tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-59792447101750049512024-03-21T07:23:57.708-07:00EV Writer@dansoapboxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12049167542646919632noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5979244710175004951.post-38070752845601552692015-10-02T04:49:00.004-07:002015-10-02T05:25:12.258-07:00EV Blog No1<div class="MsoNormal">
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<span style="color: #93c47d; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-large; line-height: 25.68px;">'Leafy Tweets'</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #93c47d; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 17.12px;">Electric Vehicle Blog by <a href="https://twitter.com/dansoapbox">@dansoapbox</a></span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZWIFIGaLeeYS3i_KR_FTH5g9BG8BC2BnXTEGDkOZ2f7qCAsfO2Yj-qhBQAgv-mTzAiNyFz4Wjm8AtSScCPw0h7-XGFEwHzyDB22Udv57hjQBPM4yOE1OAi6nDwhsrbhWROe4_2naeI5U/s1600/Leafy+Tweets.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="228" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZWIFIGaLeeYS3i_KR_FTH5g9BG8BC2BnXTEGDkOZ2f7qCAsfO2Yj-qhBQAgv-mTzAiNyFz4Wjm8AtSScCPw0h7-XGFEwHzyDB22Udv57hjQBPM4yOE1OAi6nDwhsrbhWROe4_2naeI5U/s640/Leafy+Tweets.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Chapter one:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">On a mid-week afternoon sometime in November 2014 </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I experienced some cryptic tweeting activity!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">“@dansoapbox - View of Loch Lomond from leaf”<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></i><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Hmm……..!<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This was soon followed by<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">“Nice people talking about leaf in car park!”<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></i><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">An hour passed! Then<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<i><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">“Even more people excited by leaf in service station!”<b><o:p></o:p></b></span></i><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This mini-succession of ‘Leaf related’ social media was followed up </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">by a phone call from my brother<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">“Hi Dan. Guess where I am?”<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">No, don’t tell me, let me guess, let me guess! </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">“I am thinking Scotland perhaps!”<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">“That’s right! </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">And guess what?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I got here in </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">an electric car”</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Ah! <u>Now</u> it was beginning to make some sense</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">That would be the <b><a href="http://www.nissan-global.com/EN/NISSAN/LEAF/">Nissan Leaf</a> EV!</b><o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Indeed it was!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> My brother continued to fill me in on how he had taken </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">the opportunity to use a 100% Electric vehicle (EV) </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">and drive anywhere in the country for a </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">whole week with </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><u>no charge!</u><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><v:shape id="Picture_x0020_2" o:spid="_x0000_s1027" style="height: 135.75pt; margin-left: 0; margin-top: 1.15pt; mso-height-percent: 0; mso-height-percent: 0; mso-height-relative: margin; mso-position-horizontal-relative: margin; mso-position-horizontal: left; mso-position-vertical-relative: text; mso-position-vertical: absolute; mso-width-percent: 0; mso-width-percent: 0; mso-width-relative: margin; mso-wrap-distance-bottom: 0; mso-wrap-distance-left: 9pt; mso-wrap-distance-right: 9pt; mso-wrap-distance-top: 0; mso-wrap-style: square; position: absolute; visibility: visible; width: 135.75pt; z-index: -251658240;" type="#_x0000_t75"><v:imagedata o:title="Nissan" src="file:///C:\Users\Dan\AppData\Local\Temp\msohtmlclip1\01\clip_image002.jpg"><w:wrap anchorx="margin" type="square"></w:wrap></v:imagedata></v:shape>(Chuckles to self!)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe-bLtV4l27VhAdS77v4mKozRqsKPrpZVqkqAD94vTqO2MgGvfp1T9UbGhQRtK5xIFjGN1fqC5Pm7JtF0WV19woKgc7y3iJDLurpPgQuyZ2pWLu4yn2XbJYsWCMd475jOadTQZcA5XpEI/s1600/Nissan.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe-bLtV4l27VhAdS77v4mKozRqsKPrpZVqkqAD94vTqO2MgGvfp1T9UbGhQRtK5xIFjGN1fqC5Pm7JtF0WV19woKgc7y3iJDLurpPgQuyZ2pWLu4yn2XbJYsWCMd475jOadTQZcA5XpEI/s400/Nissan.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;">Platinum - Nissan - Trowbrige</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Now! You know what it’s like when someone is excited </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">about a product or some new tech-kit right? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Well, apparently, I should do the same! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I would definitely be impressed! I would want to tell everyone about it </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">and, I might even want to buy one!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Well, I might, I suppose. Stranger things have happened!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In the weeks following this conversation</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">neurons in the rattling recesses of my decision making centres </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">were reaching an actionable conclusion! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">FYI: I have always had a healthy interest in green energy </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">and have designed several small scale renewable energy projects in my time. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I had indeed, been getting quite excited about the emerging </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">‘Genuine EV’ market with the likes of <a href="http://www.teslamotors.com/en_GB/models">Tesla</a> cars and <a href="http://www.zeromotorcycles.com/eu/">Zero</a> motorcycles!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This is #VeryCoolKit after all!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The one (rather important) thing I hadn’t done yet </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">was to actually ride or drive one!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I knew I would not be signing on the dotted line any time soon, </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">but thought it rude to refuse Nissan UK’s unconditional </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">offer of a FREE ‘Seven day’ test drive. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In the time it takes to say </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">“Not only a free lunch but a car to drive there too” </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I had signed up via their online form.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Let me just point out here that I have </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">purposefully distinguished between the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EV">EV</a> market (i.e. 100% Electric) </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">and the more familiar <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hybrid#Vehicles">Hybrid</a> (Part Electric) market so, </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">sorry if you have your eye on a shiny new Toyota <a href="https://www.toyota.co.uk/new-cars/prius/index.json?gclid=Cj0KEQjwm4mwBRCni-ivmePYivkBEiQAdGkklp2glFGWzfqZUHTkfwOWTzj8M76fqwxLpo3jfAhG3GgaAu6p8P8HAQ&gclsrc=aw.ds">Prius</a>! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Because this blog is not about those </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">OK!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">After a few agreement related formalities, </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">like the requirement for off road parking and a </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">six metre access to a household ‘ring main’ socket! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.platinum-nissan.co.uk/">Nissan</a> arranged for me to collect my vehicle from a local dealer </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">at a time of my choosing, which was nice! :-) </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I sneakily booked my usual ‘Day vehicle’ in for a </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">service for the same day to avoid unnecessary travel by </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">public transport or the inconvenience of </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">three vehicles on my drive at once! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Smart Huh? :-) </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Coincidentally, the awaiting chariot was much smarter than </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I could ever have imagined! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">(Btw. Not <a href="http://uk.smart.com/uk/en/index/smart-fortwo-electric-drive.html">Smart</a> by name! ‘Smart EV’ </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">is also now </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I completed some insurance paperwork and was given a </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">short introduction to the 2014 Leaf whereupon I asked the </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">dealer </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">to accompany me for a short spin to show me the controls in action </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">while giving me an idea of ‘REALISTIC’ range! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This they did and were very honest from the </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">start about what is </span><b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">published</b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> and what is </span><b style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">sensible</b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">(2015 Leaf models have a far greater range but read on, </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">you may be able to pick up an old model for a steal!) </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I am purposefully not going to be statistic heavy in this blog, </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">so if we were to say that the figure I was informed of </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">was 25% less than the published stats, then you get an idea. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Nissan are very upfront about this when I took the test drive </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">and I would like to think that they would be just as up front </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">if you were buying a new one too! :-)</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">One thing I can guarantee is that Nissan do not lie </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">about the emissions of their EV Range! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Mention no names! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">All genuine EVs on the market will always be rated </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">as ‘Zero Emissions’ (in traditional terms at least) </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">as they are not ‘ICE’ </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">(Internal combustion Engines)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">gleaned a few ‘EV’ driving tips too, I now drove the Leaf home via an extended scenic route. With a ‘Sporty foot’ :-D<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">My first opportunity to gauge available charge! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">When driving an ‘EV’ It is most important to ascertain </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">a safe ratio between the charge required to ‘reach your destination’ </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">compared to how much ‘driving fun’ (of a heavy footed nature) </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">you intend have on the way! You can drive efficient or drive hard. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It really does require a new way of thinking! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">An entirely new frontier in fact! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Which is rather exciting!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">(Much more on that subject later!)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I stopped to pick up some shopping which gave me an Idea for a </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">‘UK wide’ network of charging station stations <a href="http://evfleetworld.co.uk/news/2015/Jun/Aldi-installs-first-EV-chargers-in-Germany/0438020444">AldiUK</a> :-) </span></div>
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4qIz_PC1fssOV41NWx2FVQdY4XQkQGIUnX0HtAjU0vliWS3S9_KUDmmIzZLuExbZSIYNLaDE_0FUzMM1TYSzn3vwZ-Bn3Yj0GztZWeu2JXfYGChgY9u_NDVHie4F434dkV20OTD82s5M/s1600/Aldi+missed+Op.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4qIz_PC1fssOV41NWx2FVQdY4XQkQGIUnX0HtAjU0vliWS3S9_KUDmmIzZLuExbZSIYNLaDE_0FUzMM1TYSzn3vwZ-Bn3Yj0GztZWeu2JXfYGChgY9u_NDVHie4F434dkV20OTD82s5M/s640/Aldi+missed+Op.jpg" width="488" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;">Do Aldi UK Charge? (Westbury Store)</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Aldi (Germany) have just started doing this! Well done them! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">(Check out the cute charging boot)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">So, I hear you ask! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">What was my first impression of the Nissan Leaf EV?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Well!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The word ‘awesome’ immediately came to mind! Honestly! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">You can drive for fun or ease as you see fit </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">(The Leaf did both admirably!) </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">and by way of comparison to it’s many ‘ICE’ competitors </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">performs as well or better than most middle of the range hatch-backs </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">with the added bonus (other than road noise) of complete silence! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Rather odd this! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I was instantly and equally hooked to the engineering and the silence :-D</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> You do have the option to turn on an audible tone while at low speed </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">but I really loved not doing that! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">(Especially when pulling away slowly in carparks) </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Rather childish really! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I excitedly drove, quite silently out of Aldi’s carpark </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">and then the short journey home to my driveway, </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">safe in the knowledge that there was much electric fun </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">to be had after an overnight charge.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Next Time: </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Chapter 2: An unexpected Journey (The EV tale Continues)</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;">Planning a journey (at Waitrose)</td></tr>
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<span style="color: #92d050; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 22.8267px;">@dansoapbox 2015 ‘Honesty with love’ <3 xo</span><span style="font-size: 16pt; line-height: 22.8267px;"><br clear="all" style="mso-special-character: line-break; page-break-before: always;" /><o:p></o:p></span><br />
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@dansoapboxhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12049167542646919632noreply@blogger.com2Westbury, Wiltshire, UK51.256785307599614 -2.186086177825927751.255543307599616 -2.1886076778259276 51.258027307599612 -2.1835646778259279