Nissan LEAF Electric Car is Unveiled

[excess_3]

YOKOHAMA - Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. today unveiled Nissan LEAF, the world's first affordable, zero-emission car. Designed specifically for a lithium-ion battery-powered chassis, Nissan LEAF is a medium-size hatchback that comfortably seats five adults and has a range of more than 160km (100 miles) to satisfy real-world consumer requirements.
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http://evworld.com/news.cfm?newsid=21498


nobody going to kill this car

[waiting for hope]

1. Now that's a car my family of four

can fit into ... :)

[WCGreen]

2. The car may not have emissions but the electrical generating

plant certainly does.

Unless of course it is power generated by water, wind or solar power.

[excess_3]

3. more important, does not have a gas-fill door

smog chocked cities will still benefit

[madokie]

4. True but the the emissions from the power company is nothing compared

to the emissions of an ICE engine.


splchk

[madokie]

5. Can't wait for this to hit the market

I'm a ford man and will more than likely wait until ford has an ev to offer but we hope our next auto to be an electric powered one. Both of our vehicles qualify for the cash for clunkers except that neither of our fords are clunkers and we don't drive enough to worry a lot about the mileage we get. By Nissan bringing this auto to market will ensure that the others will follow suit, I'm thinking anyway.

[IDemo]

6. Great news

Hard to believe they can keep it in the same price range as "a well-equipped C-segment vehicle" (compact) with the lithium-ion batteries, but if so, this will position Nissan as the clear leader in the EV market.

[IDemo]

8. It appears the battery pack will likely be leased

http://blogs.cars.com/kickingtires/2008/11/nissan-may-leas.html

Nissan May Lease Batteries For New Electric Cars

Nissan announced that buyers of its upcoming all-electric cars might have the opportunity to lease the high-voltage lithium-ion batteries separate from the cost of the car. This is a step intended to mitigate both their high price and widespread consumer concerns about the lifespan of hybrid and electric-car batteries. Carlos Tavares, Nissan Motor Co.'s executive vice president for product planning and design, discussed the cost issue yesterday at a Green Car conference organized by Automotive News, an industry trade publication. Echoing a sentiment expressed throughout the daylong conference, Tavares said an electric car is theoretically cheaper to manufacture than a gas model — until you add the battery cost.

Combined, Tavares said, the car and leasing will rival a conventional car's cost of ownership. Nissan's first electric car will hit municipal and other fleet testing in the U.S. and Japan in 2010. "We're getting cars on the ground with real people driving them in order to start building our knowledge base on how they're being used," Nissan spokesman Brian Brockman said. "We're not talking 100 vehicles. It's hundreds, if not a few thousand."

Nissan expects the car to become a mass-market consumer product in 2012.

[wtmusic]

7. The EV1 killed GM more than the other way around. nt