No Gas No Hamburgers and Weebles

I have now driven over 500 miles on the Leaf. One of the things I do not miss is pulling into gas stations. It seems very strange as I now speed past these stations and see people as a blur of colorful Weebles wobbling and vying for fuel position. Those fuel depots seem to take valuable time away when I'm trying to get somewhere on time. I  recollect many frustrations revolving around that slippery substance. The volatile prices fluctuate at times like the jagged stock chart of the South Korean Market. When you find yourself in a bind to eat, fuel up and be somewhere, sometimes the occasional AM/PM Hamburger stacked with jalapenos would temporarily fix some hunger pains. I would suffer later as those hot peppers would make their presence known leaving my body.
The Leaf is a pleasure to drive.  It is very comfortable, quiet and has the latest technology that is mind boggling. I can turn the heat on, charge it, and and check the status of the estimated driving range and state of charge, all with my smart phone.
I am still adjusting my lifestyle to it's limited range. Most days the Leaf's range works out fine and I only use about 50% of it's energy. Two days out of the week, I still possess some Range Anxiety which I probably should not have. I am not courageous enough to push it to it's limits even though the leaf comes with "No $ Charge" 36 month, 24 hour roadside assistance.  One solution that I have found and need to invest in, is converting the EVSE trickle charger that comes with car and improving it's function to a Level 2 auto detect which will work on 120V, 208V or 240V outlets.  EVSE Upgrade will help relieve some of the anxiety I have when on my extended trips to and around Gig Harbor. Hey, can I borrow your dryer outlet?

Stage One and Cold Feet

I have noticed that with my stage one anxiety, I have probably been looking at my range mileage too much while driving. I should be looking at the battery bars. There are 12 battery bars with two of them being red. Red means "Oh no! Better find a charge somewhere". I have never been close to the red bars yet. I had figured that when I leased the Leaf for two years, I would charge up at work using one of the dealerships 4 charging stations. I could use the level 1 trickle charger(EVSE) that comes with the car at various locations using a 120V outlet with an extension cord as needed.
 I live in Bremerton, Washington, 3.5 miles away from work, make various jaunts to the Gig Harbor area and back to Bremerton several times a week. The vehicle works perfectly around Bremerton where I am not so concerned about it's energy usage. I can turn up the heat in the Leaf, defrost the windows, blast the stereo with great music and not worry too much. It is when I take my longer trips out to Gig Harbor that I worry more and Range Anxiety sets in. Gig Harbor, at this time, has absolutely no Level 2 (240V) charging stations to charge up with. So I have to use the Level 1 EVSE that comes with the car and that can take up to 20 hrs for a full charge. I could just not worry about it but I do because my trip out there usually uses about 50% of the Leaf's energy without delving into the last two red bars. I can reduce the cars consumption with various techniques and that is where the cold feet come in.
 The Leaf's Stereo/Navigation, heated seats, and heated steering wheel run off the auxiliary battery and are charged in conjunction with whatever electrical charger, and a solar panel on top of the hatchback's spoiler. What happens is that I end up being concerned about conserving the Leaf's energy use as I drive around on longer trips. If you drive in Eco Mode, the car seems more sluggish but consumes less energy. I try to coast down hills which help to recharge the battery. I use the brakes on long stops to regenerate energy back into the battery. I find myself becoming green unintentionally.
Studies have shown that when you use heated seats and a heated steering wheel, the less likely you are to use the vehicle's heater. My feet get cold and my windows get fogged up! I need to wear thicker, longer socks and insulated shoes.

Nissan Leaf Overview Video

Here is a nice video that shows the Nisaan Leaf.
Nissan Leaf Insider Walkaround

Charge, Charge, and more Charge!

My vocabulary has changed. My language revolves around the word "Charge". How long does it take to charge? Where are the charge stations? Do I have to charge it all the way? Can I just charge it a little bit and take off? Hey, can I charge at your house? What happens when I run out of charge? You charge too much!
Then the questions that people ask me which are basically the same ones. This has forced me to have what another blogger coined "Range Anxiety". A co-worker of mine calls it Range Addict Syndrome which is the first stage of Nissan Leaf ownership. According to Adam, "Range Addict Syndrome" is part of the Nissan Leaf experience. Every Nissan Leaf owner who dares to drive off the lot onto the abyss of electric car ownership suffers this syndrome . It also subsides within a few weeks of driving. I would say that this is good news because THIS IS CRAZINESS!

Nissan Leaf Chronicles - Being Green In A Gas Powered World

I took delivery of the 2012 Nissan Leaf on November 19th, 2012. I traded in my old gas hog of a 1991 Lexus LS400. I loved that car but the calculated monthly gas costs alone were more than my monthly payment for the Leaf. I guess I should have been more excited as I was facing additional maintenance costs on the Lexus. I had to replace the brakes, timing belt, tires, oil and do a transmission service. These costs that did not make sense to me since the car had over 175,000 miles on it and the transmission was not shifting well. It seemed like a "No Brainer" for me to get the Nissan Leaf.  I understood the limited range of the car. At least I thought I understood it. My logic included the sporadic use of my 2003 Aprilia SL1000R motorcycle. With the rain that we have here in the Pacific Northwest, I do mean Sporadic.
I am a Product Specialist at Advantage Nissan in Bremerton Washington. I help potential clients own and use these new technological automotive marvels. The technology that is found in today's vehicles is far beyond what many of us can comprehend or even imagine.
It is my goal to chronicle my experience or experiences with the Nissan leaf. I can tell you that to make a switch from a 100% gas powered vehicle to a 100% non-gas powered electric vehicle is indeed very dramatic. It is my hope that my decision, reasoning and logic behind leasing this electric car, makes sense in the long run. I really hope it does fit my lifestyle and does not make my life too difficult. More on this later but lastly, I hope that people who are interested in turning to green transportation will see in this blog, the trials and tribulations that I may or may not suffer. In doing so, I hope it can help them make a sound decision about driving an electric car, helping them to be green in a gas powered world.