Does any current Leaf 2011-2014 owner have a spare Japanese Head Unit and/or Instrument Cluster to: - take a photo of the back (connectors); - donate or sell (cheap) for tear apart experiments. ?
bfginger: With the government collecting so much tax from fuel I can't see them allowing electric cars to go without paying RUCs after 2020.
How they'll treat plug-in hybrids and cars that burn petrol to produce electricity is more enigmatic.
IF EVs actually do take off hopefully the govt will finally review RUC for very light vehicles, which currently would result in an i3 or leaf (~1.5 tonne) paying only 10% less than a 6 tonne truck
Personally I think EVs will continue to get a free ride on RUC,
bfginger: ..... Most electric cars on the market now are design experiments. ......
I do not think that design of the drivetrain in EVs is somethig super new or experimental, except of the energy source..
Have a gut feeling that there is something somewhere hidden behind doors marked "top secret" we do not know much about.
That "something" is portable, lightweight and allows vehicles to run, fly and swim for months and years without re-fill or re-charge.
The problem is - how would you as a manufacturer monetize on that if you give people access to that technology?
Instead, you would introduce new gadgets (tablets, phones, cars, you name it) which are running on non-interchangeable (between brands and models) batteries based on the old technology.
In that sense - "design experiments" I guess are focused mainly on how to make car looks appealing to buy (perhaps giving promises of $ savings or inspiring you saving the Planet) but disallow you to fix the battery yourself (e.g. Tesla).
Currently batteries can be fixed in your own garage if you have the source of spare modules in many hybrids (Prius, Camry, Lexus, Honda) and EVs (e.g. Leaf)
Battery dies (in 10 years as some claimed) and that in car manufacturer's opinion should stimulate you to buy a new gadget.
Advice: one considering buying EV should learn about traction batteries (and associated cost of ownership) before looking into any other features of the car.
I am making prediction that in much less than 7 years we will see a lot of those 2011-2012 Leafs stuck in the back yards still in a perfect shape but with heavily degraded batteries - not good enough to drive you to the nearest supermarket. Similarly to some having old smartphones - working devices with the battery you can't source anymore...
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