Special Fuel Decal

Well, I finally found my dealership paperwork and got the car registered and titled!  Then I had to pay for my Special Fuel Decal.  It is a large yellow sticker that must go in the bottom right of your windshield and it must be paid every year.  The cost:  $75. 

The first year it was prorated for the days remaining.  The manager had to come over and do the required documents, since it was so rare!  (No one at the DMV could believe when I pointed out the fuel type was "E" for electric.  However, I should note, that I also had to have the dealership change it - they originally put G for gasoline.  I said, I think this should say E.  (I was used to checking this box from my diesel days.)  The financial officer at the dealership said, "You know, I never noticed that before.  You are the first person to point this out to me.  Huh."  So I can see why maybe the DMV had never seen it before either . . . )

Is this fair?  Well, in Missouri, I would normally pay 17 cents a gallon on taxes to Missouri.  $75/0.17  = 441.2, so I am paying Missouri the same amount of tax as  person who buys just over 441 gallons of gas a year.  If you car gets 30 mpg, that would be like someone who drives 13,230 miles per year.  This seems a little high to me, but I also never need an emissions inspection (would can cost up to $24.  But, alas, this is not a tax.)  According to CarInsurance.com, in 2011, the average miles driven per year in Missouri was 11,444.  Since Missouri is getting their piece of the pie, what about the feds? 

According to EIA, 18.4 cents per gallon is federal excise tax.  How are they recouping this lost revenue? 

My main complaint is that now I will have to go into the DMV every January!  (It is annoying enough to go in once every 2 years to renew my plates. I never get the notice done in time to do it online.)  Can I renew my Alternate Fuel Tax sticker online? 
I didn't see anything online:  http://dor.mo.gov/motorv/decals.php 

Does anyone have experience or know?  Comment below! 

What happens when unexpected errands come up?

Well, today I left my house with a 101 mile range - plenty!  But I drove 35 miles to pick up dry ice and get to school.  Well, then some impromptu errands came up - and they were all far away!  Quick Chargers to the rescue!  I was at 30 miles but I had 24.5 miles to go home.  There was a quick charger just 3 minutes out of the way!  :)  We are lucky in St. Louis to have so many!  (There is not a single Tesla quick charger in the entire state.)

I went to the St. Charles Nissan Dealership.  The pricing is weird - it is $5/hour.  (Most around here are $5 per charge - the hourly rate is cheaper.)  So it cost me $1.67 today!!.

 You can access it even when the lot is closed by going in the entrance by the "Trucks" sign.  (The gate to block off the lot is just past the charger.) 

They have 2 level 2 chargers and one Quick Charger.  Bonus:  You get to charge right by a lot of other Leafs! 

There is info displayed on the "pump" as my daughter calls it while you are charging. 

My daughter helped me.  I love that you CANNOT start the car with it plugged in.  Impossible!  You can however run the a/c (or heat I assume) while charging. 

You can see your charging history at any ChargePoint station.  Here is mine!

I am hoping to focus more on the kid stuff soon.  But even when surprise! errands pop up -  I wasn't left high and dry.

Notice:  National EV Week is coming up!  The St Louis Science Center will have cars on display from 11-3 on 9-21.  Hope to see you there! 

+2000 miles and going STRONG!

My how the miles fly by!  I adore my Leaf.  It is so fun, peppy, and quiet.  Every other car I ride in now seems deafening! 

My only recent bummer was a busted quick charger.  I drove lots of errands and went to stop at the Nissan dealership near my home to charge.  I am trying to always keep my battery pack above 10% and this would have been close.  (In other words, I would have made it home but it would have been below my goal of 10%.)  When I got there - an ERROR message.  (Some units seem more prone to this than others . . . )

 

Since it is  private charger, (and FREE!) it does not go "green' on the ChargePoint app, it's always white.  (With the other ones, you can tell if it's ready.)  I did call ChargePoint so they could report it out of order.  They did find another one 7.6 miles away - which is pretty close.  But I live only 5 miles away from this charger.  She was also quick to tell me that this other charger did have a $5 fee.  (I love that you always get a knowledgeable human when you call ChargePoint.) 

 

Luckily, the Nissan dealer also has the slower chargers (but faster than 110 V) right next door.  They were charging up two 2015 Leafs.  I unplugged one and used it for about 30 minutes.  The kids and I walked around the parking lot, admired the sunset, and played on the parking curbs (a line of like 20 balance beams by empty parking spaces.)  I went from 14% to 21%.  Not bad!  :)  We left when they started getting fussy.  (For me, 1% is equal to one mile in Eco mode.) 

 

 

My husband actually went on n adventure last week in the Leaf, driving out to Union, MO on back roads.  He  hypermiled and brought up the overall average to  4.7 miles per KWh.  The highest he could get consistently was 5.7 miles per KWh.  (He forgot to take any photos.)  Now the average I back down to 4.3 miles per KWh.  What do other folks average?  Post below!

 

I will try to post some videos of how it works with the kiddos.  Such a GREAT family car.  I used to think I could hold out for a hybrid minivan, now I might hold out for an electric one!  Oh my! 

 

National Drive Electric Week is coming up.  Attend an event near you!! 

https://driveelectricweek.org/