cars-bikes.blogspot.com/2009/11/nissan-long-range-battery-may-be-ready.html

Nissan Motor Co. is developing a lithium ion battery for electric vehicles that can store electricity at double the current capacity. Nissan aims to equip electric cars with the battery by 2015.

The new system is a lithium-ion battery using a lithium nickel manganese cobalt oxide cathode. Capacity is raised by improving the positive electrode, specifically, using nickel and cobalt, not only manganese. The new battery can store about twice as much electricity as batteries with positive electrodes made only from manganese. It is robust enough for practical use, able to withstand 1,000 or so charge cycles.

Nissan estimates that the battery will cost about the same as conventional lithium ion ones to produce, as it contains only a small amount of cobalt, a relatively expensive metal.

The new battery will be able to power an electric vehicle for 300 kilometers (186 miles) on a single charge, about twice the distance currently possible.

http://electric-vehicles-cars-bikes.blogspot.com/2010/05/nissan-say-leaf-ev-battery-pack-cost.html

Nissan say they have been working on EV batteries for the past 18 years and are currently working on a lithium nickel manganese cobalt oxide cathode based battery that they expect to be fitting to Leaf EVs by 2015. With double the energy density of current cells, they will give the Leaf 200 miles range on a single charge.

Nissan expect this range combined with the money savings on EV running costs will 'tip' the market the same way the European market for Diesel cars 'tipped' 15 years ago.

Nice gallery of pictures here:
http://green.autoblog.com/photos/nissan-leaf-battery-plant-groundbreaking/#3019888

Nice series of articles here:
http://www.allcarselectric.com/blog/1047669_2011-nissan-leaf-your-ultimate-reference-guide

Here's the list:

* My Nissan Leaf Won't Be Here Until...April?
* So, Can You Drive The 2011 Nissan Leaf Cross-Country?
* 2011 Nissan Leaf: Waterboarded For Your Safety
* 2011 Nissan Leaf Drive Review: A Real Car For Real People
* 2011 Nissan Leaf First Drive
* Can't Afford To Buy An EV? Rent A 2011 Nissan Leaf In January
* 2011 Nissan Leaf: Batteries. - All you need to know about the battery pack.
* 2011 Nissan Leaf Prototype Quick Drive Impressions
* 2011 Leaf EV: Timeline For Rollout, More About Hand-Raisers
* The 2011 Nissan Leaf is a Mac: The 2011 Chevy Volt is a PC
* 2011 Nissan Leaf Matches Volt: 8 Year, 100,000 Mile Warranty
* Video: 2011 Nissan Leaf EV Navigation System Demo
* Nissan Gives Test-Drives of 2011 Leaf Production Model, Feedback Positive, 80% charge in 30 minutes
* Nissan Leaf. We Order Ours, And Show You How
* What's Slicker, The Nissan Leaf iAd Or The Nissan Leaf?
* Got A Leaf And An Apple iPhone? There's An App For That
* Hertz Wants You To Rent A Leaf
* 2011 Nissan Leaf EV To Be Built in U.K> As Well As Japan, U.S.
* Nissan Tuning 2011 Leaf EV To Be Audible, Not Audacious
* Armstrong, Apple Ads Accelerate 2011 Nissan Leaf Marketing
* Nissan Leaf Audio Warnings Disappoints Advocates, Need For Sound Questioned
* 2011 Nissan Leaf Spied Testing on Arizona Roads
* 2011 Nissan Leaf Hits Japanese Sales Goals, 60% of Pre-orders From Baby Boomers
* Get a Tree Planted On Your Behalf Just For Liking The 2011 Nissan Leaf?
* Nissan Announce Leaf Pricing in E.U., Confirm Three More EVs
* 2011 Leaf Priced $40k in Japan, $33k for U.S. Buyers

[MitchJi]

Hi,

http://green.autoblog.com/2010/08/09/nations-first-public-quick-charge-station-opens-up-in-portland/

Okay, despite the argument that there may not be a need for public chargers, we can't help but be giddy to announce that the U.S. finally has its first quick-charge station. The installation is now complete at the parking garage of the World Trade Center building in downtown Portland, OR, and the charger is capable of boosting most electric vehicle batteries from zero to 80 percent charge in just 20 to 30 minutes.

The grand opening event was led by Oregon Governor Ted Kulongoski, who is seen in the video after the jump cautiously attaching the charging cable to the Nissan Leaf. As Engadget reports, use of the quick-charge station is free of charge, but entry into the public parking garage will set you back three dollars. (Here's why.)



PRESS RELEASE
Portland General Electric opens North America's first public-use quick-charge station for electric vehicles in collaboration with NEC Electric vehicles can charge up in 20 to 30 minutes

PORTLAND, Ore. - Portland General Electric (NYSE: POR), Oregon's largest utility, and NEC Corporation (NEC; TSE: 6701), a leading network, communications and information technology company, announced today they have opened North America's first public-use, quick-charge station for electric vehicles.

The station was awarded public-use certification by the City of Portland following the successful installation and testing of the station manufactured by Takasago Ltd., a subsidiary of NEC, at the PGE headquarters in the Two World Trade Center parking garage, 121 SW Salmon St, Portland, Ore. The Takasago Rapid Charging Station is specialized for recharging electric vehicles with lithium-ion batteries and requires only 20 to 30 minutes to recharge a battery to 80 percent of full strength.

PGE and NEC officially opened the quick-charge station today with Governor Ted Kulongoski, who charged up an all-electric Nissan LEAF, during a two-day LEAF test drive event at PGE. Portland and the state of Oregon have been designated as top-tier launch markets for the Nissan LEAF when it goes on sale in the United States in December.

"Quick-charging stations are an exciting advancement in our effort to bring electric vehicles to Oregon," said Gov. Kulongoski. "By making charging convenient and available for public use, we are telling car manufacturers that Oregon is ready for the next generation of electric vehicles - and we want our state to be a leader in introducing these cars to the rest of the country."

"Partnering with NEC to bring the nation's first publicly available, quick-charge station to Oregon further solidifies PGE's commitment to developing the infrastructure needed to support electric vehicles now coming to the U.S. market," said Jim Piro, president and CEO, PGE.

"With the addition of the Takasago Rapid Charging Station to the growing network of EV charging stations in Oregon, we are able to further our research on how this new technology will interact with our electrical system and support our EV-driving customers," Piro added.

"This project reflects NEC's ongoing commitment to the development of new infrastructure that utilizes renewable resources. As a supplier of electric vehicle batteries, our introduction of the rapid electric vehicle charging station is a natural stage in the evolution of NEC's environmentally friendly solutions," said Hideki Niwaya, general manager, Public Utility Solutions Division, NEC. "Looking forward, NEC aims to continue developing mission critical solutions, including information and communications technologies (ICT) services and smart grids that represent the latest in technological innovation."

The Takasago Rapid Charging Station complies with the "CHAdeMO," a global EV charging standard developed in Japan. The station provides power output of 50kw (50-500V, 0-125A) and supports power input of AC200V+-30V.

PGE's alliance partner, Portland State University, and the Oregon Transportation Research and Education Consortium will document the acquisition, installation, certification, and testing procedures for this quick charger and release its findings in September

[MitchJi]

Hi,

http://green.autoblog.com/2010/08/14/report-nissan-to-allocate-2-000-leafs-to-uk-in-2011-half-heade/

Report: Nissan to allocate 2,000 Leafs to UK in 2011, half headed to fleets
Aug 14th 2010 at 5:52PM

Last weekend, Nissan revealed some info regarding the Leaf's availability and its allocation in the UK and managed to do so with little fanfare and virtually no media coverage. It's almost as if Nissan intended to slip this announcement by without us getting wind of some pertinent info that could make electric vehicle-loving residents of the UK a bit angered. What's the news? Half of the Leafs headed to the UK in 2011 will be reserved for fleet use. The company also suggested that its allocation of 1,000 Leafs have already been claimed by fleet customers. A Nissan spokesperson said:

We probably could have sold all of next year's allocation to fleet customers, but we wanted to make sure retail customers who wanted to buy the Leaf were able to, so we decided to split equally between fleet and retail.

Combining the statements above gives us the impression that Nissan intends to ship just 2,000 Leafs to the UK in 2011, with half headed to the retail market. Now, that will likely upset those early adopters who may find it hard to get their hands on a Leaf for a long while, but Nissan could have allocated all of the 2011 model run to fleets, thus making it impossible to get one in the UK until 2012. Thankfully, Nissan did not choose to follow that route.

[AndyH]

LINK

50MB Quicktime Download

[Coen]

Awesome ad!

Thats what i call marketing!

Makes you wonder how much the way we are moving is going to change in a couple decades..

[veloman]

We're still going to have incredibly dirty polluting work/commercial trucks blasting all over our roads for the next 20 years, minimum. Usually it's the contractor type vehicles, or really any diesel truck. At least with a full semi or dump truck they truly use all that power. I can't believe many of these things are actually allowed on the road, with all the crap they spew out. Makes a crossover SUV look like a treehugger.

We really need to a replacement for diesel trucks. I have no idea how that's going to happen unless they can cut battery cost by 80%, and increase capacity by 300-400%.

[Ykick]

We really need to a replacement for diesel trucks. I have no idea how that's going to happen unless they can cut battery cost by 80%, and increase capacity by 300-400%.

CNG (compressed natural gas) can help the transition IMO. Use it for large commercial vehicles and you can buy a little more time. This country needs to rely more on bulk transport trains instead of OTR (over the road) trucking. Hire many more drivers using alternative energy trucks for deliveries from numerous strategically located rail hubs. Trouble is, that's a huge shift of infrastructure and people will never be willing to pay for it.

[torker]

Awesome ad!

Thats what i call marketing!

Makes you wonder how much the way we are moving is going to change in a couple decades..

I know. Gotta show that to my wife when she gets home. I know i am not supposed to get a kick out of making girls cry

I just caught up on this whole thread and although I am disapointed that it won't be the 10,000 dollar ride I was hoping for it is a BIG step in the right direction. 100 mi. range would suit me fine. Now to get it below $20,000 so it would come in under 15k with rebate and then it is what I would pay to replace one car now.

I am really ready to see what comes down the pike in the next couple years I am really tired of doing oil changes

[Toshi]

116 miles of range from a Leaf with A/C on, albeit driven more conservatively than most reasonable people would expect (ie, 5 under, 10 under at times): http://www.plugincars.com/nissan-leaf-116-mile-range.html

More interesting to me than the range number is that they used 22.76 kWh from a nominally 24 kWh battery and that their rate of energy consumption was under 200 Wh/mile. What's 200 Wh/mile in context? Well, I and most people use 300 Wh/mile as a typical ballpark estimate for car energy needs, and my old electric bike would hum along with 25-35 Wh/mile depending on how I rode it.

----------------------------

http://green.autoblog.com/2010/10/22/2011-nissan-leaf-review-drive-second/

More tidbits:

- No rare earth metals in the car, which means not subject to delays secondary to China's reticence to provide these materials to the rest of the world
- "Lots of recycled materials" used in the car's production: seat material from recycled plastic bottles, for instance
- 99% recyclable by weight in Japan
- 94-95% recyclable by weight in the US, which lags behind Japan in ability to process recyclables
- 0-60 "around 7 seconds"
- Lots of info on the dashboard about energy consumption and range:

[AndyH]

Designing the Leaf video

http://www.nissan-global.com/EN/NISSANCHANNEL/social_contribution.html?bcpid=71366262001&bclid=618634630001&bctid=643429193001

There are quick views of the almost automatic battery assembly process, automated motor winding machinery in action, inverter assembly, etc. Not a safe video for 'robophobes'.

[x88x]

I hadn't actually been paying any attention to the Leaf, but after reading through all this it sounds awesome! If the next gen of batteries they're working on can decrease that 'fast-charge' time even more, I think it could really take off. The only problem I see with it now is people who can't charge their vehicles at home or work, so they would have to entirely rely on public chargers...and while 30 minutes is a huge leap forward for a production EV, if they have to spend 30 minutes wherever charging their vehicle every day or two or three, a most people aren't going to bite.

As for the range and driving style, I find it pretty believable when compared to the results that White Zombie is getting on their pack of lithiums. Granted, very different equipment (DC motor instead of AC, I don't think any A/C, etc) but normal 60mph highway driving it's getting around 190-195 Wh/mi. And that's on a performance dragster.

[sk8norcal]

[AndyH]

Three Leafs in the wild now - including the first to E-S member Gudy on 11 Dec. Keep going, Nissan!

http://www.endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=23544

[torker]

The leaf forum is up to 21 pages. Curious to watch and see range averaged over time. http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=27&t=1976&start=200
For those newcomers that may have missed it

[Toshi]

Some might be surprised to see it given the other vehicular thread that I started recently, but nevertheless I'm scheduled to test drive a Nissan Leaf this evening, after work.



Update: no drive for me. Tons of rain, not such a big deal except that my motorcycle decided to quit running while on the way to the site. Whoops.

[Ian]

Our organization got a leaf couple weeks ago, 3 yr lease. I have a few initial comments. it's really impressive. What has amazed me is its pulling power up steep hills, it doesn't miss a beat even with 4 people in the car. With the low center of gravity its really stable. It suits the kind of driving we do 90% of the time - 55mph roads, 20 to 50 mile trips. An important thing for us was supporting something that is a step in the right direction.

I'm not technical, it just works and does what it says, and you feel good driving one. It doesn't look that special, hardly anyone notices its an all electric. Maybe they planned it that way. Once you get back into an ice car, you realize what an out of date technology it is - a scam really.

So, the leaf is a real car, not some diy, all mod cons, refined, ultra smooth and quiet, bit like using an ipod versus a cassette tape player or turntable! Easy to drive - we have a 75 yr old lady driving it no problem. And she don't know anything about volts and amps, doesnt care, so just plug it in when you get back and wait for the beeping confirmation and don't set off unless you have a full 'tank'. You need a different mindset with the limited range. which route you're taking. And, what's your recharge time if you need it a few times a day like we do, with multiple drivers.

imo the more we support by getting one, then comes the next developments - power sources, charging stations, energy generation itself. If they do come up with the double range leaf in 2015, it would cover all our driving needs pretty much, we do need to get to Santa Rosa once every week or two and that's 60 or so hilly miles each way, so use the prius for that right now.

we are striving to get a solar array on the premises along with wind to charge the EV's from that, how cool to be able to charge the cars off grid!

Will post again in a month or two with more long-term observations plus anything interesting including problems that comes up. It's going to be heavily used. Until then, hope you get to drive one and best wishes to all!

[dnmun]

don't waste money on solar arrays until the charging network is built out. it is so important to get across the idea that private people not guvment need to build the charging stations for future EV drivers to use.

if it is a guvment project, it will be too expensive and stupid and not human. when i built the neighborhood EV charging spot here at my house, i did not have to spend very much more than it cost me for the concrete driveway aporon which i had to repair anyway. maybe $40 for the doubled looped length of 12-2 w G cable under the concrete, about 15' of 10 gauge was free off CL that i used for the other circuit. $30 for the plugs and weatherproof boxes(4 X $7.50 each).

i just ran the 6 gauge cable through the wall in my front room out to the service shut off for the charging spots on the driveway while i was replacing the windows in the front room because i had to tear down all the plaster wall anyway to replace the windows.

my concrete job cost me about $2k total (woulda been about $18k if i had contracted it out instead of doing it myself) including the $700 i spent buying tools, so the $2.18/ft for the 6-2 cable for 18 feet was peanuts. but it was so sweet of the woman at Home Depot to leave an extra foot of cable on each side of my measurement when she cut it. i thanked her, so 20' total from my service panel to the shut off panel for the charging plugs.

from that panel, i can get 50A at 240 into either of two circuits, 8 outlets on 4 bollards at the sides of the driveway apron. space for 6 EVs in my driveway and the parking strip section out to 5' into the street so the cars would be filling my driveway and one on the curb on each side of the apron but parked normally parallel to the curb. so a total of 8 EVs could be parked waiting for charging or on charger. around the clock. if everyone will do that then there will be places for people to charge, it won't have to be so hard. guvment has to get outa the way let people do it, not red flag them for building guerilla charging spots on the public right of way.

almost exactly one year to the day i poured my driveway apron last may 11th, the city did the neighborhood sidewalk warnings, making people repair their sidewalk. so when the guy saw my driveway and how it was so rad, he red flagged me, put the STOP WORK sign on a stake right next to my sidewalk. he staked it with the red flag april 29th, but did not tell me to cal him or remove it, just stop work, i have not heard from them since so i am hoping they won't bother me again since it has been this long already, or i will have to start spending money on lawyers and politicians.

[Toshi]

Nissan Leaf insights: http://news.consumerreports.org/cars/20 ... ights.html

(I'd have my own from test driving it except that I was stymied twice in the past month when trying to get to scheduled test drives. Gah.)

- 4k sold in US, 10k globally so far
- Mean income $140k and "well-educated" to boot
- 80% coming out of a Toyota Prius
- 30% using it as their one and only car (talk about true range anxiety!)
- Few cross-shopping it with the Chevy Volt

[Toshi]

This thread hasn't been bumped in a while... I'm going to take the opportunity to bring it to the top, as I may well be buying (or, more likely, leasing) a Leaf in a mere 15 months or so. The stars have aligned just so in order to bring this possibility about.

First off, my wife and I finally got to ogle (and ride in!) a Leaf firsthand this past weekend, at the NY auto show. As she has a Prius and I had previously test-driven a Chevy Volt, I knew that the car would be quiet and torquey at low speeds, yet I still emerged very impressed. Everything just felt right about the car, including the interior. (In contrast, the Mitsubishi iMiEV was laughable--tiny and really cheap-feeling. No desire whatsoever for that one from me.) Most significantly, my wife hopped out of the Leaf after our test-ride and said she wanted one.

The next big factor is that she and I will be moving back to Seattle from Long Island in June 2013. This is a huge deal for several reasons. First off is that we'll be able to afford a new car out in Seattle as we'll be living with my mother in law (in a house where we could install a charger). Second is that Seattle electricity is clean and cheap, with a $12/month option to completely offset one's electricity use with renewable energy credits. Third, The EV Project is giving away chargers to Seattle metro area residents with BEVs. Finally, the public charging infrastructure in Seattle is coming along nicely, with 74 charging stations in the metro area as of now, and surely more to come by next summer.

Put all of this together and there's a pretty decent chance that we'll have a blue Leaf SL, with the optional-for-2013 6.6 kW charger and leather seats, in my (mother-in-law's house's) driveway come July 2013...



For the truly curious, I explain each of the above thoughts in much more excruciating detail here, including citing sources for each of the claims (e.g., number of charging stations): https://plus.google.com/u/0/11547941490 ... e8ECsXcX2z . For those with elephant memories who recall my "3 ton SUV" thread and are wondering how to reconcile its arguments with these, fear not: If I ever decide I truly want a big SUV I'm still getting that Lexus tank. Seattle's not a place where I'd require one, though. I'll be commuting to work on my electric bike (refitted with a Nine Continents hub motor last year) or on the bus, and we'll still keep my wife's current Prius around so that I can use it to jet out to trailheads to go mountain biking or up to the ski mountains when shod with snow tires.

[dnmun]

i think you can drive the entire I5 now too on the fast chargers. i am 30 blocks off I5 here in portland and you can charge here for free on your way south. you can walk around the neighborhood and log on to my wifi or go to the sushi take out up the street.

[Toshi]

i think you can drive the entire I5 now too on the fast chargers. i am 30 blocks off I5 here in portland and you can charge here for free on your way south. you can walk around the neighborhood and log on to my wifi or go to the sushi take out up the street.

While it's good to know that it's possible, I still think we'd take the Prius if we were going down to Portland. Certainly we'd use the Leaf for all of our around-town duties. It'd even work if we have a kid or two in the near future, as planned/hoped for:

http://carseatblog.com/8364/the-nissan- ... ar-future/

[dnmun]

P Town> they are changing the name from 'portland town' to prius town''. seems about 10% already. 4 on my short block.

i am a real believer in the plug in hybrid transition phase which should last a long time. only seen one plug in prius on the highway though.

[Toshi]

P Town> they are changing the name from 'portland town' to prius town''. seems about 10% already. 4 on my short block.

i am a real believer in the plug in hybrid transition phase which should last a long time. only seen one plug in prius on the highway though.

Berkeley has the highest concentration of Prii per capita, iirc, but Portland and the #stuffwhitepeoplelike neighborhoods in Seattle are surely up there in the hunt, too.

I tried to get my wife interested in PHEVs before she decided she wanted to make the leaf, er, leap outright, but she felt the 20 km charge-depleting range of the Prius PHEV was too small to be worth the while, and the Volt is a packaging nightmare inside, imo. We like airy, open feeling cars, and the Volt is exactly the opposite of that. (So, too, is the iMiEV: dark and cramped.)

The Leaf, on the other hand, is cleaner, lighter (in interior color palette, not poundage), and has much more glass area. Win. Focus Electric would be a close second were it not for the modern-Ford-design center stack clutter.

[o00scorpion00o]

It's a pity the leaf costs 10,000 Dollars more here, it would sell far better and we need e.v's with 9.00 usd per u.s gallon!

We can't even lease it, and it would cost far more if we could!

The Renault Zoe will cost 16,500 Euro's and you rent the battery. The charger is 44kw capable and every charger is capable of 22kw here and being upgraded to 44 kw as we speak and will charge in 30 mins.

It has a very efficient heater too. I think 1 kw for 3 kw heating.

The ac fast chargers are much cheaper than the Leaf DC chargers!

I've no idea why Renault are not going to sell E.V's in North America ?