The Leaf is for sale this year with preorders starting this April.
That $25k price is after a tax credit, but it’s still quite low. Compared to the Chevy Volt it’s going to be interesting to see which sells. Volt pricing is still speculative and I can’t remember if it was under $30k even with the tax credit.
The Volt’s 40 miles + gas motor, or the Leaf’s 100 miles + home charging station? Which tech would you buy?
if the leaf didn’t look horrible it would win easily IMO. instead of being one car trying to do everything, I see it as a perfect 2nd car to drive to work and back while still having another car for long trips, fun, etc…
25k is still a lot of money for a car that has to be a secondary vehicle because of it’s range limitations.
I voted Volt but at 40k I wouldn’t buy a Volt either.
That’s why I didn’t post pics of the two cars. I wanted to focus just on the tech and see what people thought.
Leaf
For families that have 2 cars, it’s great. Would make an awesome DD. 1 gasoline and 1 electric in the family is all you need.
I will say that all the smelly hippies who were bashing GM after that smear piece “who killed the electric car” came out better be lined up to buy the Leaf the day it goes on sale.
anyone know the re-charge time on the leaf?
you ppl realise the back up motor on the volt makes it amazing as far as hybrids… the range is essentially unlimited. its 40 miles before that motor needs to run and even then its only turning a generator to recharge the batteries. that makes the volt win hands down.
but i still wouldnt buy it.
technology isnt where it needs to be yet to produce these cars and they are only being made because they sell
I mean the prius is so inefficiant it isnt funny.
for fuel economy buy a TDI
I like the idea of the Leaf because Springville electric is cheap and the fact that it totally eliminates OPEC. 
There is an article on the Leaf in Mother Earth News this month.
this whole thing is interestingly hypocritical… you want the heavy motor as a backup generator then complain about the lame MPG.
Don’t electric cars with home charging stations merely move fossil fuel consumption from the end user to the power plants? :gotme:
That said, I’d take the Volt over the Leaf. Doesn’t look like a bag of smashed assholes and I’d rather have the option of the gas generator if i needed it.
yes, but the process can be more easily and efficiently refined when it’s being done at 1 facility, rather than in thousands of different models of cars.
1 auto manufacturer increasing 1 model’s MPGs is insignificant. 1 power plant increasing the efficiency of it’s process has a MUCH larger effect.
the efficiency of both the electric motor and the power plant are far better than the internal combustion engine. plus we get to pick how we make the power.
I just see it causing a run on electric and straining the shit out of our ancient grid. I already spend more on electric than I do on gas in a month and I get 13 MPG on 93.
You’re going to strain the grid with either because they both plug in at night to charge. I’d much rather strain our grid and force the investment in more power that we can generate here (nuclear, solar, hydro and even lame ass wind) than use oil that we have to import.
The good news is that charging them overnight is off peak so it helps with the load on the grid. Offer people an incentive of cheaper power after 11pm and most would charge their cars on a timer.
Big difference I see is that at the Auto Show, I’ve seen pics of the Volt plugged into a regular 110v outlet.
Among the unknowns is how consumers will react to a car that must be recharged after 100 miles, and that to be really convenient, must be used with a home charging dock. The 220-volt charging dock will cost $2,200, including installation, according to the company.
:uhh:
I guess you can charge the Nissan off a regular outlet but it takes 18 hours. Not really practical for a commuter, especially without gas backup.
18 hours for a full charge? Chances are most people won’t be running it down to the very last bit. If you do only 60 miles per day, then you would cut the charge time almost in half.
On a normal day, I am home and done running around by 8pm. I don’t leave for work until 8am. So I wouldn’t be able to get a full charge in, but I usually don’t drive 100 per day. If you did 100 miles per day, that equates to 36,500 miles per year. So basically, most people do about 1/3 of that number (12k/year is avg).
plus at your home you’ll probably get a 220 outlet (possibly a 3rd party one that’s cheaper) and it will be a lot less time to charge.
2200 added into the purchase price of the car isn’t all that bad. Especially since it’s a 1 time investment that would hopefully be universal for all electric cars.
I like the idea of a commuter that I’d never have to take to a gas station and charge over night like my cell phone.
But I like the idea of my SUV better