EVcast #398: Nissan: Go Ahead and Hug a Polar Bear

Hi Bo & Ryan,

Great show.

Go Leaf! Ryan, I'm glad you stand up to Bo for the Nissan Leaf. The Leaf is very ideal where I live because this place is an island about 28miles x 7 miles.

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Thanks for the show guys- I really like it when you do the interviews- brings so much more to the show- not that y'all don't do a good job- but an added interview just brings an added dimension to the show.

Eric Powers - Green Drive Expo in the Bay Area in California next month, and in Madison Wisconsin next year:

http://www.greendriveexpo.com/

Yeah, yeah- rag on Eestor some more;-)  They haven't made that many promises- most have been expectations from ZENN rather than firm dates from Dick Weir.  That said, I'm sure they are taking longer than they anticipated.  It is still a high-risk, high-reward type of investment and obviously, they may have some issues to commercialization- which to me has always been the issue.

Glad to see y'all on a mainstream program to provote the EVcast and EVs- the more news stories done, the better.

Boston Power battery is intriguing:

http://www.boston-power.com/

I have to agree with Ryan- the Leaf would do fine as a second car- your scenerio of having to have BOTH cars capable of hundreds of miles is just not necessary.  If Ryan's wife needed to go someplace far at the same time, you learn to do a little planning.  Stick to your guns Ryan!  Maybe Bo will give you a $33,000 bonus next year to put this to the test;-)

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Hi Bo and Ryan. I really enjoyed this episode. Great topics and lots of good info.

Ryan.. I am with you. I think the LEAF is a great option and will work great for my family's driving situation. Maybe we have to switch cars once in awhile (we are lucky enough to have 2 cars). But I don't see my wife and I both driving more than 100 miles in a day to separate locations. It just doesn't happen.

I think Bo is a little negative towards EV's.. which is weird considering the name of the podcast. For alot of people, 100 miles will work nicely. We will use less gas, emit less crap into our air, and have cooler cars (well in my opinion).

Anyways.. thanks for the doing the show. I look forward to next weeks episode.

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Way to go, Ryan, in sticking with your reasoning on going with the Nissan LEAF if you were choosing between it and the GM Volt. Bo seemed to have a great need to keep arguing against you, as if he needed to talk you out of it. Not sure why. Isn't everyone allowed to come to their own conclusions about which type of EV would serve them best? Isn't the EVcast about making room for everyone to find where they fit?

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What is going on at Aptera?  They recently released a new video on their YouTube channel (not worth watching).
   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NFQVRBZ_yZ8&feature=sub />It is a chassis engineer discussing the development process. 

    The whole process is just bizarre.   Aptera has not said much publicly about the state of development for about one year.  Then they release a video called "untitled" with no comment and no context.   I really don't get it.

   The company hasn't even bothered to update the copyright notice on their website from 2009 to 2010.

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I find the whole E-REV versus EV discussion very interesting.   I think it comes down to three points

1) Practicality (limited versus unlimited range)
2) Cost (LEAF is cheaper)
3) Perceived greenness (the LEAF cannot use gasoline)

Practicality.  If someone made a gasoline generator the size of a woman's purse, every EV person would carry one around in their car with them, just in case.  But somehow when you build it into the car (VOLT) you get some flack from the EV purists.  E-REVs are simply more practical vehicles that are still very green.

Cost:  Personally, I might get a LEAF because it is less expensive than the Volt and it would meet my needs.  However, if the Volt was available at the same price point as the LEAF, I would definitely get the Volt.

Perceived greenness:  Depending on how you drive, the LEAF and VOLT might be the same on the greenness scale.  After all, both can use electricity for daily commuting.  However, there is a nagging sense the VOLT is somehow just a little unclean or tainted.  I understand the reaction, but find it to be somewhat irrational.

   It reminds me of solar panel discussions.  Most solar panels are grid-tied so that the home owner can use grid electricity when the sun is not out.  But this is "dirty" electricity when you get it from the grid, even though you contributed "clean" electricity at another time.  You can "fix" this by putting batteries in your house.  However, no one does that.  You always need some form of backup for these solar electric systems.  Why not admit that we also need backup for our EVs and go with E-REV.

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Hi John!  I couldn't agree more about the Leaf-Volt tiff going on across the Blos-o-sphere- they each will meet different needs.

As to the Aptera video- maybe not so bizarre.  They just lost the X-Prize, and many are still recalling their difficutly in the cone manuveuring exercise, with their door flying open.  That video probably did a lot of damage to their credibility as a serious car maker.  I think this video is a suble way to counter that- and they can't come out and say that is what it is for.  So they post a video with a long-time engineer with a history with 'real' car companies, calmly explaining why the Aptera is made well.  Now, whether that works or not...

As for their lack of public information over the last year- well, a not so smooth 'transition' to new management, delays followed by more delays- I think Aptera, along with a lot of other EV startups, is finding out just how hard it is to enter the automotive sector, especially now that the big boys have joined in the EV party.  Perhaps they are just following their mama's advice- if you don't have anything good to say...

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