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http://www.automobilemag.com/features/news/1503-2015-kia-soul-ev-availability-expands-to-five-more-states/

You can learn a lot by asking, and almost as much by just listening.

Ok, that is always how I viewed buying an electric car. I don't agree. Ford has gotten a lot of information and experience with electric cars out of this, and the mostly happy drivers will be around to help Ford when Ford gets out of prototype phase. Speculate for a minute if Ford brings out...

Having gotten into an accident with a Leaf, and seen the results of other accidents with Leafs, I doubt if there is any real issue with the front charge door getting stuck after an accident, unless the car is far more damaged than totaled, in which case who cares. I charge in my garage, and the...

Ford CEO Mark Fields says the company has the expertise and ability to build a Tesla-style full-size, high-tech, high-performance, long-range electric vehicle. http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/cars/2014/10/24/ford-tesla/17827533/

I think "superior" depends on where you live. Or more correctly what climate you have and what habits you have. TMS with an insulated battery box will likely lead to worse battery life in Seattle as peak and average battery temperatures with a TMS and insulated battery will likely be higher than...

My first Leaf was hit from behind (hard) while stopped on the freeway, and hit the car in front of me, which hit the car in front of that. Front end of the Leaf was bent up, but the charge door worked just fine. Front end repair estimate was ~5k, back end repair estimate was ~10k). Car was...

EPA rated range doesn't have any variation from battery temperature management. The only way it could, in the current test, is to reduce the range if thermal management turned on during the test. The main difference in range seems to be the lower frontal area of the FFE and to a lesser extent...

Probably not completely true. Sure, at rates high enough (1C or higher), battery life is reduced slightly. Regeneration going down a hill, for example, at 24kW or more is at 1C (or more). But there is data suggesting that 0.1C or slower is very slightly worse for some Li-ion batteries than at...

Both Tesla and Nissan have stated that they make a profit on each sale. Now Tesla isn't covering fixed costs (like R&D), and Nissan probably isn't as well. This is easy to find for Tesla, read their quarterly reports, somewhat less so for Nissan. Ford? Not $60K. You could buy a new Focus and do...

Didn't you get $7500 back in federal taxes? That reduced the value of your car, but increased the value of your bank account.

There is at least one Leaf well past 100k miles. http://green.autoblog.com/2013/12/18/seattle-nissan-leaf-owner-surpasses-100000-miles/ That is well over 1000 cycles. He was still driving it, last I knew, a few weeks ago. I think that there are some Tesla Roadsters with over 1000 cycles as...

Note that not all dealer's inventories are on cars.com...

Look at it over the life of the car, assumed to be 10 years and 150,000 miles. Prius will use 3000 gallons of gasoline @ 50 MPG, which is probably better than realistic. At @$4 per gallon, that is $12000 FFE or similar will use 37500 kWh @ 250 Wh/mile, about what I'm averaging over the past...

Oh, and hybrids were dead at this point in their lifecycle. Will never make sense until gas tops $3. :lol:

Newer LEAF (2013 and 2014) have an option for a heat pump heater. Uses much less electricity than the 2012/2011 and the FFE. Would not help at extreme cold, but is very nice in Seattle area, with our two seasons, rainy and less rainy. While I don't own a FFE, I've driven one a lot. Both the...

Battery life probably follows Arrhenius equation. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arrhenius_equation Or in other words, if a battery lives for 11.4 years in Juneau, AK, will live for 2.5 years Phoenix (without active cooling). http://electricvehiclewiki.com/Battery_Capacity_Loss Models of...

San Diego to Vancouver BC has been done, multiple times. DCQC stations only a little slower than driving an ICE, from Vancouver BC to the Oregon California line. There is a gap between there and the Bay area, and between LA area and Bay area, however, and this will require stops at standard 220V...

You are correct in that this is charger efficiency only. This source is for the 2011/2012 Leaf, with a 3.3kW charger, not the 2013/2014 Leaf with a 6.0kW charger, or the FFE with a 7.2kW charger, both of which are slightly better efficiency. I own a Leaf, but have driven a FFE a lot, and the...

With a 120V L1 charging station, 80% is about correct. With a 240V L2 charging station, more like 90%. If you drive enough to use $25 per month, an L2 station will save you about $2.50 per month. Pays off in just 30 years! :lol: The real reason to get an L2 is to come home after work and...