So much for a Nissan Leaf!

[nickc]

dual fuel cng/diesel is a potent set-up. not bi fuel, dual fuel.

 

[ultrarunner]

There are 4 in the Doctor's lot where I work plus hybrids and a couple of Teslas too.

The first Leaf owner loves it... he commutes between SF and Oakland hospitals and has had zero issues.

Nissan even gave him free use for a year after he bought it when they learned he was a Doctor and using it as a commuter... also installed the charging station too.

Doc has solar at his office and home so no daily cost to charge.

No one I know that owns one has anything bad to say about them... then again California around the Bay seldom gets below about 55 during commute time...

The Tesla guys also love their cars... some owned V12 BMW and Mercedes of Porsches...

PS... don't forget the real reason these guys love their electrics... they get car pool privileges without car pooling!

 

[jhobbie]

The technology does have a ways to go. It is much better than many give credit though.
I will put 15000 miles on the Leaf this year. As a short range comuter
It is awesome. I bought it thinking it would just
Be used to get to work. I now drive it almost exclusively. But again I have 2 more vehicle for long trips.

 

[newbury]

The most versatile fuel for the majority of cars and trucks remains, even as much as the greenies hate it, Diesel. To that point, why aren't the hybrids Diesel-electrics?

Some are, just not in the US. VW, Mercedes, Landrover have 'em as concept cars. VW has the XL1 Wait, The Volkswagen XL1 Is Going To Cost How Much?!?.

But w/ diesel $4/gallon and the XL1 $~150K I think I'll keep my duallie. $130K of fuel will get me about 500,000 miles, and since I've been driving < 50,000 miles /year that should be good for way more than another 10 years. And I'm pretty sure the capacity of my F350 duallie w/ a trailer (~24K) and a full bed also exceeds the Xl1 by a smidgin

That's one of the problems with new technology - it's expensive. My Jetta TDI cost about $3 or $4K more than a gasser and w/ gasoline so cheap it's about the same cents/mile even though it gets far better mileage (~42mpg).

But I often find myself driving my 15mpg F350. It's handier when you have to pick up 20 bags of concrete that weigh 80lbs@.

What good is 42 mpg if you need to, and can't, carry 10 sheets of "wet" 3/4 PT plywood?

 

[Tollster]

I heard a while back Nissan is putting charging systems at various dealerships throughout the country.

 

[2458n]

I am driving around a 1999 Frontier and leaving the Ford f-350 4x4 dually diesel set around for a weekend driver. It has worked well so far. The University of Toledo had hydrogen powered VW bettle back in 1977. Same problem back then used cutting torch tanks for fuel in early model. Forty-five years later still nothing.

 

[94BULLITT]

I heard a while back Nissan is putting charging systems at various dealerships throughout the country.

The dealer here got charging stations sometime last year. I have never seen a Leaf here though.

 

[JoeL4330]

The operating regimes of diesel electric locomotives have little in common with those of hybrid automobiles: no stop-start, e.g., and no real electric storage capacity ...diesel or (or) pantograph to a hi-line ....

 

[woodlandfarms]

2 of my co workers own teslas. This is an amazing all electric car. If you ever get to ride or drive one do it. It is so far beyond a conventional car Elon is really putting the screws to other auto manufacturers. His business model is reall progressive. But, both of them own gas cars as well. I would not want to be a one car owner with only an all electric car. Oh.. And the each spent over 100 k for the car.

 

[Cat_Driver]

Too much money in taxes to ever go off gas. They built the first practical production electric car in London in 1884 and if all manufacturers devoted time to electric vehicles we would have been off fuel 50 years ago. So here we are 130 years later still pickin our noses and trying to figure out how to build an electric vehicle, when we should have been doing it all along. Also if they electric cars take off then guess who will be taxing you then and who's rate will be sky high - yep - the electric company. So we all will never ever win this battle. We either pay OPEC or the Electric Co. either way we lose - they win.
They removed all the trolly cars in LA that ran on electricity because GM wanted to sell more buses to the city - all politics. Now the state makes $1.00 in taxes from every gallon of fuel sold. No city / government want to give up that sweet tax money.