Bruce, great to hear you are doing so well. I enjoyed the chat with the car salesman (I was a salesman for Chevy about 10 years ago but I left it after three months... to much duress. I was in Hospital in Feb. and March this year, The doctors administered a lot of tests with negative results, and a surprising number (80%) were for conditions I did not have the symptoms to suggest, I think they were soaking the old mans insurance for test fees. If you NEED the Thyroid trim have them include a neck "Lift" so the skin is tightened and the scar is nearly invisible or grow a "Neck Beard" to hide the scar. All the best wishes.
*Dennis Lee Miles * *Director **E.V.T.I. Inc.* *E-Mail:* *[email protected]* <[email protected]> *Phone #* *(863) 944-9913* Dade City, Florida 33523 USA On Sat, May 24, 2014 at 1:08 AM, brucedp5 via EV <[email protected]> wrote: > > % The roar of an old-EVangel % > > [This post is inter-mingled with some of my personal issues as they are > affecting how-much EVangelizing I can still do after the recent health > issue > cropped up] > > One of the many-many doctors I have been paraded around to changed my heart > medications which after a couple of days (today), I felt pretty good (slept > better, had energy, and that bright-go-getter/Get 'er Done attitude). > Sort-of felt like the old-lion that still had a roar left in it. > > So, I got some planned chores done (recycling old junk, etc.) and still had > energy. I had planned to swing by a couple of stores to prepare for this > holiday weekend (get it done before the crowds, etc.). > > On a whim, I stopped off at my local Ford dealership to check on them (see > what has changed and what has stayed the same). I have posted about them > before, so my expectations were not all that high. This dealership is quite > old (goes back to the early days of selling the Ford model T) so it small > yet they have a large remote parking area that holds their new vehicle > inventory. > > Using my cane for support (ignoring the arthritic pain in my hips and > joints), I did my old-n-slow old-man walk to the dealership, I noticed the > one Leviton (re-badged as Ford's) 6kW EVSE on their building wall was > charging one of two plugins parked near it. > > As I got closer, I saw they were Ford's Fusion Energi pih: a > metallic-silver > and a metallic-black one. Though they did not have their license plates, > they did already have their green HOV (car-pool-lane) stickers (using the > sticker as a selling point). > > I went in and hit up a sales type (a tall slender older man, groomed for > sales). I did my usual break-the-ice chit-chat with him to get him going, > "Those are good-looking vehicles" (he smiled). I asked how many focus > Electrics he had in stock, he said 'one'. > > And I asked what color it was (usually customers would ask that, so I was > playing along with what he would expect to be asked). He said it was > tuxedo-black like the pih outside (we were looking at through the window). > I > asked how many Fusion Energi he had, he said "Oh, we have a slew of those > (a > lot of them). > > (Then I went a little on the attack to put him little off balance), "So you > like selling the Fusion Energi over the Electrics, you like gas over > Electrics, right?" > > He dropped into selling mode by saying, "The Electrics don't sell because > they can't go that far, those (Fusion Energi pih) can drive to LA. You > could > not even get to Bakersfield (265mi away) in the Electric" (This told me he > has not a clue of the Focus Electric's range nor the EV charging > infrastructure). > > I told him that if the Focus Electric has level-3 charging that would not > be > a problem, and that their EV could then actually compete with the other EVs > (those words just seem to wash past him like a light breeze). > > He tried to say that Ford was working on it, and I cut short (in a friendly > way), that I really-really knew about plugins and no, Ford is not working > on > level-3 for their EV. (he paused, which meant he acknowledged my words). > > I told him, I was for both Electrics and plug-in-hybrids, as I support both > (then I quickly turned his attention to the showroom so as not to lose him > as there were no customers at that time). I asked about the pih he had on > display, and I mentioned that a member of my nonprofit had a Fusion Energi, > that they liked the additional room it had over other pih (this let him > drop > into a more comfortable selling mode). > > He pointed to the Cmax hev, and said "Then you ought to sit in one of > these." He mentioned that either the Cmax or the Fusion came in either hev > or pih models. He used my appearance to yak up the needs of the AARP > (older/retired) buyer. > > When a potential customer came in, before he noticed, I thanked him and > suggested that he go help them (to meet his sale quota), which he eagerly > did. > > Clearly, Ford is still not that interested in selling EVs as they have not > made an effort to make their one and only EV model have the options to > compete with their competition (i.e.: level-3 charging, having at least 3 > driving modes - rainy/mountain-driving, normal, eco/long-range, etc.). Ford > is still quite happy selling pih and ice. So, not much has changed at that > dealership, except a new batch of sales staff. > > After leaving and at my last shopping stop, I paused the shopping cart I > was > using like a walker to gaze on a new white Leaf EV that was pulling into > the > disabled parking spot (near the store's entrance). > > I gently approached the driver who had two toddlers in the car seats in the > back seat, and who seemed to be waiting for someone to come out. She let me > talk to her and what a pleasant experience that was. > > Though her Leaf did not have its license plates yet, she said it was a 2013 > model (?). She told me it was the trim that had the more powerful on-board > charger. I complemented her on her wisdom in that choice, as it can only > help her now and later as a better resale value. > > I had mentioned that I had just come from the Ford dealership and asked if > she had thought about the Ford Focus Electric before purchasing her Leaf. > She said the Leaf had such a long standing reputation as a a good EV. I > nodded in agreement and mentioned that the Focus Electric was after-all > just > a compliance car. She smirked, and shook her head in disappointment. > > I asked if her Leaf had different driving modes, and she said yes. I told > her that the Focus Electric didn't and it did not even have level-3 > charging. She emphatically said she goes too many places to not have a > level-3 charging ability (meaning she is quite happy with what her Leaf EV > gives her). > > (Her toddlers at this point were eying me as 'Who is this Big Guy talking > to > Mommy?!?) I asked her if she knew of the different EVSE rfid cards > Chargepoint and Blink, and she quickly said yes. > > And she also already knew about plugshare.com and recargo (for looking > up > where public EVSE is located). Again, I complemented her as out of the last > 12 new Leaf drivers I had talked to, they knew nothing of the plugshare, > and > were only told to use carwings (the on-board infotainment system's display > of where charging is located). She strongly agreed that carwings is > basically useless compared to plugshare or recargo for finding EV charging. > > I was very impressed by this gal (she was one sharp new-EV driver). She > also > already knew of the myleaf forum. So, at our parting (I did not want to > take > up all her time though she was quite nice about chatting with me), I let > her > know of the free Silicon Valley EAA's EVent being held at De Anza College > Sat. Sept 20th 2014 > http://eaasv.org/ > > When I mentioned that it usually has everything there, including lots of > things the kids would be interested in, the toddlers' eyes perked up in > interest. I mentioned that I hoped she would come, get a free charge while > enjoying the EVent, and leave anytime they wanted. > > ... > Talking to her (as a new Leaf EV driver) just made my day. Though she was > already on top of many of the things I usually have to inform newbies of, > just talking to her gave me the EVangel rush so familiar, that I hoped I > still had in me. > > It isn't everyday that I feel as good as I did today. I hope I feel this > good on the day of the eaasv.org Rally so I can enjoy it. It is always a > good time for all. > > ... > On a personal side note, the doctors at the hospital are mentioning that > they want to do surgery on my thyroid (its a little large on one side, > hardly noticeable). So before these surgeons begin carving this big turkey > (me), I want them to ensure I really need it done. > > It isn't that I am vain, it is that though I am now old, I am not that hard > to look at and my large physical presence is like a walking billboard. I am > not a celebrity, but I do have a large visibility factor (all my life, > everyone has noticed Bruce). So, when I do my talking to the public about > EVs/plugins (EVangel work), I use that presence to help promote the > EV-cause. > > I am concerned that if I end up with a zipper scar on my throat like > http://i56.tinypic.com/no5zly.jpg > http://0.tqn.com/d/create/1/0/t/q/A/-/Dana.jpg > that the public will not hear my EV-cause words but stare at the scar. That > would knock me out of the game (like being permanently benched). Which > would > seem a shame if I still had the ability to promote the EV-cause. Well, we > will have to see how this ends up (I will hope for the best). > > > {brucedp.150m.com} > > > > -- > View this message in context: > http://electric-vehicle-discussion-list.413529.n4.nabble.com/EVangel-About-Ford-still-pushing-their-pih-One-smart-new-Leaf-driver-tp4669625.html > Sent from the Electric Vehicle Discussion List mailing list archive at > Nabble.com. > _______________________________________________ > UNSUBSCRIBE: http://www.evdl.org/help/index.html#usub > http://lists.evdl.org/listinfo.cgi/ev-evdl.org > For EV drag racing discussion, please use NEDRA ( > http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NEDRA) > > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... 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