All this energy sustainability stuff is fine and good, but do you know what? LEAFs are TOTALLY fun! Waimea is 1/2 mile up and at the bottom of the hill at sea level is Kawaihae. What a joy to cruise down the hill (I can generate up to 30KW!) to the Mauna Kea Resort or Hapuna Prince, plug in, turn on the A/C full blast, and have a wonderful buffet breakfast. When I’m done, fully full, and fully charged, then race back up the hill, full speed, A/C full on. What a riot! They never quite got down making highways straight here in Hawaii, and the cornering of the LEAF is awesome. The acceleration of the LEAF is great, and it is a steady push, no gears, no automatic transmission, just smooth acceleration – nothing like it. Fun, fun fun…

I heard an interesting comment when I gave my talk at the Waimea Events Salon the other day. Dealerships don’t  like the LEAF because there is so little maintenance. Apparently they don’t make much money from the sale, but do make money on the maintenance – you know you can’t get it done for less than $400 on a regular car. So, the overall ownership cost over the life of an electric is much less. Interesting thought…

Oh, and please welcome Larry Adams, marketing director at Aloha Petroleum. They put some charge stations in Aloha gas outlets on Oahu. I am trying to get some of our tax money back here for some Level-III stations. I got 3 replies to my letters so far, which is nice. At least we shared information about where we need the stations. Still need to see actual action though – have to work with Margaret Larson…

Enjoy!
Doug