PrairieBoy
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1 NeutralAbout PrairieBoy
- Birthday 11/03/1956
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Rosthern,Saskatchewan,Canada.
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' thesmart.ca.' now has info on the 2016 453 smart fortwo! Including photos,models,features! Check it out. Go to thesmart.ca , and click on the 'Learn More' link. There are lots of new features on these cars. Enjoy!!
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It's very easy to install a cardboard over the rad. Just take a rough measurment of the rad size using a measuring tape. Cut out about a four inch hole out in the centre of the cardboard,in case the rad's fan cut's in.Slide the piece of cardboard up in front of the rad ,from the bottom opening above the spoiler. Then tuck the bottom edge of the cardboard between the black plastic spoiler and plastic pieces above it. It should stay in place easily.Don't forget to remove the cardbord in the spring,before it get's too hot outside.
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Hi Mike! There are a few things you guys should have done BEFORE driving in the cold with the Nissan Leaf:#1: The car's interior can be pre-heated by power from the grid,while the car is being charged.#2: The seat heater(s) and the heated steering wheel use less battery power than the Automatic climate control.The reasoning is,that by pre-heating the car's interior from the grid power while charging the car,less battery power will be wasted trying to heat up the car from battery power alone. Also by using the heated seats and heated steering wheel either INSTEAD of using climate control,less battery power will be consumed. The single most important thing would be pre-heating the car's interior using grid power,(whenever possible) to help extend the range. The same would apply to pre-cooling the car's interior in the summer using power off the grid,instead of trying to cool down the interior using the car's climate control.When i test drove the smart EV this fall,the 'Mercedes guy' had all the windows down,and the climate control turned off. He briefly turned them on,only to show me how they worked.I assumed this was mainly to conserve range.
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Nice car! That picture was taken in Saskatoon in front of the old 'Traffic Bridge', which has been slated for demolition.
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I also got to test drive the smart fortwo electric drive!!Boy,was i ever happy i decided to go to the dealer for a test drive.I was very impresed with the car.After a brief explenation of the car's features.(and after signing a waiver) the extreemly enthusiastic 'Tour guide' and i went for a quick spin. After turning on the 'ignition' key,the dash display does a quick system check,then you put the 'gear shift' lever in 'Drive' and there is absolute silence. It's quite a shock to hear nothing,as we are so accustomed to noise!!Once you push on the gas pedal,the car silently starts to move. It's earily quiet,and rather unnerving for the first few feet! But as the car SMOOTHLY gathers speed,a quiet electronic motor sound can be heard. It's constant sound,something like a turbo spinning.The second thing you notice is no changing of gears,just modest smooth acceleration.It's certainly not neck snapping!!It has 41 H.P. The 'Tour quide' says an electric car should be driven differently than how we usually drive our gas powered cars. He explains that one should make use of the re-generative power the car produces.By anticipating the red light ahead,and taking your foot off the 'gas pedal',the car re-genererates electicity,and charges up the battery pack.Then as the light changes,gently start accelerating again ,to minimize the electric power used to get the car up to speed.The car also re-generates power during the first few centimeters of the brake pedal being pressed,then the brakes take over.The idea is always to maximize range.Using the heat or air condtioning reduces this range.The electric car has the battery pack below the floor,so the car has a lower center of gravity.It feels like a heavier car,and it is.The one smooth gear with no shifting eliminates one of most smart car driver's complaints,the jerky automated manual transmision. It's fun to watch the gauges up on top of the dash,where the tach and clock used to be!One shows the percentage of charge remaining,and the other shows in "kw" the energy consumed or generated.Other than the speed of this car being limited to 100 KM per hour,i see no reason why everyone couldn't be driving one to and from work everyday.This electric car suffers from the same rougher ride on bad pavement as the other short wheelbase smart cars tend too.The price of this car has not yet been decided,and it better compare favourably with it's up-coming competition,the Nissan Leaf,and the Mitsubishi I-Miev!!Having not yet driven the Leaf,or I-Miev,i think i would be more inclined to buy the Nissan Leaf,as it can go 135 KM per Hour,carries four or five,has better ride due to longer wheelbase,and a longer range.On the other hand,the smart 'Tour Guide' says this is already the second generation electric smart,and when the next generation electric smart comes out in 2013, the battery pack,and drivetrain will be made by Daimler,and range may improve. This currant electric smart car's battery pack is made by Tesla.Overall, i can't wait to own an electric car.Everyone should feel the same.There's nothing to fear!! ("and look Ma:No gas!")
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You missed a few of my points about 100% electric cars being greener that gas/hybrids. Greenhouse gas emmisions are released during the production of antifreeze,engine oil and filtersThe Leaf does not use antifreeze or engine oil or engine filter.Consequently less greenhouse gas emissions are released as this car is made,and during it's lifetime.Radiation pollution was and is being released 'worldwide',following the containment breach(or) partial meltdown from reactors in Japan. Also from products and materials coming from Japan. Some car's produced in Japan,and recently sent to Russia,are being quarantened,after having found high levels of radiation on them. This radiation pollution is carried around the world through the atmosphere by the wind's 'jetstreams'.Increases in radiation have been detected all over North America,including Canada,however small. If you go to 'Google NEWS'and search: 'Japan radiation', you can see many of these news articles.Japan's release of radioactive water into the sea,will have long lasting results in th future,due to radiation in the food chain,specifically fish.
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The Mobile-One 0W-40 100% synthetic European Formula ,that is supposed to be used in smart cars,will give you the best milage.100% synthetic 'flows' the best at all temperatures,with less friction.Mobile-One 100% OW-40 is used on the Dodge Viper,Corvette,Mercedes-Benz,and many other very high performance automobiles.
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The smart cars (all of them) are much greener than most others. The factory is very environmently friendly,and the cars are ultra-low emmision.They are also much more re-cyclable.
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The Nissan Leaf is also a 'greener car',as it is a plug-in electric car. Studies have shown less green-house gas emmisions are made during the production of this car than a conventional gas powered car.This is also because less green-house gas emmisions are released into the enviroment during the car's lifetime,as it uses NO engine oil,NO anti-freeze,and NO gasoline,unlike any hybrid,including GM's Volt. And even though these are 'plug-in' electric cars,some of the electricity is generated using water-power,wind-power,and solar-power.Nuclear generated power is NOT green,as an incredible large amount green-house gasses are released during contruction of these huge facilities,not to mention the radio-active waste,and WORLD-WIDE POLLUTION following melt downs,as in Chernobile ,Three- Mile Island and Japan. (so far.)
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The cabriolet is NEVER supposed to have ANY wax on the convertable cloth top! (see owner's manual) Every automatic car wash i've seen has some form of wax applied during the wash process. Therefore you should never take your smart cabriolet through an automatic car wash. Likewise,don't use any spray wax if you use a wand wash.
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I totally agree with the last post regarding defective/improperly maintained vehicles. But who's not doing their job?Here in Saskatoon,every second vehicle has only one working tailight out of three.Also seldom seen are two working headlights! The drivers are obvious negligent,but so is the enforcement of the rules here.Bigtime.Maybe we need strict compulsory annual vehicle inspections. Things are getting out of control.Don't get me started on the morons who are still talking on hand-held cell phones,or the numorous ignorant drivers still texting while driving.We may have to install cameras all over the place like in the U.K,to try to catch the bastards,But the public would scream bloody murder!
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Hi Mike! The LEAF'S batteries are included and sold with the car. They are not leased seperately.The car can be bought or leased,just like purchasing any normal car.From what i've read today,Nissan is at first only going start selling the car in provinces which agree to start installing suitable charging infrastructure ,in support of these types of cars.These discusions are on-going.We NEED to contact our cities,and provincial and federal governments,to try and 'speed-up' having any needed infrastructure put in place.I'm all for this,and have aleady made some provincial and federal government inquiries. The more people to contact your governments,the sooner we can be driving cars that don't need expensive dealer tune-ups,oil changes,or expensive gasoline!
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Nissan Canada has just announced the prices for the new 100% electric car,the LEAF.The well equiped "SV' base model is priced at: ........ $38,395.00.The "SL" model is slightly better equiped,and will be: $39,995.00.Both model s are also equipped with the 'Cold climate package',which includes: -Heated front AND rear seats; -Heated steering wheel; -Special Heated battery pack.(More info on how this 'cold climate package' works,can be seen in this forum under:"An E-mail From Nissan About Leaf".)Buyers in Ontario of this car,can get a rebate from the government of $8,500.00.Buyers in Quebec can get a rebate from the government of $8,000.00.Everyone else in Canada has to pay full price.Thats not fair and it sucks!!
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I don't think i will buy one now,Mike.Due to two (stupid) car purchases since November 2009,i now owe WAY too much money on my long term car loan. I'll be keeping this SUV for a at LEAST a few years,till i can pay down the loan.Maybe by then the government(s) will have some incentives in this province,to make the purchase of plug-in electric cars like Nissan's LEAF more affordable for me.As the Canadian LEAF will have heated front AND rear seats,a heated steering wheel,and a heated battery system,it will likely be WAY more expensive than the US model.It is good to hear that it can be driven in cold climates,too.I still would like to buy one someday in the future.