LEAF gets Free Electricity from Solar Panels

I have been following Robert Llewellyn and his Fully Charged videos on Youtube for two years now and he is great !
Here is a good video about solar energy used to directly charge the LEAF, with him interviewed:

Nissan LEAF now available at Rental Car company Europcar in France

Nissan and Europcar, the leading car hire company in Europe, announced last month that Nissan LEAF, the award-winning 100% electric car, will be available for short term hire in two of the world’s busiest capitals: London and Paris.  From February, the 2011 World and European Car of The Year will be available for hire bringing the LEAF to a wider audience.

In France, the LEAF will is available in Paris @ Orly Airport, @ Paris Porte-Maillot (close to Neuilly / La Défense), @ Paris Gare de Lyon (TGV rail station) and in Lyon @ Saint-Exupéry Airport.

“There are two distinct reasons for joining forces with Europcar to introduce Nissan LEAF to the short term rental market in these two busy cities,” said Guillaume Cartier, Vice President for Sales Operations at Nissan International SA. “The first is obvious: with its absence of tailpipe emissions and an outstanding driving pleasure, the Nissan LEAF is the perfect car for the inner city. The second is for drivers currently unsure whether an EV is suitable for their needs. By renting a Nissan LEAF and living with it in real world conditions they can evaluate the car in their own time,” he added.

The Nissan LEAF has a homologated range of 110 miles (175km), which is more than 90% of UK commuters drive in a day.

“Europcar has long believed in electric vehicles as a sustainable means of mobility and is committed to enabling early adoption of this type of vehicle. We are proud to partner with Nissan to facilitate expansion of electric vehicles and provide our customers with the greenest possible mobility solutions” said Rafael Girona, Chief Operating Officer of Europcar.
Although the Nissan LEAF is as easy to drive as a conventional car, every customer hiring a LEAF will be given a face-to-face handover by a Europcar representative who has been fully trained on the car and its workings.

For Londoners, this will be a particularly important development as Mayor, Boris Johnson, aims to make London the electric car capital of Europe.

In order to make hiring the LEAF even simpler for customers, Europcar will recharge it completely free of charge, even waiving the standard service fee usually made for vehicle refuelling. For total peace of mind, customers can call a Nissan Hotline with any queries they might have about the vehicle, plus, at the end of the hire every customer will be surveyed by Europcar with feedback used to help shape future generations of Nissan electric vehicles.

Ken McCall, Managing Director, Europcar UK Group said: “Hiring a Nissan LEAF could be the ideal option for motorists keen to reduce their fuel costs and avoid congestion charges. At the forefront of electric vehicle technology, it fits perfectly with our philosophy of pioneering sustainable car hire solutions, giving customers a real choice when it comes to car hire.”

The pilot scheme, which will initially run for three months, forms a Definitive Agreement between the two companies, and follows a Memorandum of Understanding in which both organisations undertook to investigate ways of jointly promoting the concept of emission-free motoring.

Success of this scheme could potentially see it widened to other cities in France and Great Britain, as well as other countries in Europe.

Source

Long Vectrix Video - Trip back from work

This time a video of my trip back from work; Leaving from Saint-Ouen (north of Paris), along la Seine, through Clichy, Asnières, Courbevoie, Puteaux, Neuilly, Bois de Boulogne, and finally Boulogne (south ouest of Paris):

Part 1/3:

Part 2/3:


Part 3/3:

Nobody seams to respect EV only charging spots

I am a bit tired of seeing people not respecting EV charging spots....
Many times, I see EV only charging spots taken by regular gasoline/diesel cars (or bikes) and then I can't even plugin my car for a quick refill
I guess that for many people, electric cars and scooters just don't exist, they think these spots are useless and take advantage of them being more available than the other ones
They would need to be reminded by a little ticket that these spots are reserved for those who made the effort of getting an eletric vehicle for the benefit of every one

Right behind Paris cityhall:

In an undergound pay parking in Paris:

EVTV Friday Show is out

Another episode of the great show available as of today

Jack continues his LiFePO4 high power A123 pouch cells configuration testing

Mitsubishi - EV Serves as Power Feeder

Note 1: Original nebuta are large paper lanterns traditionally taking the form of Japanese fans, puppets or animals. They are illuminated from inside and carried on floats in a riotous procession. Note 2 : The EMS enables the electricity stored in the power feeder to be used at times of high electrical demand and the charging of EVs during periods of low demand, thereby making possible effective electric management and the reduction of consumption during peak hours.

Free EV Auto Loan Proposal received !

As posted this week, a French loan company called Sofinco (let's name them) has released a free car loan for EVs only from march 15th to march 26th, to borrow up to 11,999 EUR over 24 months period.

So I tried thursday night, somebody told me I was the first person to call for this specific loan, and had to ask more information to her manager; She asked me the exact make and model of the car and said it was eligible (good !), then we went through the usual loan process, and she finally sent me the contract

I just received it today and here are some photos of the main parts :

Amount of the loan = 11,999 EUR (the maximum) :

APR = 0% (pretty nice and rare) :

I will provide all the documents they want and send everything back ASAP, and keep my fingers crossed ...