Comment by Paul Richards

My good Friend Paul Richards sent me this comment, I thought I might post it since I enjoyed it so much:

I have a love hate thing with cars all my life. Tenderly washing it, cursing it in smoggy traffic jams, loving the thick treads still on my tires, feeling like a happy truck owner, lamenting its mere four cylinders, its age and bumps and scratches and the rust on the rack. But compared to some, I am a real slacker when it comes to car pride. 

All around us, it is way over the top, regardless of borders, languages, ethnicity, or culture. And yes, it leaves me somberly thoughtful to know that the car culture is so deeply rooted in our ecologically destructive society. But what are you gonna do?

You have to get around. So why not do it with some style, within limits, of course. Funny how car manufacturers now offer cars that are modelled on the old souped up hot rods that guys used to make...

I was thinking about your comment on how the engine looks. It is a hallmark of our times, that technology is shaped by marketing. This goes way back to the 19th century and before. I once read about how, in the 1890s, International Harvesters put in a whole new technology in one of their Chicago factories just to get rid of a union of skilled machinists. The technology did not work well and within ten years it had to be replaced and the skilled guys came back, without the union...

The influence of management (capitalistic management) on technology is really deep. It should not surprise us. The real surprise is that we all still know that there is a technology that could exist that is not bent to the will of greed. Hummm.

ELECTRIC Bragging Rights

People have been noticing our LEAF when we drive by. On occasion, I've been asked what kind of car it is. I think some people realize it is different but don't know what makes it different, or that it is all electric, not hybrid.

Soon after getting the car I thought I might get some chrome letters and customize the rear badge situation. See for yourself. It is quite simple - the car has a "LEAF" on the left and a smaller "Zero Emission" badge on the right.

Click on any picture for a larger view.

At first I thought I'd do something clever like replace the badge on the right with "24kWh Li-ion" or "Lithium-ion" to signify the battery power the LEAF uses. A subtle hint that it is an electric car.

Still it wouldn't be clear to the average person that the car is electric. I decided I would remove the ZeroE badge and replace it with "ELECTRIC." I did a google search and found that someone had already beat me to it. In the "My Nissan Leaf" forum there was a thread on the subject and a link to an eBay listing.

http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=37&t=3310

Here's the car after I removed the ZeroE badge. I followed the instructions in the forum and removed the badge with thread. The glue left on the car was easily cleaned-off.

Now it looked like many cars you see on the road that only have one badge. Mind you, at this point I'm staring at the rear of every car I see. I'm figuring out what I like and dislike about the different badging styles I see. What are the trends and designs used by different car manufacturers.

Does it seem like I have a lot of time on my hands? You're probably thinking "...who the fuck cares." How about all the people in the above forum that also modified their Leaf. I'm not the only frivolous car owner that ever lived. Americans like customizing their rides. I'm including all Americans - North, Central and South Americans for all you geographically-challenged people. (But that's another blog: Mexicans Are Also Americans) Where was I?

I installed the "ELECTRIC" letters I ordered from eBay. Not too difficult, but something was missing - it didn't look right to me.

I kept staring at car-rears and then it hit me. I decided to see if there was enough glue left on the ZeroE badge to apply it below the "ELECTRIC" left justified.

Maybe I do have too much time on my hands, but I do believe I have bragging rights. Not everyone can say they have an all electric vehicle.

Trickle or Phil it? Part III

Why pay over $2000 for an EVSE? I don't know how many of you have heard, but Phil is now offering a Revision 2 to the trickle-charger that came with the leaf. I wrote about it in Part II of "Trickle or Phil It". Again, you should go to his website and read all about it.


http://evseupgrade.com/


I am so happy because I just got it back Wednesday. As stated in Part II, this latest upgrade will allow the charger to charge with common household 120v at 12 amps or 240v at 16 amps. The unit will auto-detect the voltage and supply the Leaf's internal charger accordingly.  There is a very informative thread about the upgrade on the "My Nissan Leaf Forum" here:


http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=26&t=3981


I guess I won't be spending $2500 on an AeroVironment EVSE after all... Ha!


Phil, I don't know you, but I love you...

Why Does the Leaf's Engine Look So Familiar?

Have you looked inside the engine compartment of the Nissan Leaf? My good friend Paul Richards asked me, among other things, to show everyone what the engine looks like.  I have a theory that some marketing guru in some ivory tower somewhere has postulated that the American consumer doesn't like change.

Click the image to enlarge

The brilliant minds at Nissan who developed the Leaf must have heard. Look inside the engine compartment and you will find a familiar sight. It looks like a fucking internal combustion engine - with overhead cam and everything.


From a design perspective they could have gone in any direction. The Nissan designers could have chosen to make the electric motor and controller look like something new, never before seen. Instead it looks like your typical front wheel drive piston pounding gas consuming Japanese four cylinder car. Who did they think would buy these cars?

An E Source study http://www.esource.com/esource/getpub/public/pdf/press_releases/ES-PR-EVData-4-11.pdf claims that younger consumers and those who describe themselves as liberals are more inclined to purchase an electric car over people classified as conservative. I could have told you that.

Why wouldn't conservatives buy electric cars? Is it because they don't care about the environment? What's the point of trying to save the planet when it's all going to end in the apocalypse anyway? I wonder if that marketing guru sitting in his ivory tower ever gave any thought to the apocalypse?

I don't know if it's true that most conservatives are Christians or if their belief in the second coming of Christ is the reason for being anti-environmentalist.

I read somewhere that religion is in decline all over the world. Faith Communities Today (FACT) claims the number of religious people in the United States is in steady decline. If it's true maybe Nissan will sell more Leafs.

Still I wonder who would be scared if they lifted the hood of their brand new electric car and couldn't recognize what was inside?

Trickle or Phil it? Part II

It took very little time to get the Revision 1 upgrade back from "EVSE Upgrade.com." I shipped the trickle charger out on a Monday and had it back two days later on Wednesday. Wow, I was expecting to get it by Thursday. UPS ground from SF to Berkeley gets there the next day. The upgrade gets done and shipped that same day, then one more day for me to receive it.


When you get your Nissan Leaf you get a trickle charger that will charge your car with common household 115v at a maximum 12 amps. It takes about 20 hours to charge from a fully depleted battery. The Revision 1 upgrade changes all that, it allows you to use your trickle charger as a 220v 12 amp EVSE. This will cut your charging time more than half.

Yesterday, after two weeks with my upgraded charger, I happened to check EVSE Upgrade.com and noticed that the Revision 2 was now available. As I understand it, the Nissan Leaf can draw up to 16 amps at 220v. The Revision 2 upgrade would up the amperage from 12 amps to 16 amps.


http://evseupgrade.com/styled/ 


The Revision 2 upgrade allows the Leafs charger to draw the highest amperage possible.  Your trickle charger can now replace the $2500 EVSE  from AeroVironment for a mere $287 plus shipping. 


Here's the cool thing about the upgrade from EVSE Upgrade.com, the unit will auto detect the voltage and adjust automatically. You don't lose the ability to trickle charge on 115v at 12 amps. 


I've talked to other Nissan Leaf owners and they are happy trickle charging at 115v. They don't usually deplete the battery and average less than 10 hours to fully charge their vehicles. This means if they plug in their car as late as 10pm on a weekday it will have a full charge by 8am.  


I want to have both. The ability to trickle charge if I'm out and about and don't have access to 220v and the means to fully charge in three to four hours from an average day of driving. Guess where my trickle charger is at - right this minute? It should be in Phil's hands about now, I shipped it yesterday. If I read the website right I should have it home Tuesday with the new Revision 2 upgrade. 


Oh yeah, it's going to cost me $48 plus shipping. Thank you Phil!