EV Come Home – Part 2, Meet The Leaf
Meet The Leaf, Dec 17-23 At OMSI
Here’s your chance to get a first hand look at the Nissan Leaf. Innovational Musings does not promote any particular dog in the EV race. But, we think the LEAF represents an excellent entry in the production level electric car market and it is worthy of our support. Particularly since it and its charging station infrastructure will roll out here in the Willamette Valley. So we’ll pass along news about the Leaf and its progress.
Dec. 17-23, 2009 - See the Nissan LEAF at OMSI
Nissan Announces Dates for Nissan LEAF Zero Emission Tour
Nissan North America announced that the Nissan LEAF zero-emission, all-electric car will make its North American debut in Los Angeles on Nov. 13. The Los Angeles showing will be the first time people in the United States will be able to see the five-passenger, five-door, gasoline-free car, which is embarking on a nationwide tour.
The Nissan LEAF Zero Emission Tour will make stops in 22 cities, in 11 states, the District of Columbia, and Vancouver, Canada, offering the opportunity for interested drivers, media, civic partners, businesses and university students to learn more about the Nissan LEAF and the benefits of zero-emission driving.
Follow the tour, get updates on the final schedule and specific showings, and sign up for more information, at http://www.nissanusa.com/leaf-electric-car. Look for the Nissan LEAF to make public appearances in the following areas during these times:
Pacific Northwest
Seattle: Dec. 8-12
Vancouver, Canada: Dec. 14-15
Portland, Ore.: Dec. 17-23
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More on Leaf
Below excerpts from Wire Autopia article…
Nissan’s Electric Leaf Spreads the EV Gospel
- By Chuck Squatriglia
- November 13, 2009
LOS ANGELES — Nissan’s big bet on electric vehicles rolled silently into Dodger Stadium, the first stop on the Japanese automaker’s 22-city nationwide tour to spread the EV gospel.
Company CEO Carlos Ghosn is among the industry’s loudest EV evangelists, and he firmly believes the four-door, five passenger Nissan Leaf will usher in the era of cleaner, greener motoring when it goes on sale late next year.
Nissan joins General Motors and others in promising electric cars within the next year or so, and the Leaf is slated to hit the market alongside the Chevrolet Volt. Ghosn said consumers are itching for affordable, attractive cars with cords and he boldly predicts such automobiles will comprise 10 percent of the market within 10 years.
“People are looking to us for a solution,” Ghosn said. “If we bring an electric car to market at the same price as a conventional car and we can prove battery lease and energy costs are cheaper than gasoline, I think we’ll have a hit.”
The Leaf’s air-cooled battery provides enough juice to go 100 miles in city traffic. Nissan isn’t releasing any performance or technical specs for the car because the drivetrain is still under development. But Larry Dominique, v.p. of advanced planning and strategy, said the Leaf will do zero to 60 “in less than 10 seconds.” That would make it faster than the Nissan Versa, he said. Top speed is 90 mph.
Plug the car into a 110-volt socket and you’ll need 14 to 16 hours to recharge it. A 220-volt 20-amp line cuts that to seven or eight hours, while a 440-volt “quick charge” station will get you to an 80 percent state of charge in 25 minutes, Dominique said.
Nissan plans to offer the car for “between $26,000 and $33,000″ when it goes on sale in December, 2010. Although Dominique wouldn’t say how many Leafs the company plans to produce, Ghosn has repeatedly said it will be a mass-market car, not a niche vehicle. Nissan’s plant in Oppama, Japan has the capacity to crank out 50,000 Leaf cars annually, and Nissan is using a $1.6 billion federal loan to build an EV and battery plant at its North American headquarters in Smyrna, Tennessee. When the factory opens in 2012, it will be able to produce 150,000 electric cars and 200,000 battery packs annually. Full article…
More next time in Part 3 on charging stations…
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