Top Gear Pulls another stunt on the Nissan leaf!

[REdiculous]

I just read this....
TG's anti- electric bias is a bit stupid - Here's what they did:
They found a city (Lincoln) without public charging points
They invented a bizzarre journey to go through that town (a trip to the seaside - from guildford I don't think you'd head in that direction...)
They Half emptied the car's batteries before setting off.
They drove in circles for 10 miles once in lincoln because it wasn't running out on cue.
This does all seem a bit naughty for a program allegedly about motoring. Whilst I appreciate their humour and enthusiasm, I think this kind of misinformation is probably doing the environmental movement great harm.
Electric cars are great for commuting NOW - they don't need better batteries or any other technology for most UK journeys.

Public quick chargers aren't everywhere. (nearest to me is a 3hr drive at 70mph)
Bizarre journeys happen.
Half empty trips happen. (go somewhere, come home and then go somewhere else in one day)
People still get lost so driving in a circle for 10 miles is a good approximation.

For a show about motoring it sounds like they got it spot-on.

The bottom line for me; Hit the freeway at 75mph and you're gonna be out of juice about an hour later. If you didn't turn around at the half-hour mark then you're most likely gonna get stuck somewhere. :lol:

 

[Joseph C.]

I hope Tesla and Nissan take them for tens of millions each.

 

[bobc]

"The bottom line for me; Hit the freeway at 75mph and you're gonna be out of juice about an hour later. If you didn't turn around at the half-hour mark then you're most likely gonna get stuck somewhere."
you'd have to be a cretin of course.
We have a choice now. In 20 years we won't have. At least those who make the choice are trying to do something for their kids.
Professionally & privately I try not to waste energy. It's the least I can do.

 

[REdiculous]

you'd have to be a cretin of course.
We have a choice now. In 20 years we won't have. At least those who make the choice are trying to do something for their kids.

We have a choice now, ok, I choose not to buy an overpriced short-range electric vehicle because it doesn't meet my needs. :|

 

[Denomiester]

WAIT!!! STOP THE PRESSES!!!

Doesnt anyone remember from grade 7 science that internal combustion gasoline engines are only 20% efficient at converting the fuel into kinetic energy? the other 80% is wasted in mostly heat, plus fuel mixture imperfections and engine friction.

When the current from a battery goes to an electric motor, its efficiency can be in the 90's!!! Reason being is there aren't thousands of explosions happening a second, sending energy out the exhaust. Granted there is some heat generated from wiring resistance, but dont you think Nissan is using a wire gauge that keeps it to a bare minimum???

And i can tell someone is going to tell me to shutup, possibly telling me that "just compare the leaf to a Mercedes fortwo". I respond by saying the Mercedes is only a TWO seater and therefor incomparable to the Leaf.

Now, if you needed to travel long distances and the leaf just cant fulfill your commuting needs, what SHOULD be in every car/truck to be maximum efficiency (for I.C.E.) is as follows: They would have a Intercooled Turbo Diesel (with a modest compression ratio to eliminate the need of a Diesel Exhaust Fluid and heavy exhaust filters) with a Cyclone engine tapped in to the exhaust manifold.

If its new to you, The Cyclone engine normally burns atmospheric pressure fuel in a centrifuge, heating water in a heat exchanger, and injecting the steam (AT3200 PSI) into cylinders that are in an array similar to a Radial engine. They DONT use oil, the steam also lubricates the cylinders and any moving part. The water is de-ionized and is a "super critical fluid"

Hook up that Cyclone to the exhaust, and instead of wasting heat, it can be harvested to generate 10-20 HP with much of its torque available on startup!!!

Food for thought? Is your brain full yet?

 

[vanilla ice]

Would you buy a gas car with a 3 gallon tank?

If the mother fvcker would refill itself in my garage every night hell ya...

Top gear is as real as any reality show. Its all scripted for entertainment value. More shocking to me than the fact that they did this to the leaf is that people don't know these shows are scripted..

 

[REdiculous]

If the mother fvcker would refill itself in my garage every night hell ya...

At least if it was a gas car with bad range you could grab a gas can and refill it easy enough...or just carry an extra 5gal container and you'd be fine. :wink:

If I had a Leaf and I needed to take my kid up to his mom's for the weekend we'd get stuck about 30 miles from her house and even assuming we actually made it the full 90-some (freeway) miles, it would take at least 6 hours to charge before I could try to make it home. What would normally take 3 hours would take at least 9, and that's not counting the time spent waiting to get towed (twice!).

Our normal meeting spot is about 45 miles one-direction so the Leaf would make that, except I'd need to charge for a few hours before I could make it home. What normally takes an hour and a half would take more like 5 hours in the Leaf. The nearest fast-chargers are more than a couple hundred miles away so that's moot.


If it was me I'd get several electric motorcycles instead of a Leaf. More fun and cheaper.....less range that way (unless you add it all up), but you can load a motorcycle in a pickup so who cares if you get stuck somewhere.

 

[magudaman]

If the mother fvcker would refill itself in my garage every night hell ya...

At least if it was a gas car with bad range you could grab a gas can and refill it easy enough...or just carry an extra 5gal container and you'd be fine. :wink:

If I had a Leaf and I needed to take my kid up to his mom's for the weekend we'd get stuck about 30 miles from her house and even assuming we actually made it the full 90-some (freeway) miles, it would take at least 6 hours to charge before I could try to make it home. What would normally take 3 hours would take at least 9, and that's not counting the time spent waiting to get towed (twice!).

Our normal meeting spot is about 45 miles one-direction so the Leaf would make that, except I'd need to charge for a few hours before I could make it home. What normally takes an hour and a half would take more like 5 hours in the Leaf. The nearest fast-chargers are more than a couple hundred miles away so that's moot.


If it was me I'd get several electric motorcycles instead of a Leaf. More fun and cheaper.....less range that way (unless you add it all up), but you can load a motorcycle in a pickup so who cares if you get stuck somewhere.

You are not the target market for a car like this, you live out in the middle of no where, your commute is too far and you have no green tech or charging station near you. Not every consumer represents you and your driving habits. Seems like your really trying to push your opinion pretty darn hard. We get it, its not the car for you.

My commute is 8 miles one way. My grocery store is 1 mile away. My electronics store is 5 miles away. Almost everything I do and go to is at a maximum of about 60 miles total driving a day. Hell I have 58 public charging stations within 30 miles of my home, all able to charge the leaf with 240v (260 units within 100 miles). Many of them are at locations I would stop at for a while while I shop or go see a movie, allowing me to charge for free and top off.

The leaf is far from optimal but I think if the public embraces it and buys it up, that is great, it furthers a cleaner, more efficient future. To see it (like the tesla) falsely represented only fuels the misinformation about electric vehicles and their advantages and disadvantages. Personally I know Top Gear is a scripted fun show but I feel they have an agenda against electrics in every way.

I still think the GM Volt is the best option for Americans. Lets us do that "40 miles a day" commuting and everyday driving on all electric and you can still use gas for those road trips or "bizarre journeys".

 

[vanilla ice]

I could probably count the number of days per year when I use more than 3 gallons on my two hands. And on those days there would always be the "other car." For those with no "other car" there is the rental car..

I love ICE sports cars for sporting use just as much as the top gear guys do, but come on, commuting is not sporting. They don't have much to do with each other! If anything its WORSE being stuck in traffic in a performance vehicle because its that much more frustrating that you can't unleash the potential. Drive your leaf or whatever to work on the freeway. Save the roadster for the canyon blasts and those weekend jaunts up the coast. That would work out fine for me.

 

[Hillhater]

Would you buy a gas car with a 3 gallon tank?

If the mother fvcker would refill itself in my garage every night hell ya... ..

wasn't that the Honda Civic CNG ?..
Drive it around all day (200m range), then hook it up to the natural gas line in your garage overnight to recharge the CNG tank.. for a $1.5 refil !
I still believe that CNG concept was the best "compromise" for fuel costs, emmissions, technology availability, and public acceptance.
A combined CNG hibrid ( CNG fueled Volt ?) , would be a brilliant idea.
..but someone has the downs on CNG ?

 

[dnmun]

actually CNG is making an impact now in transport planning here. also the introduction LNG powered diesel engines for long haul trucks is finally rolling. 12% of the trucks that freightliner is building now are LNG. UPS has 25 trucks on order with the westport LNG/cummins motor/freightliner class 8 trucks for their route from california to ogden.

there are new CNG fill spots and LNG stations opening every day. i expect 25% of the transport fleet to be CNG within 10 years, and i doubt if it will be hybrid initially since CNG now is cheaper than power from the utilities.

 

[Hillhater]

We have a large fleet of public transport bus's operating on CNG in Sydney,.... however it is currently illegal for a private individual to own/operate a CNG powered domestic vehicle in Australia !!
As an aside,.. most of the ausie taxi fleet is fueled by LPG, which is also not uncommon on larger domestic family cars.
Most service stations have a bulk LPG refill bowser for cars.

 

[Toorbough ULL-Zeveigh]

Think about this; The Leaf's MSRP is $35,200. With the max federal tax incentive it's $27,700

think about this;
$24,000 for the latest optibike.

the leaf's a steal.

 

[magudaman]

We have a large fleet of public transport bus's operating on CNG in Sydney,.... however it is currently illegal for a private individual to own/operate a CNG powered domestic vehicle in Australia !!
As an aside,.. most of the ausie taxi fleet is fueled by LPG, which is also not uncommon on larger domestic family cars.
Most service stations have a bulk LPG refill bowser for cars.

Man why does Australia hate environmental progress? You guys have that 200w limit on electrics too?!?!!? And lots of the worlds most poisonous animals and bugs; good luck out running them on 200w

 

[heathyoung]

You aren't wrong...

Mind you, try finding an Aussie on here thats running 200W. People break the laws that they think are stupid (like speeding).

 

[REdiculous]

The "low fuel" light on my truck comes on when it can only make it 75 miles or so.....just sayin'.

 

[vanilla ice]

If our truck could only go 75 miles per tank, but would slowly refill itself when parked at home and at work.. if the retrofit isn't outrageously priced then sign me right up. That sounds like exactly the kind of use it gets. Even half that range would work out for 99% of situations. With a large safety margin if you assume work charging... I must have a more boring repetitive life than all those exciting adventure peeps out there that drive a hundred miles at the drop of a hat.

Anyway I'm curious what percentage of US households have only one car- I'm not saying I'd buy a leaf, all I'm saying is your arguments against it don't make any sense imo. The range doesn't bother me at all. I think they chose wisely there.. as the price tag is the real issue.

 

[Joseph C.]

[youtube]w0i0RXMvzMs[/youtube]

 

[CrazyAl]

We have a large fleet of public transport bus's operating on CNG in Sydney,.... however it is currently illegal for a private individual to own/operate a CNG powered domestic vehicle in Australia !!
As an aside,.. most of the ausie taxi fleet is fueled by LPG, which is also not uncommon on larger domestic family cars.
Most service stations have a bulk LPG refill bowser for cars.

Man why does Australia hate environmental progress? You guys have that 200w limit on electrics too?!?!!? And lots of the worlds most poisonous animals and bugs; good luck out running them on 200w

You can exceed 200W for bicycles - the catch is that it becomes classified as a motor vehicle and will have to comply with the appropriate Australian Design Rules (ADRs) and you will have to get a motorcycle rider's licence (depending on which state or territory in Australia you live in).
You will probably need to get an Engineers Report from a recognized RTA signatory (in NSW, not sure how it works in other states or territories in Australia) if it is does not come with a compliance plate.

The type of helmet you have to wear will then have to comply with AS1698 (I think).

 

[Spicerack]

A leaf would work for me. Apart from price. 40km's commute every day plus a bit for popping to the shops.

Still keep an ICE for longer journeys.

I'm considering an electric motorbike but maybe I should just sort my bike first! On that, mine is 200W as per the laws. It says "200W" in texta in the hub. I didn't put it on there, honest. I don't know of a single ebike here with only 200W max power.

As for Top Gear- well if anyone takes what they say seriously....

 

[miro13car]

that $24 000 OPTIBIKE stil has useless front fender - too short

 

[Spicerack]

But it does have a gold painted swoopt pattern on it.

 

[redorblack]

Would you buy a gas car with a 3 gallon tank?

If the mother fvcker would refill itself in my garage every night hell ya... ..

wasn't that the Honda Civic CNG ?..
Drive it around all day (200m range), then hook it up to the natural gas line in your garage overnight to recharge the CNG tank.. for a $1.5 refil !
I still believe that CNG concept was the best "compromise" for fuel costs, emmissions, technology availability, and public acceptance.
A combined CNG hibrid ( CNG fueled Volt ?) , would be a brilliant idea.
..but someone has the downs on CNG ?

The Honda GC (CNG) costs about $1.75 to travel 25 miles, not to refill if you attempt to hit 200 miles with it. The Mistubishi MiEV became a 'greener' car this year, is gets about 110mpge
There was a Honda hydrogen car leased to a woman in the US. The home filling station converted natural gas to hydrogen... cost something like $1.5 Million for the home filling station.

One solution has been done by a few... one of my fellow Tacoma Electric Vehicle Association members showed up Tuesday with his electic car that only has about 20-30 mile range doing a 45 mile round trip. He has fashioned a trailer with a gen set out of an old motorhome to charge while he drives or while it's parked. Being that he is using old military flooded cad batteries with a huge sag, it's actually got more torque up hills with the trailer gen set running.