Prius EV - who wouldn't like that?

All the cheap oil has already been extracted. It is more expensive to extract oil today than it used to be. And don't confuse short-term gasoline stocks at the refinery for the amount of oil coming out of the ground and the cost to extract it vs the amount being consumed world-wide. Make no mistake: there is a supply-demand squeeze, and it's only going to get worse. Oil is a finite resource and we are trying to support a geometrically-increasing population at an increasing standard of living and the necessary associated global economy.

It's true that oil companies (like most other companies) are greedy and will do pretty much whatever they can get away with to rob the consumer, and that oil companies are big enough to buy lots of congresscritters. They will and they do distort the market and manipulate supply. But there is still the underlying cost of extraction, which rises constantly, and the geometrically-growing demand. What this means is that those oil-company shenanigans are mounted on the back of an ever-increasing base cost, and in addition, if Americans slow our gas consumption, they can just ship it to China and India instead, rather than being forced to lower their prices in response to reduced demand here.

 

no no no NO!!!!
this is a myth!! there is ZERO evidence of this.

and besides; the other option? the 500 mile range battery is and will be beyond yours and my financial reach for AT LEAST A DECADE. so get over the idea!!

there is a TON of info about charging the Leaf and QC is not an issue.

a great chat you might want to read

Nissan LEAF Drivers here is the transcript. it is long but i think it needs to be read here

Nissan LEAF In-Depth: Webchat with Mark Perry

Wednesday April 11, 2012
12:52
Jonathan_Nissan Social: Welcome Nissan LEAF fans! I’m Jonathan C. from the Nissan Social team and I’ll be moderating today’s Nissan LEAF In-Depth webchat. Chatting with you today is Mark Perry, Nissan North America’s Director of Product Planning. We’ll be starting at 1pm CDT but you can feel free to submit your questions now.
1:01
Jonathan_Nissan Social: We’re ready to get started with the Nissan LEAF In-Depth webchat with Mark Perry from Nissan North America.

Mark, before we start answering questions from the community, can you share a little bit about what you do for Nissan and what your role is with the Nissan LEAF?
1:02
Mark Perry: I'm the car guy. Responsible for taking the LEAF from concept into production. Over the lifecycle we want product updates to constanty improve the car.

1:03
Jonathan_Nissan Social: Thanks Mark !
We’ve got a lot of questions from the Nissan LEAF community and want to get through as many as possible so let’s get started!
1:03
Comment From EK
What is the status on the affordable Nissan-branded DC Quick Charge stations? Are there any plans to roll out these DC Quick Charge stations to Nissan dealerships that are located near major interstate highways?
1:04
Mark Perry: DC fast charging is coming very soon. We are finalizing specifications and hope to start sales this Spring
1:04
Comment From Guest
why there is no battery capacity meter in Leaf, what is the usable battery capacity, what is the charging efficiency @ 240V
1:06
Mark Perry: There is! The 12 bars showing on the right side display show capacity. There's been owner requests to also provide SOC as a %. We're working on that too!

1:06
Comment From KeiJidosha
Smyrna LEAF. When will cars roll off the line? Will they have a 6.6kW charger?
1:06
Mark Perry: We expect Start of production in December 2012. And yes a 6.6Kw charger will be an option.
1:07
Comment From Guest
Hi Jonathan and Mark. My dealer told me my LEAF's battery would last longer if I waited for it to run down to under a 20-mile range before re-charging. I'd like your comment on that. Thanks!
1:11
Mark Perry: To maximize your battery health you should try to stay between 20-80% state of charge. You aren't hurting the battery if you go to 100% or drop below 20% but after 10 years of use you may see a bit more gradual loss of capacity

1:11
Comment From Mark Higley
How many miles could I get from an half hour charge on 110V if I were in a pinch?
1:12
Mark Perry: 110V charging gives you 1.4kw/hr. So in a hour of charging about 5 miles. in 30 minutes about 3
1:13
Comment From Dave
What is Nissan doing to build up a better quick charger network in the United States?
1:14
Mark Perry: As the previous member mentioned we have a very low cost DC quick charging coming to the US. Right now California, Oregon, WA, Chicago, TN and few other states are stepping up to rolling out the network
1:14
Comment From Guest
Are there any advancements being made to create a locking mechanism for the trickle charger. I use that at work?
1:16
Mark Perry: We are studying how to add a locking mechanism to the coupler. We are torn between the social aspect of "sharing" a charging spot (switch me when I'm full) vs having a spot locked down.
1:16
Comment From Kelly Carmichael
Why do I have to "I accept" the terms of the carwings everytime I start the car? I want to accept and remember this option like most computer acceptable use agreements let me do.
1:17
Mark Perry: Kelly unfortunate reality of privacy laws around the country. We are hoping to get something done to ask you once a month rather than EVERY time. Stay tuned we know it''s annoying.
1:18
Comment From Lance
What is the policy on NAV map updates? I've noticed the map for my area is already very out of date. Current portable GPS units are now sold with lifetime free map updates. I haven't been able to find out what Nissan's policy is.
1:19
Mark Perry: Lance...smartphones and some websites are moving faster than we can keep up. Our goal is to get this down to weekly updates but we also have some pretty robust quality controls in place to insure the charger is actually there and operational
1:20
Comment From Amir
What is expected battery capacity after 8 years and 100000 miles?
1:20
Mark Perry: Amir...under normal use 70-80% of capacity left
1:21
Comment From John Soares
Hi Jonathan and Mark. If we want to preserve battery perfomance is quick charge safe?

1:22
Mark Perry: John- absolutely! LEAF is capable of quick charging mulitple times per day. Our battery management systems always protects the battery from risk. Charging rates will slow down if for some reason temps get out of the "normal" range
1:22
Comment From Martin
How many miles could I get from an hour charge on 220V if I were in a pinch?
1:23
Mark Perry: Martin...MY12 LEAF you get about 12-15 miles per hour of charging. We are going to offer faster 220V charging option to jump up to 24+ miles per hour of charging
1:24
Comment From Lance
Clarifying followup: I was talking about the road map updates, not charging stations.
1:26
Comment From Gene
Hi Mark. We love our 2011 Leaf. Will there be an option to upgrade to the 6.6 kWhr charger or faster onboard J1772 charger option when it becomes available on the production leaf?
1:27
Mark Perry: Gene...glad you love your LEAF!
sorry no. We are actually changing physical location of the on-board charger so the wiring harnesses etc all change. Technically its possible but too expensive to tackle as retro-fit
1:28
Mark Perry: Lance road updates come once a quarter. NAVTEC is our data supplier and provides integration and quality control to insure new roads make sense!
1:29
Comment From Howard C.
Mark: Can you make any comments about the Smyrna battery plant? When does it come on line and will it have the flexibility to make battery packs larger than the current 24 kWh one?

1:30
Mark Perry: Howard...battery production in Smyrna starts later this fall a little bit before car production starts. Can't comment on future battery changes.

1:30
Jonathan_Nissan Social: Great questions coming in, everyone! Mark is trying to answer them as quickly as possible. Keep them coming!

1:30
Comment From Johnny Sebring
Rumor has it Nissan is running a couple LEAFs continuously on a track in AZ stopping only to quick charge and relieve drivers. Is this true?

1:32
Mark Perry: johnny...no rumor. We have a test facility where we do long term testing of lots of vehicles. The track is banked oval, 5.5 miles long and gives the test drives chances to rack up lots of miles in pretty tough conditions. I was there just last month! Rule is if anything on the track is smaller than you...do NOT swerve.

1:33
Comment From Paul Van Hoesen
Hi Mark, I have a 2011 Leaf and have walked away from my Leaf more than once and left it "running"! It's so quiet you forget... Is there a way to detect that the key has been out of range for x minutes and push a message to the mobile app?
1:33
Mark Perry: Paul...good idea. You gave me homework! But I will give you credit...
1:33
Comment From Maria
Is there a contest to win one?
1:34
Jonathan_Nissan Social: Hi Maria - There sure is! You can enter to win a Nissan LEAF on the Nissan Innovation for Endurance Facebook Page: Nissan - Innovation for Endurance | Facebook
1:34
Comment From Sven Forsberg
Mark: The user manual recommends quick charging only once a day. Do the following cases affect the battery health in different ways ? A.)Quick charging the LEAF four times one day followed by three days without quick charging. B.)Quick charging the LEAF once a day in four days?
1:35
Mark Perry: Sven...we updated the owner's manual. Multiple quick charges are ok. The BMS protects the battery in all cases. If temps get outside normal range the charging rates simply slow down.
1:35
Comment From Maria
Thank you so much. We would love to have one. Fingers crossed!
1:36
Comment From Jack
Is there any risk to battery if I use the level 1 charging exclusively?

1:36
Jonathan_Nissan Social: Best of luck, Maria!

1:37
Mark Perry: Jack....not at all. Think of your battery as a bucket collecting electrons. Dumping them in slower (110V) is fine

1:37
Comment From Ian B
A couple of suggestions from a 2011 SL owner. Make the visor have extensions that reach all the way to the side of the door glass and auto up/down for all the power windows.
1:39
Mark Perry: Ian....I totally agree! But we always face the trade-off between adding costs vs how "important" the improvement is to our customers. Your comments help!
1:39
Comment From Tony Williams
When will a green LEAF be available?

1:41
Comment From Kelly Carmichael
"all LEAFS are green"

1:42
Mark Perry: Tony...funny you should ask! Our designers in San Diego have been thinking about the same. Right now we are at capacity in our paint plant. We are running 13 lines using 13 different colors (not all for LEAF). We can fit in a green if we drop another color. More homework but can't promise yet!
1:42
Comment From Steve Lemke
What do you guys think of all the Nissan LEAF owner groups that have formed in the past year?
1:43
Comment From Mark Robichek

Hooray for BayLEAFs!
1:44
Mark Perry: Steve...love them! A great source of product feedback and sharing information. I'm a regular "observer" of many of them. But like inviting a cousin to a wedding...I can't engage in all of them. So I stay "observant".

1:44
Comment From TimeHorse

Yay for Capital LEAFs too!
1:45
Comment From Bob W
Why does Nissan not offer some of the accessories in the US that are available in Japan and europe?
1:46
Mark Perry: Bob...business decision. We attempt to forecast sales volumes and how much inventory our dealers would need to stock. If demand is low...hard to invest. We may have missed one. Do you have one in mind?
1:47
Comment From Mark Higley
Are you required to buy the charging station when you purchase the Leaf? My town is only 7.5 miles long and 2.5 miles wide. I think I would be fine with 110 only.
1:47
Comment From Amir
I guess you are OK that I invited Nissan Leaf Forum - Online forum for the Nissan Leaf Electric Car folks here?
1:48
Jonathan_Nissan Social: Hi Amir - Absolutely! We love the passionate conversations taking place on Nissan Leaf Forum - Online forum for the Nissan Leaf Electric Car! Thanks for sharing with the community.
1:48
Mark Perry: Mark...no! About 15% of our LEAF owners are fine using only L1 charging. Really depends on your commute patterns. Senator Alexandar (from TN) only uses L1 for his LEAF in DC.
1:49
Comment From Mark Robichek
Mark. I have a question about how the range is affected by the use of various climate controls. I seem to get better range in the summer than in the winter; does the heater reduce range more than the air conditioner? Also, as far as range, does it matter whether I use the Auto climate control vs. just the manual fan?
1:50
Mark Perry: Mark...you're right. If you use heater defroster on max...pulls about 4.5 KW. If just AC power used is about 1.5KW. If you can be comfortable using just outside air via fan...lowest power draw/higher range
1:52
Jonathan_Nissan Social: Everyone, we have just under 10 minutes left in the chat. We'll try to get to as many questions as we can in that time frame.
1:52
Comment From Ron
I would love to be able to do a remote "lock" of the car doors via CARWINGS. There have been a few cases where I've not been sure I actually locked the vehicle. Unlock couldn't hurt, either.
1:52
Mark Perry: Ron....thanks for the idea. Homework!

How would you like ability to open charging port via key fob?
1:52
Comment From Tonia
What is the status of the SAE DC fast charging standard? Will Nissan continue with the CHAdeMo connector?
1:54
Comment From Steve Lemke
Just wanted to say thanks to you and Nissan for the LEAF. I absolutely LOVE mine, and am thrilled to see Nissan's ongoing commitment to electric vehicles!
1:54
Mark Perry: Tonia....we fully support CHAdeMO and have no plans to change no matter what SAE decides. We have the only cars capable of quick charging (over 11,500). No reason to change!

1:54
Comment From Bob W
These are items that cannot even be bought in the USA.

1:54
Mark Perry: Thanks Bob. Will take a look off line

1:54
Comment From Christopher
Good answer!

1:55
Comment From darryl konter
Well said Steve!
1:55
Comment From TimeHorse
I really need to get Lamar an invite to the 14 April LEAF meetup in Falls Church.
1:55
Mark Perry: Good luck! He's an enthusiast but pretty busy
1:55
Comment From Christopher
Don't need to open the charge port via keyfob....it would be a nice to have.
1:56
Mark Perry: Thanks Christopher
1:56
Comment From Mark D Larsen
MINE was the first officially delivered LEAF in Utah, two weeks ago today. I was flattered that, after waiting nearly two years, Nissan Marketing really pulled through to reassure me that I was not merely "Waldo" in the mass market. I have to thank Nissan for truly caring about its customers in the long run. To reciprocate, how can we best help Nissan as LEAF ambassadors?
1:57
Comment From Howard C.
Thanks also to Nissan for having a forum like this, where direct owner feedback can be provided.
1:58
Jonathan_Nissan Social: Hi Howard C. - Great to hear that you're finding the chat beneficial! We'd love to have them more often!
1:59
Mark Perry: Mark...thanks for your patience. Best way....tell your friends and neighbors, give free rides and explain how "normal" life is with your LEAF...except you have NO IDEA what the price of gas is
1:59
Comment From George B
Indeed, this has been very beneficial. Thank you.
2:00
Mark Perry: George...other than sore fingers...fun and benefical for me too! Hope to do it again.
2:00
Jonathan_Nissan Social: We’re all out of time for this session of the Nissan LEAF In-Depth webchat. Thanks to everyone who participated! If you have any additional questions about the Nissan LEAF, you can call an EV Support Team member at 1.877. NO GAS EV or tweet us at @NissanLEAFhelp: NissanLEAFHelp (@NissanLEAFHelp) on Twitter , You can also connect with other Nissan LEAF enthusiasts on the Nissan LEAF Facebook Page: Nissan LEAF | Facebook and at @NissanLEAF: Nissan LEAF (@NissanLEAF) on Twitter
2:02
Mark Perry: Hey thanks again everyone. Appreciate your interest and the feedback. Don't mind the homework!

 

Cheers for that Dave. Shame Nissan UK aren't as progressive and customer orientated

 

LOL, i would GLADLY trade places with you. what you lack in Nissan customer service is more than compensated by your government and business attitudes towards EVs and public charging infrastructure actions

 

lol, the grass is always greener eh? It's not just the Government charging infrastructure that's positive. I especially like the charity that is providing free (yes free) charging points/sockets to businesses so long as that business meets certain, and very minimal criterea. Home - Zero Carbon World

Then my electricity company is rolling out a national fleet (ok, national in the UK isn't the same as the USA but it's a start) of chargers including fast(er) charge points at 32a and they hope to provide free DC Chademo chargers later this year too. I think they hope to get about 30 motorway charge points up and running - for free, by the end of 2012. Frequently Asked Questions - For The Road - Ecotricity

For info - the charity boss is a Tesla owner and the boss of ecotricity has built his own car and has a pool of about 6 electric vehicles for his staff to use.

Surely there must be something similar going on in the USA? And if not, use the above as inspiration