Rob Eshman

October 26, 2011

Opinion: My 2011 Nissan Solyndra

By Rob Eshman

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Last June, I wrote about my initial love/hate affair with Nissan’s all-electric production car. Since then, people keep asking me how I like my Leaf.

Here’s what I tell them: I am ready to turn over a new Leaf — my own.

This is not easy to admit. First, because it makes me feel like a jackass. More than a year ago, when I first read about the Leaf, I put my deposit down and eagerly waited eight months to buy the car. If America is ever to end its dependence on fossil fuel in general, and foreign oil in particular, we must develop sensible, economical alternatives. Not only that, we have to actually buy them.

According to every ad and brochure Nissan put out, the Leaf gets 100 miles per charge. With federal and state tax credits and subsidies, its $34,000 price tag approached a more affordable $22,000. Another federal subsidy would cover the estimated $2,400 cost of installation of a 220-volt charger in my home. I wouldn’t be spending a penny on gas, I’d be sticking it to the Saudis, and I’d be leading the way to a brighter future.

Well, half the way.

Because after driving this car for five months, I can tell you I have yet to get 100 miles per charge. The last three times I measured, it was 55, 58 and 58. 

My life now revolves around a near-constant calculation of how far I can drive before I’ll have to walk. The Nissan Leaf, I can report, is perfect if you don’t have enough anxiety in your life.

I told a friend of my disappointment, and his response was, to say the least, humbling.

“You mean to tell me,” he said, “a car advertisement lied?”

OK, I fell for it. Who’s to blame?

Well, Nissan. Over and over, they promoted the Leaf as getting 100 miles per charge. They still do — and Leaf owners have yet to weather their first winter, when heating will gobble up even more mileage than air-conditioning. 

At the AltCar Expo in Santa Monica a few weeks ago, I stopped by the massive Nissan Leaf display. I wanted to see if the company was sticking to its rap. As a crowd gathered round, a perky model in a tight T-shirt lifted the car’s hood. 

“It’s not even an engine,” she said, pointing inside, “but we make it look like one ’cause that’s what y’all are familiar with.”

The crowd giggled along with her.

I raised my hand. “How many miles does the Leaf get per charge?” I asked.

“A hundred,” she said.  

The audience oohed and aahed.

Five months ago, I did the same when the salesman at Santa Monica Nissan told me that. (He also assured me there are no problems installing home charging systems. I balked when the actual estimate came in close to $6,000.)

But I’m to blame, too. I bought the car. I signed the papers. I wanted it to prove a point. The life lesson: A fool and his ideology are soon parted.

I know a few Leaf owners who are happy. Keep your daily mileage requirements far, far below 100 miles, and you’ll find the Leaf zippy and well engineered. Economical? I’m not so sure — if you only drive 20 miles a day, is your gasoline bill high enough to justify the Leaf’s nonsubsidized cost?

The final straw for me came in late August. My gauge said I had 82 miles available, and I decided that was enough to drop off my son at Camp Alonim in Simi Valley. You may remember that in my first Leaf column, that was the exact trip I assumed I would never be able to make in a Leaf. Well, guess what?

Alonim is 35 miles from our home. I drove below the speed limit on the freeway, windows down so I could keep the mileage-guzzling AC off. Nevertheless, by the time I arrived at camp, I had only 31 of the original 82 miles left. That’s been my experience day in and day out — the gauge reports a best-case scenario that lures me into magical thinking. I left Alonim and drove another 10 miles to Mission Hills. Reported miles: 82. Actual miles driven: 41. Now the gauge showed me having three miles to go. 

Knowing that charging stations are as rare as monorails in L.A., I decided to pull off the freeway and drive very slowly to the closest Nissan dealership, where I could put in more juice. I called my office and told them I’d be late, as I had to charge enough to drive the next 20 miles. That would take two hours.

Needless to say, I didn’t join the electric car parade held on Main Street in Santa Monica two weeks ago. Nor did I rush out to see this week’s new documentary, “Revenge of the Electric Car,” which documents the efforts behind the Tesla, the Leaf and the Chevy Volt. I didn’t have to go see “Revenge of the Electric Car.” I’m experiencing it.

The Volt’s gas engine, by the way, kicks in after 40 miles. So what do I tell the people who stop me to ask how I like my Leaf? “Buy a Volt.”

I still believe the electric car is the future. But the raised public expectation for new technology can easily create a wicked backlash among a public already skeptical of change. Witness the recent Solyndra debacle, when the federal government pumped hundreds of millions of dollars into an over-hyped solar technology company, leaving taxpayers leery of supporting the development of the next good idea.

Nissan must be feeling some backlash now, as well. Leafs — which the company had expected to sell out — are piling up on dealer lots like, well, fallen leaves.

So, here’s my advice to any company trying to push the next new thing to save the environment: If you want to save the world, lose the hype.

To read my previous column about the Leaf, click here.

A version of this article appeared in print.

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Rob, regarding the several $1,000 subsidies given to you for buying the Leaf by the US - since money is fungible, you might say the government subsidized your car purchase by reducing Medicair by $500 billion dollars (which it did) - so your car came at the cost of the death of old people who weren’t given government medical aid.  How does that make you feel?

Comment by george on 10/27/11 at 8:05 am

You need to listen to click n clack on NPR. opening windows uses more energy than using the AC sparingly

When I charge to 100% I routinely get ~90 miles on my Leaf.

Comment by Mick Rogers LCSW on 10/27/11 at 8:37 am

You shouldn’t have been surprised.
Nissan posted lots of info before you could place a LEAF order. If you really wanted to know, the info was there on the Nissan website and on many user forums.

From the Nissan LEAF website:
Q:What distance does it cover on a single charge?
A: ...Based upon EPA five-cycle tests using varying driving conditions and climate controls, the EPA has rated the Nissan LEAF™ a driving range of 73 miles. Range will vary with driving habits, conditions, weather and battery age

Estimated range for other driving conditions:
Winter, urban stop-and-go, traffic jam: 62 miles
Cross-town commute on a hot day: 68 miles
Highway driving in the summer: 70 miles

Comment by Buzz on 10/27/11 at 8:53 am

So glad Buzz, Mick, Rob etc. are focusing on the efficacy of the Leaf - the real issue is wtf the government is subsidizing the car when it needs to spend the money on old people, schools, etc.  Rob got to buy his car at a lower price at the cost of education for poor kids and the health of the elderly.  Your liberals in action.  Thank you Obama for reducing the life span of our elderly, and preventing poor little black and brown boys and girls in the ghetto from attending school.

Comment by george on 10/27/11 at 11:31 am

@george: seems you’ve caught a nasty strain of Tea Party mouth. aka posting fact-less off-topic drivel. I shouldn’t waste the joules but two things:
The LEAF does not qualify for a subsidy; i.e. a grant paid to a business for things beneficial to the public, like farm subsidies. It’s a tax reduction to individuals who pay more than $7500, like a tax break for home mortgages.
This rebate was instated under George W. Bush admin; not Obama.
I hope you’re also not killing old people by deducting your mortgage interest.
cheers

Comment by buzz on 10/27/11 at 1:41 pm

George ... If the government is going to subsidize anything, wouldn’t it be better to direct that money toward an industry/technology/product that results in less dependence on oil (i.e. EVs) as opposed to increasing/maintaining our dependence and consumption of oil by directing that money to oil companies? (money that could save those elderly folks and educate those underprivileged kids)

We have really enjoyed driving our Leaf for three months and 5K miles thus far, and will easily drive the car 20K miles/year, which I believe is much more than the majority of drivers in the US.

For folks who must drive more than 70 miles/day on a regular basis, the Chevy Volt may be worth considering.

Comment by Darrell on 10/27/11 at 1:57 pm

And this was a mild summer.  Did you at least open a mouth at the AltCar Expo and warn everyone?

Comment by Mitch Paradise on 10/27/11 at 4:50 pm

You really shouldnt buy a car you dont want to learn how to drive.
You cant just drive this like an ICE and expect to get the same results. You have to drive it like an EV, unless you want to get bad mileage.
stop whining.

Comment by tom thumb on 10/27/11 at 8:01 pm

I e-mailed Rob Eshman months ago to offer to let him charge his car for free at my house near Balboa Park whenever he’s making a long trip through the San Fernando Valley. Never heard back from him. Our solar panels provide the power, so we save $40 a week on gas.

Comment by SharonaLA on 10/27/11 at 8:10 pm

He probably is only charging to 80%, someone should teach him how to do a 100% charge. There are issues with the remaining range estimator in the Leaf, it can be erratic at startup until it settles down. GM did a better job on that.

Rob, dont forget to return all the free money you got when you trade it in.

Comment by Herm on 10/27/11 at 8:20 pm

Rob, I too am disappointed in the 100 mile hype, but apparently that’s marketing. My advice is to overcome your indignation, and work with the tools you have paid for. First, ignore the mileage projections from the gas gauge (and CarWings). They’re wrong. Here’s a chart I developed, with the help of lots of fellow LEAF owners like yourself, to give you real world estimates of your range:

http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?p=101293#p101293

Comment by Tony Williams on 10/27/11 at 8:21 pm

I’m sorry man, you must REALLY be driving it wrong. I can routinely count on 80-85 miles out of my LEAF at highway speeds. Admittedly that’s not 100 miles, but Nissan always said 100 miles* (with the asterisk pointing to a disclaimer talking about the LA4 cycle and what that meant). Maybe everyone you talked to needed to do air quotes when they said 100 miles?

Comment by Michael Walsh on 10/27/11 at 8:22 pm

Rob, I never get less than 90 miles per charge and usually it’s 100-120 miles per charge. Your mileage may vary is the relevant term here. The car is absolutely capable of 100 miles range if driven efficiently. I give a lot of my customers lessons in efficient driving all the time. A recent customer had a hard time getting more then 3.9 miles/kWh. After an hour of lessons, she was up to 4.7 miles/kWh. I’d be happy to go for a ride with you and teach you these simple techniques.

Comment by Paul Scott on 10/27/11 at 8:23 pm

So, you are using a “Jewish community” “non profit” newspaper to get back at a company who sold you a product that did not meet your expectation?
If you would write about products you dislike from a kosher store or Jewish org - then at least you would be Jew bashing and it would be “Jewish journalism”

Comment by Joseph Grossman on 10/27/11 at 9:28 pm

stop driving lack mario; and put your windows up. it just uses more power on the freeway.

Comment by tom thumb on 10/27/11 at 9:42 pm

I am sorry to hear of your difficulties, and that you associate your experience with a failed product that could not compete with better alternatives. To avoid gas and save over $4000 each year my LEAF is the better alternative. I am sensitive to how I use our natural resources like water, air and energy. This spirit guides me as I gently accelerate and enjoy the regenerative braking for a 100 mile range. Still, the trip to Simi Valley is a 600 foot climb through the pass that will reduce range. A friend carpools up to mulholland and back (two trips) for a sixty mile daily commute and still shows 40 mile range before recharging. The LEAF can perform as advertised if used properly.

Comment by SteveEV on 10/27/11 at 10:48 pm

Rob, if you had a Volt, there is NO way you would EVER get 40 miles on the battery before the premium gasoline engine begins to drive the wheels with the way you drive.  You would be lucky to get even 30!  And GM lied about the use of its so called ‘generator’.  Here are the facts:  The engine can drive the wheels at speeds from 30 to 70 mph depending on the power demand called for such as hills and strong acceleration. Even at 65mph with the LEAF, you can easily get 75 miles and over 80 miles @ 60mph. So instead of talking ignorantly about the LEAF and Volt, I would suggest you do more homework and learn the facts.

Comment by Bill on 10/28/11 at 1:51 am

drive like a mesch and the car works.
drive like a meshugunah and you got bupkis.
quit kvetching for nothing.

Comment by tom thumb on 10/28/11 at 8:42 am

like a mensch!

Comment by tom thumb on 10/28/11 at 8:43 am

Sorry you are disappointed with your Leaf.  If you are really getting fewer than 60 miles per charge consistently, you should contact Nissan about it.  Perhaps your battery system is defective. 

Although I’ve learned that 100 miles is a best-case scenario, I’m very happy with mine - it’s the best car I’ve ever had (leased, not purchased, so I can readily upgrade to the improved EV’s that will be available in three years).

Comment by Tim Hebb on 10/28/11 at 11:30 am

“I know a few Leaf owners who are happy.”

A few? Rob, 99% of Leaf owners I know are thrilled with their Leafs (including me). You are the %1, my friend.

Comment by Mallory on 10/28/11 at 11:52 am

I’m sorry the car didn’t work out for you.  I’ve never experienced any of those problems with my Leaf.  But I do have to ask exactly where it is that Leafs are piling up in dealership lots?  It is still a 6 month wait minimum to get one in my city.  I have several friends who want to buy one and have to wait.

Comment by David Murray on 10/28/11 at 1:03 pm

David Murray, I sell the LEAF at Nissan of Downtown LA. We have several orphans available at MSRP. I’ve sold more LEAFs than anyone in the country and know this car inside and out. I’d be delighted to help your friends get one right away. Please call me at 310-403-1303.

Comment by Paul Scott on 10/28/11 at 6:35 pm

Another Leaf owner here who is very happy with the car. Like any alternative technology you must adapt to it, not the other way around. I usually get around 70 mi with an 80% charge. I go to the Valley from Santa Monica Cyn via PCH/ Topanga Cyn once a week. I’ve noticed I use about 40 mi going uphill to the Valley, but coming home I make all the additional mileage back gliding downhill. Mostly I drive in eco mode, but I’ll shift into drive occasionally when I want to blow past someone who is acting obnoxious. Once I’ve made my point, it’s back to eco. I routinely get 4.5 kw/h.

Comment by Leslie on 10/28/11 at 10:48 pm

Rob, too bad you were suckered into the well-meaning but misguided world of EVs. A couple of thoughts on why they are not the panacea the media would have one believe:

First, the electricity itself comes from burning fossil fuels (or nuclear) - something less than 1% is generated by photovoltaics (and the question to SharonaLA is how much did those solar panels cost to install, and how much of a government subsidy did you get on them?). So all you are doing in the vast majority of cases (again, not SharonLA, evidently) is moving the pollution source from your tailpipe to the electrical plant some miles away.

Comment by f8lee on 10/29/11 at 5:08 pm

part 2:

Second, and this is something one doesn’t hear about much, the utility companies are going to have to overhaul much of the infrastructure to handle the much-increased demand for electricity once everyone in the neighborhood ‘goes electric’. Just like the phone system, the electric grid is built with a mind towards a certain amount of demand. If all the neighbors return from work and plug their cars into that 220V outlet, guess what? The transformers in the area will fail - they’re not built to handle that much power. Kind of like what happens in an earthquake, where you pick up the phone and there’s no dial tone because everyone else already picked up the phone, get it?

Comment by f8lee on 10/29/11 at 5:10 pm

part 3:

This means that the power companies are going to have to replace capital expense items that were planned to be in use for decades far sooner than that, which in turn means a need to raise rates.

Hybrids, at least, make more logical sense (unless all one’s driving is within that 40 mile radius) because the on-board power plant can generate the electricity for the battery. But relying on some magical infinite source of power (much less clean power) from “out there” is tantamount to nonsense.

Comment by f8lee on 10/29/11 at 5:11 pm

part 4:

Now if the futurist Ray Kurzweil’s prediction that America will be able to produce all the electricity it needs without using fossil fuels in 5 or so years comes true (he said that at a Q&A after the documentary about him, “Singularity”, was screened at AFI a couple of years back) then EVs will make a lot more sense.

Comment by f8lee on 10/29/11 at 5:11 pm

FYI f8lee, your gasoline consumption is subsidized by U.S. taxpayers, the government, wars, lives lost, propping up dictators in oil producing countries, not to mention serious pollution. If you add up all the energy it takes to bring oil up from the ground, ship it across the globe, refine it, truck it to the station and pump it into cars, electric cars use much less power than gasoline-powered cars.

Comment by SharonaLA on 10/29/11 at 5:42 pm

The US could be essentially energy sufficient, but for the liberal consensus that coal and nuclear energy should destroyed, and shale not mined and oil solutions limited.  By creating the false choice between Saudi oil and electric power, the US government will suck more and more $$ that should go to essential services (the education, the safety net) to mucking up the marketplace by supporting the Leaf and similar ill thought out programs.  Let’s Occupy the Whitehouse!

Comment by george on 10/30/11 at 3:50 pm

My LEAF routinely gets 90+ miles per charge. I drive on the freeway daily more than 40 miles. Not sure how you get such low mileage.
It’s regrettable that rants like this end up printed as editorial opinion.

Plenty of my friends complain about how often and costly their luxury car repairs are, yet non of them write scathing fraud accusations against BMW, MBZ etc. Your reaction, as honest as it surely is, may have been better resolved through reflection and inspection at the dealership.

Paul offered to train you on getting more miles per charge - would you?

Even at 60 miles, your mile driven is far less costly and far less polluting than the next most best hybrid or gas car.

Comment by nu ha on 10/30/11 at 4:26 pm

@george, are you suggesting that trashing the environment by fracking and exploiting tar sands oil which may turn out to be the worst environmental disaster in recorded history is preferable to subsidizing power from more benign sources? Petroleum is not a limitless resource, so trashing the natural environment on which we all depend is a very short-term (as well as short-sighted) solution.

Comment by Leslie on 10/30/11 at 5:26 pm

Thanks for the comments all.

Nu Ha- My problem isn’t with Paul, a terrific man.  It is with the marketing behind the Leaf, which set it up to fail in the marketplace (compare Leaf projected sales to actual sales) and did much more damage to the EV cause than an editorial. Culture eats strategy for breakfast, and it’s (now) clear to me that Nissan’s salesmanship culture didn’t adjust to the reality of selling not just another car.

Comment by Rob Eshman on 10/30/11 at 10:44 pm

Part 1:
Thanks for the comments all.

Nu Ha- My problem isn’t with Paul, a terrific man.  It is with the marketing behind the Leaf, which set it up to fail in the marketplace (compare Leaf projected sales to actual sales) and did much more damage to the EV cause than an editorial. Culture eats strategy for breakfast, and it’s (now) clear to me that Nissan’s salesmanship culture didn’t adjust to the reality of selling not just another car.

Comment by Rob Eshman on 10/30/11 at 10:45 pm

Part 1:
Thanks for the comments all.

Nu Ha- My problem isn’t with Paul, a terrific man.  It is with the marketing behind the Leaf, which set it up to fail in the marketplace (compare Leaf projected sales to actual sales) and did much more damage to the EV cause than an editorial. Culture eats strategy for breakfast, and it’s (now) clear to me that Nissan’s salesmanship culture didn’t adjust to the reality of selling not just another car.

Comment by Rob Eshman on 10/30/11 at 10:47 pm

Part 3

To those who think I should suck it up and keep my mouth shut lest I single-handedly destroy Nissan and the future of EV—lets not forget Nissan lobbied for and received significant tax payer subsidies to move these cars. Sorry of I don’t hew to the party line, but I think there’s room for serious questions.

Comment by Rob Eshman on 10/30/11 at 10:48 pm

Seems as though your range falls short of your expected range. Seems other drivers do not share that problem.
You have an offer for help from a man who can, and first hand testimony from folks who have no such feelings nor a range problem.
Either way, your purchase of an all electric car supports the effort to reduce pollution, reduce oil dependency etc.
In my book, seems like a win all around.
Questions? Sure. Ealry adopters always live on the bleeding edge.

Comment by nu ha on 10/31/11 at 10:08 am

You made a fatal mistake with driving your Leaf with the windows down instead of using the A/C.  The wind drag at freeway speed kills your energy economy by at least 15% whereas the AC will only cost about 5%.  You probably still won’t made it to your office, but it will be 5-10 miles out (30-40 minutes L2 charging time) instead of 20 miles, but you really should start with a full charge for any kind of driving over 70 miles on the freeway.  Look at the numbers of bar and not the mileage estimate.  It is really no difference than all the gasoline vehicles you have driven in the past, you should know how many more miles you can drive by looking at how far the fuel gauge needle has gone down.

Comment by Tim on 11/06/11 at 1:20 am

By the same token, the 100 miles per charge is really no different than on a gas automobile, take my MDX advertised 15 miles city / 20 miles highway mileage.  In real life, I am getting at best 14 miles mixed city/highway (70%/30%), and you know what?  I drive fairly aggressive.  I am a grown man and I take full responsibility for the worse than expected mileage.  I know I can achieve better mileage by driving slower like my grandma, but I don’t and it is my choice and I shouldn’t expect to be getting the advertised mileage either.

Comment by Tim on 11/06/11 at 1:20 am

Oy vey! Such kvetching! You should have done your homework properly before purchase instead of whining about it now. I guess that’s what you deserve for only listening to the marketing guys. No-one out of those of us who did our homework expected 100 miles out of the LEAF UNLESS we duplicated the LA4 city/highway loop precisely. As it is, I get about 85 miles out of a charge, and that’s almost exclusively at highway speeds (between 65 and 70mph). So you must be really pushing the the go pedal through the floorboards a lot.

Comment by Michael Walsh on 11/07/11 at 11:37 am

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