So, what's under the Hood???

As shown below, the Leaf has the batteries hidden under the floor of the car, and in particular in two packs under the front and rear seats. Also shown is, what I'm guessing, the electric motor to run the car. Except that electric motors traditionally, don't need to be that big. So, I'm wondering what's under the hood?






We know that the front of the car will contain AT LEAST two charging ports, one for standard 110v A/C house current and another for 220v for faster charging. But Nissan is also part of a consortium that seems to be standardizing on a 480 volt / 50kW three-phase power system that can "quick charge" the car to 80% full in under 30 minutes -- enough time to get a burger at a rest-stop. So now it's looking as though the 110/220 volt connection will be "combined" and, instead of just plugging the car into an outlet anywhere, you'll now need a charge adapter with a special plug.



This could be a deal-killer for me, as I was hoping I could just drive around with a large electrical cable in the back and plug in anywhere when I reached my destination. Now it looks like I will need another piece of hardware. I'm going to try and get Nissan to provide some more info for me there.

Part of the whole charging scheme is communications between the car itself and the charging station -- not just so that the car can tell the charger when the battery is full, but, so that billing information can be carried along.

Imagine this: You pull up to a charging station that can be located anyplace (sorta like gas stations), plug in, and have a smoke while your car charges. However the charging station is fully automated, no attendant. But your car has passed on your credit card number to the charging station vendor, so you can be billed for the electricity.

So what's under the hood? DRM, computers, no privacy, and your car maybe giving out too much info that you don't want it to.

Careful Nissan, I'm not liking the way this is going. I still want to be able to drive to my brother's house, plug in there, and then be able to drive home without needing custom hardware everywhere I drive. If this thing can't be recharged with just an extension cord, it's going to be too much hassle to justify this solution.

Nissan Leaf Tour Dates for 2010

Upcoming Tour Dates for 2010:

Detroit
Jan 11-12, 2010

Knoxville TN
Jan 15, 2010

Chattanooga TN
Jan 16 2010

Washington DC
Jan 24th 2010
and
Jan 26-28 2010

Raleigh / Durham NC
Jan 29th 2010

Orlando FL
Jan 31-Feb 2 2010

Houston TX
Feb 5-6 2010

BOSTON
Feb 9th 2010

NEW YORK
Feb 11-13th 2010


for more info, see:
http://www.nissanusa.com/leaf-electric-car/tour.jsp#/tour

Why Electric Cars Won't Work in the USA

In short, because Americans have the crummiest driving habits of anyone I've ever seen.

We're a nation of terrible drivers, with the laxest laws that essentially permit just about anyone to get behine the wheel, and then we allow them to drive *forever* with very little re-testing or driver refreshing, or advanced techniques classes or anything.

So, an electric car will perform with a drastically more limited range than advertised. Think about it: How many Americans actually get the MPG rating that was on the sticker of their car? I do, but I take care to do it. Most people do not.

I see them all the time. People that race away from the light, only to slam on the brakes at the next light. People who hit their brakes at the slightest curve in the road, even when going uphill (they don't think that just letting off on the gas is enough).

And don't even get me started about weather. Two drops of rain and they all act like it's a blizzard. And you've got two types of drivers: the NASCAR wanna-bes and the grandmas, with no in-between. They are either racing past you at 100+, or going so slow you wonder if they died behind the wheel.

Either way, they drive wastefully, never getting the most out of their vehicle in terms of economy. How well do you think these people will faire with an electric car?

While I'm no fan of the Hybrid because it seems to be a no win (small gas engine and you have to lug around batteries too?), I have to admit that, when you consider how most people drive, it may actually be a better fit than a pure-electric.

LED Lights Mean More Electricity For Your Car

A newly developed 19-Year LED Bulb could mean a substantial cost savings for you, even while you're spending $0.12 per kWh to charge your Nissan Leaf.

Panasonic's new bulb, which screws into a standard socket, uses about 7.3 watts, but produces the light of a 60 watt bulb, lasts about 19 years, and uses LED technology, so it's "greener" than a compact florescent bulb (which uses mercury).

We'll see how this goes. So far, I haven't been impressed with LED lighting, I find it too dim, but, between the LED and CFL lights I have, I've definitely been saving cash on the electric bill, even if the house isn't as bright as it could be.

Hey, in the dim light, I can turn down the brightness on the iMac, which saves even more, so, by the time I'm sucking up the juice to charge the Leaf, I'm already ahead on the savings.

Let's do some math

Ok, math is hard, but how else are you going to figure out if this car is good for YOU?

Nissan sees the capability for dramatic user cost-savings versus a traditional internal-combustion equivalent.

Using my Jetta as a baseline...
I get about 26MPG in mixed driving (city+highway). I generally put in about 11 gallons a week after having driven about 286 miles (for an average of 40.85 miles per day).

11 gallons per week @ $2.90 per gallon == $31.9, or $4.55 per day to operate.
but, if gas goes up like it did last year...
11 gallons per week @ $3.90 per gallon == $42.9, or $6.12 per day to operate.

Charging the Leaf...
Let's go crazy, and say it takes a full 16 hours to charge at 110volts, 15A.
Anything that plugs into 110v shouldn't draw any more than 15 amps, so that's a safe bet.
16 hr charge on a standard 110V 15A circuit would only deliver about 26kWh
Dan Neil, accomplished car reviewer for the LA Times, reports the battery stories 24 kwh.
24kWh @ 0.13 per kWh == $3.12 per day to operate

So, using the low end of the gas scale == $4.50 per day * 365 days == $1642.50 per year.
And figuring electricity at the high-end of the scale (all my charging would be at night, when rates are typically lower) == $3.12 per day * 365 == $1138.80

$503.7 cheaper in the first year.

Unfortuantely, if the car itself is $10,000 more expensive that a normal small car, it would take almost 20 years for the savings to make a difference, so Nissan had better keep the price point low enough for it make a difference. Of course, here's where that government rebate of potentially $7500 could make a huge difference in the car saving me money before the first 5 years are up. Also consider, no oil changes or other service required.

So rather than trying to do math about MPG, which is like trying to compare apples to oranges, let's compare WHAT REALLY COUNTS -- dollars per mile. Because in the end, that's what's really important -- how much it will cost you to run this car.

On the plus side:
* Electricity is cheaper than gasoline (assuming that gas costs $2.50 or more a gallon)
* A fully electric car will not need oil changes
* Plug it in when you get home

On the negative side:
* Limited range
* Will take a long time to recharge
* Sooner or later, batteries will need to be replaced ($$$)

Why the Nissan Leaf is perfect for me

I guess until you understand a little about me, you won't understand why I'm so excited about this car. And why it's a perfect fit. First of all, I grew up reading Popular Science, where practically every other issue had an electric car on the cover in the 70's.

And when the gas crunch came in the mid-70's and everyone started dumping their Chevy Impalas for more gas effiencient imports (this is when the original Volkswagen Beetle really sold well). And later in the 80's even GM started to make smaller cars, but they got their asses handed to them by the Japanese with small, well-built, fuel-efficient cars.

I was always excited by the propect of an electric car, but they were always these odd-looking, boxy, small, pieces of garbage that didn't look like a regular car. And a lot of them were hamstrung by a 35mph speed limit and a 25 mile range.

Fortunately, battery technology and materials science has come a long way since the 70's. Now instead of lead-acid batteries, we have lithium-ion. And we can build lighter, stronger bodied cars with advanced composities.

So now here's the Leaf, what looks like a regular car (in that it looks like a Nissan Versa or a Honda Fit), and it has a useable range and top speed. You can take this on the highway. You can take this to work without looking weird. It should even allow me to get to my brother's place and back (barely).

I live in New Jersey, in a suburb that places me close enough to New York City to get there in about 45 minutes (I'm 10 miles away as the crow flies, but traffic being what it is...) Point is: I drive less than a 100 miles per day. I work in NJ (my job is about 20 miles from my house), I drive into NYC often to catch a movie with friends or other social activities, and I have relatives out on Long Island, about 50 miles from my house.

In short, about 90% of my day-to-day driving is under the 100 mile limit of the Leaf. And even in the case of visiting my brother, all I need to do is make sure I throw a long extension cord in the back, and charge the car up some while I'm attending my niece's birthday party. No problem.

The only time the Leaf wouldn't fit my lifestyle is when I'm taking a long trip to visit friends in Boston, or going to a far-off car show (I'm active in the "classic" Volkswagen scene). I have a Jetta already for things like that (and a VW Vanagon for hauling car parts). I also have various scooters and motorcycles.

I have my own house with a garage, and there's electricity in the garage, so charging a Leaf is as simple as plugging it in and going to sleep for the night while the car charges up, ready to go the next AM.

This is what Popular Science was talking about in the 70's. Why it took 40 years to happen however, is a mystery to me. Batteries driving an electric motor is something everyone who's ever owned a radio-controlled car can understand. And even before RC cars, there were wired-remote car toys that ran on batteries. This is something I can "hack", work with, find ways to charge on the go, fill up the back seat with batteries, have fun with, modify, and use every day because it's the car I wanted to have when I was kid.

And like I said, 90% of what I drive is under 100 miles per day. Now all Nissan has to do is actually make this a reality, by making it affordable and a car that actually lives up to it's claims.

Why No Solar Panels??

Ok, some people are probably asking if I'm crazy, after all solar panels don't really give a lot of bang for the buck. But it wouldn't add that much cost or weight to incorporate the roof of the Leaf with solar panels.

I mean, the car has regenerative braking to help recharge the batteries. And the car is being aimed square are people who commute less than 40 miles each way.

HELLO? Nissan? Most of those people who commute do so and then work 9 to 5, while their car SITS OUTSIDE in a parking lot. A bright, sunny, parking lot. While a solar panel making 45 watts might not be a whole lot, over the course of 8 hours that can add up to a few extra miles of charge for getting home.

Even Toyota has seen the light (sorta) by adding panels to the Prius that run a cooling system so, while your car sits out in the hot sun, baking, it's using some of the energy to try and cool the interior. Sweet.

I don't care if the car gets hot inside. I can roll down the windows. But I hate knowing that my car is sitting in the parking lot at work and not doing anything, when it could be charging itself.

I currently have a 20-mile commute, so my daily milage, (with a trip out to lunch, or the bank, or the post office, and maybe stop for groceries on the way home) is probably less than 50 miles per day. I own a garage with electricity in it.

Basically I'm the perfect market segment for this car. But I work 9am to 6pm. That's 9 hours (actually 9.5 if you count that I usually arrive early and leave late) that the car could be charging itself in daylight.

Nissan... PLEASE, PLEASE put some damn solar panels into the roof. Honestly, some black might make that car look a lot better.