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Nissan turns over a new Leaf
The Nissan Leaf is an electric car going into production in 2010.
(Credit: Nissan)
This weekend Nissan released photos and details of the electric car it intends to put into production in 2010. The Nissan Leaf is a purpose-built, pure battery electric vehicle. Nissan previously let us test-drive the Leaf's power train using the Cube as a test model. The Nissan Leaf has its own distinct look; it's a more conventional car than the Cube, with four doors and a hatchback. Although it hasn't announced pricing, Nissan says the Leaf will be affordable, priced as a C-segment car. The company also notes that the Leaf will cost less to operate than a gasoline-powered car, both in energy and maintenance, as there are fewer moving parts. Also, many governments offer incentives in the form of tax credits or rebates to purchase an electric car.
The Leaf uses a laminate lithium ion battery pack with an output of over 90 kilowatts. The car's drive motor puts out 80 kilowatts of power, substantial enough to give it performance equivalent to a gas-powered car. Nissan claims the Leaf has a range of over 100 miles, fairly typical for electric car projects from other automakers. The Leaf uses regenerative braking, and has a recharge time of 30 minutes to get the battery pack up to 80 percent using a quick charger. From a 200-volt source, the Leaf takes 8 hours to recharge.
One of the more innovative elements of the car is its onboard computer. Along with typical functions such as charge level and range, this computer is connected to a data center that will receive diagnostic information from the car. It will also keep the driver informed of local recharge stations. Although not specifically mentioned, this onboard system could easily show navigation with traffic conditions. Nissan says the computer will also provide entertainment for passengers.
The Leaf will originally be built in Japan, and sold in Japan, the United States, and Europe. As demand dictates, Nissan will build additional units in its Smyrna, Tennessee plant.
Why is it that green cars have to be ugly? Look at the Prius and the Insight and the G-Whiz.
If they keep this at $20k or so, I'll probably get one.
I am actually waiting to get one of these electric cars soon next year.
The Japanese are once again leading the trend in the car industry.
Nissan is not a division of Renault. Renault owns 44.3% of Nissan, and Nissan owns 15% of Renault. They are independent companies with a working alliance (similar to the Chrysler/Mitsubishi alliance of a few years back). I believe a former head of Renault is now the CEO of Nissan, but that does not mean Nissan is owned by Renault anymore than Howard Stringer being CEO of Sony means Sony is owned by CBS.
Nissan's global headquarters is in Yokohama, Japan.
For those who may have eaten to many 'Liberty Fries' that might be a bad thing.
Me ? I like it. I like a lot of auto styles... certainly not exclusive to a French flair - not by a long shot.
But it is nice to see one company putting out a 'flavor' that certainly doesn't look like everybody else.
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But you keep deluding yourselves... if it makes you feel better next to the Jones ... I prefer reality.
Yes, cool design and compelling range...very cool!
The auto makers, I believe, and seriously underestimating demand.
Almost every person I know is hanging on to their gas burners, refusing to buy anything
not a plug-in electric.
I can't wait to 'gas' my car from my solar panels : )
Relax.
It would be a source zero emissions vehicle if you knew that the electricity it is using to charge doesn't require fossil fuels.
I think you are trying to be too technical. It is what it is.
It is not 'being too technical' to ask reporters, bloggers, and especially car companies and politicians to be more clear about the NET GAIN of greenhouse gas emissions for electric vehicles. It is the least we can expect for some legitimate statistics and science to be applied to the situation.
My point exactly. It is a general misconception that going electrical is an immediate benefit for the environment. A study done in Europe actually proved that unless 20-30% of electricity is generated by green power plants, then the situation actually becomes worse. Then there is the matter with all those toxic batteries, that will need to be changed every few years.
At least once the vehicles are electric, work can be concentrated on fewer sources of pollution. If cars in an area are being powered by a coal plant then that one plant can be upgraded, cleaned up, altered to fix all of those vehicles at once. One big power plant is a lot easier to manage than millions of little ones. We have to start somewhere and its going to take a long time to get all the gas powered vehicles finally off the roads. Too many people are trying to confuse people by talking about all the points in the life cycle of a vehicle where energy is used. Yes, its all important, but just because a coal power plant is the ultimate source of energy for an electric car doesn't make the electric car a bad idea. We have to start somewhere. All the other issues with the energy system will be resolved in due time.
I think more people would do the same thing if they knew it existed in their area and they knew how easy it was to make the switch. I'm hoping that when they create these recharge stations, they will use green power as well. I also think that Nissan should add a solar panel option for the roof, or better yet ... make it a standard.
Obviously every little bit makes a difference, but there is one major manufacturer (and I forget who) that offers a solar roof on one of their cars (maybe the Prius?) and all it's used for is to run the air conditioning. That's as much power as you get out of that.
And obviously, since most people would be charging their cars at night, it's not going to help a lot there.
I don't like the name "Leaf" either.
"So, what do you drive?" "I drive a Leaf." "Oh."
I do like the interior though and 100 miles is pretty good for city drivers.
I'm ready for the next decade.
Uh ... what?
Is this what Apple fanboys are coming too bashing Microsoft in articles that are not even in the same industry?
One thing that bothers me is that this is the kind of car that companies will use to advertise their pizza place or other product. They always go for the cars that look different than most others. Like the Prius, the MINI, the Scions and Cube, the LEAF will certainly be on the advertisers list.
Not every problem needs to be solved at once for there to be a market.
Most people own cars these days for a specific type of use. If you're a traveling salesman who drives 50,000 miles per year, you're going to buy a different car than somebody who commutes by train to work every day. That's true even when comparing gasoline cars to each other.
This is a commuter car. You can drive it around town, to your job, to the mall on weekends, etc. For many people, that's 90% of their driving. Since most families these days have 2 cars, you can still have a second car for long trips if you need it. And if you're a real eco-friendly family, that can still be a hybrid.
Myself, I am actually interested in the Leaf more for the cost savings than the environmental factors, although the latter is a nice bonus. But I suspect most people who buy this will do it so they don't need to worry about $4 gas again. Even $3 gas is pretty crazy when you've got a 22 gallon tank to fill. Who wants to spend $60 filling their gas tank every few days? I'd much rather spend $20 on electricity instead and know that that amount is regulated and will not increase without government approval.
The Leaf looks like a warmed-over Prius with no grill. :-( The Japanese make very well built cars but, with precious few exceptions, they're not much to look at . . . especially 4-door sedans, which are always bumpy and sculpted where they should have been rounded and smooth. Or maybe it's that the innovative styling (the aforementioned Cube) only occasionally makes it to US shores and the boring looking stuff is what most Americans with middle-of-the-road tastes will end up buying.
In any event . . . I'm just glad that a major car company is going to offer an electric car like this.
Batteries will only get better and the average range on these vehicles will improve. The power grid will get greener and less electricity for these things will have the heavy carbon footprint that is attached to it today. It won't happen overnight but it WILL happen. Just like computers, early adopters will help make electric cars into better products and economies of scale will concurrently make them more affordable to buy. Then, several years into the future, everyone will have/want one.
I'll just wait until there are more body styles to choose from and for "a charging station on every corner" (the latter of which , apparently, Nissan/Renailt has already been giving a lot of careful planning towards in the cities where these cars will first be sold.)
Also, I hate the new Cube anyway. The previous-gen Cube was really cute, but the new one, which was redesigned for its American introduction, is bigger and uglier, contoured in all the wrong places. It's the same thing Toyota did with the new Scion xB, which was also redesigned for Americans to the detriment of the car's unique styling.
For now, it's going to be mostly homeowners who will be able to take advantage of this. This is nothing new; there are a lot of things homeowners can do that apartment renters can't (and some things vice versa; you can call the landlord when you need something fixed, whereas homeowners have to do it themselves, or pay for someone else to).
If electric cars take off, though, then you'll start to see outdoor power outlets popping up as an amenity in apartment buildings...
If you buy this you need two cars. The Nissan for commuting and local errands and another vehicle for road trips over 40 miles or so from home.
Software to facilitate owner management of their own keys can be available for free (e.g. RememberEZ.blogspot.com). Is there someone in management saying that the consumer is not smart enough to manage her/his own keys? Is there an owner that would reject the opportunity to have a car whose keys are unique from all other cars in the world? Is there a car owner that would reject the opportunity to make/remake their own keys anytime/anyplace they want, at no additional cost to them?
Weren't there like four nuclear leaks in less than a month last year in France? People couldn't shower or drink the water. Oh, and France uses about 78% nuclear. Although that is a lot, that's hardly "almost 90%."
What is the deal with Republicans liking everything that is dirty when it comes to energy?
There is no such thing as "clean coal." Coal power plants actually produces 100 times the radiation as nuclear power plants of the same size. And we all know the problems with Oil. So why shouldn't we continue with Nuclear Power?
With nuclear power, there is nuclear waste. Yes, there is a way to reprocess that waste, but the more you refine uranium, the more it becomes useful as a weapon and that is something that we don't want to have laying around. And even then, there is still going to be waste that won't go away for hundreds of thousands of years. It might be better than what we have now with Coal and Oil, but that is short term fixes. France will someday see the error in their ways. We need clean, renewable energy from several sources. If you think that is too hard, you aren't trying hard enough.
Do you research! Don't just listen to what news stations tell you! Stop watching Fox News! Or why don't you move next door to a Nuclear power plant. I bet that you wouldn't.
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by creative36
August 3, 2009 5:18 PM PDT
- awe it looks cute. So much better than stinky gassers.
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