Free Public Chargers: Leaf Abuse

Fewer have seen this than have seen the Lexus anti-plug commercials or heard the Toyota execs put down plugins.

 

interestingly, i've never seen one of those, were they regional?

 

The cars that are there for a few hours occasionally don't really bother me - it's the ones that are there all day, every day. Worse are the people who park their huge SUVs in the EV spots because they tend to be close to entrances.

 

They should do what some Wincos do. Put clean air vehicle parking spots at the end of the parking lot. No one will fight for them. They also need to make more EV charging spots than just a few. Of course people will fight for them. If they want to discourage free loaders, they should make charging validation from local shops. Free charging if you buy from the surrounding shops.

 

Those are the ones that get towed away and get a big sticker on their window. There's a good thread on MNL (MyNissanLeaf) about "ICEd" spots with lots of pictures. Actually there are quite a few Prius offenders. Not PiP, just regular Prius. I guess they think nobody will notice they're missing the EV cover flap?!

 

I'm thinking that PriusChat is a pretty PHEV/BEV friendly environment.

I'd have a BEV in my driveway right now if I were in a different economic depth band, because 200 (real world) miles represents a useful range for me.
My next car probably WILL be a PHEV, because their costs have dropped from the 40's to the 30's.....and are dropping further still.
You can buy a Pip for under 30K now and the V2 will debut at 33 and change, and this will push leftover V1s down into the 20's.

Good Stuff.

People squabbling over free charging stations doesn't bother nearly as much as the idiots who think that it OK to plug their cars into any unprotected electrical outlet that they find and steal electricity.

EVs have a pretty bright future (pun almost unintended) but there are always going to be some pretty unfortunate ambassadors in this community who will struggle furiously to perpetuate some very unfortunate stereotypes.

 

I seem to recall someone on the west coast mentioning they saw it on TV, although I'm not sure about that. I saw the ad served up at a couple of web ads and prior to YouTube videos.
After Lexus said they apologized and took them down, people reported seeing them in print.

Lexus' Anti-EV Ad Lives On

 

True, but how common is that? I remember the one story of the Leaf guy stealing school power and getting arrested for it. Almost everyone I see on the forums asks before use of any outlet and most are smart enough to check their own wiring before plugging in too.

I'm sure it's a problem, it just seems like a really small problem again.

 

Concur.

 

Lack of any sort of unified message from Volt supporters led to a number of problems with its rollout. That raised a warning flag, which Toyota acknowledged by delaying their plans. Why would we expect any type of market expansion for any of the variety of plug-in vehicles to succeed when face with such unity failure? No agreement on usage of public chargers sends a bad message. And that's just one of many problems. Thankfully, most consumers have no clue what's happened so far, nor do they care. But having faced some of the hate firsthand and struggling to get early-adopters of the past to move on makes the need quite clear. Progress will not be possible until we all finally work toward a single goal. Seeing that, they'll get the message.

Fortunately, I'm part of a local plug-in owners group who doesn't hold resentment or place blame for mixed messages of the past. They all have the same purpose... to get vehicles electrified. So, even though I drive a car with the smallest plug-in battery-pack and a gas engine, I'm still using electricity. I'm also providing an endorsement for lithium. So, they're happy to share a charger. They see how starting small will contribute to a much larger impact. They realize how important it is to reach a wide audience quickly too. Quarreling amongst ourselves will not accomplish that.

I've been told my encounters with "unfriendly" supporters have only involved a few individuals who are best to just ignore. Those of us with lots of online experience know all too well that isn't an effective solution. Choosing to disregard a problem doesn't make it go away. In fact, that's a terrible solution... since it can often backfire.

We need to settle differences here & now. We are the people of influence. We can take agreed upon suggestions and actually make them happen. We're the vehicles of change, not what we drive.

 

Your ability to warp reality to fit your own viewpoint is amazing John.

We can make the future happen and lead by example. Sitting and waiting, such as what you support Toyota doing, doesnt move us forward, it delays the future.
Yes, there are some stumbles, and mistakes as we move forward. And yes, companies that follow can learn from the mistakes made by the pioneers.

The Volt appeals to a wider audience than the Prius (obviously, not larger yet, but wider).
You criticise that as a lack of unified response, I applaud it for bringing new people into efficient driving.

And yes, we are the elements of change. But what we drive allows us to show that change. Without people getting a chance to see the cars, talk to owners of the cars, and drive the cars, that message doesn't get out.

The group you talk about is a great group of advocates.
And the group isnt so blunt as posts are here, but there has been plenty of comments and discussions about Toyota's timid move into EVs, failing to offer the RAV4, and the lackluster PiP rollout.

As for us being the vehicles of change, not what we drive...
You do realize our slogan IS "We Drive Change"

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Seriously? Disregarding heavy dependency on tax-credits & incentives and focusing on the technology alone is not realistic. The current generation offerings do not fulfill mainstream need. Period.

There is a great deal of potential, which is why we need to resolve differences prior to that being reached. The next-generation rollouts will take us a big step forward and they aren't too far away. Keep looking backward if you want. The rest of us are working toward resolving issues in the meantime.

 

I don't get you John, you and Toyota are the ones looking backwards. Too timid to take the next step.
We are charging forward, just as Toyota once did with the Prius.
Toyota stopped moving forward, so in order to continue moving forward, some of us found a new company that was.

Mainstream need is important. Toyota is making noise about making the Prius more attractive to a larger part of the market. This is excellent. However, that is no reason to stop moving forward with plugins. Toyota is the biggest automaker in the world, surely they are capable of growing market share of the Prius while pushing the envelope in other areas?

 

So, let's get this straight. Your stance is based on the belief that Toyota won't offer another plug-in, ever. Really?

Wow! It's hard to believe a simple matter of waiting until the next product-cycle could get so blown out of proportion.

 

By the sounds of it, the next Prius plug in will have about the same EV performance as the Energis and upcoming Sonata PHV. There is no announced plans for an BEV. Except in China, where Toyota is being forced to offer one. Which gives the appearance that Toyota is fine in returning to fast follower in the realms of plug ins.

 

agreed, it shouldn't take them long to catch up, if it looks like it's worth pursuing. think of the billions saved in r&d and manufacturing and marketing.

 

Toyota won't lose the gas, that's the problem. They're betting on FCV's and you don't have to build as many to get the credits. A 40mile a day car fits most people's needs almost all of the time. The whole "300mi" thing is just stupidity. A 100mi car fits almost everyone's needs again almost all of the time. How much expense is needed to suck out that last few percent of people who don't understand how to do it?

The Leaf is not the best car, but I can go almost everywhere I need to go fully on electric and zip around. If the Leaf had a 30KW pack (like what it is rumoured to have for next gen) then it would make almost no difference to me. If it had a 85KW pack, again it would make almost no difference. The Leaf is for driving around town, your town. Not for driving cross country, and an EV will never be the best way to do that. If you are a trucker that drives across the country every day, then an EV is not for you. If you drive 40miles a day and then once in the summer drive across country every year or two, then an EV is totally for you and an EV like the Leaf would fit the bill. Rent a car for the big trips with all that money you save on gas and maintenance.

 

Where is there evidence that Toyota won't ever offer another plug-in vehicle?

I'm astonished at this point how some can make such wild claims of the product-line never diversifying.

Sadly, it doesn't surprised me though. The single-mindedness was had been a repeating theme over the years.

 

Musk has made a lot of right decisions. The decision to make Superchargers free was not one of them. At some point, Tesla will have to require some nominal charge for future supercharger use. Tesla is discovering many folks will do economically senseless stuff to maximize the use of "free" resources. Without requiring some payment, Tesla will have to either expand the Supercharger ports available at some of the locations or risk lots of negative press about how Tesla is not keeping there promise of free supercharging to more folks than ports showing up for the free charging.

 

More rich people making asses of themselves.... It's my explanation for why the Tesla forums are sooooooo toxic. Those people are even worse than the people on the drift and stance fora.