There are now various options throughout the market for hybrid vehicles from many different manufacturers. But the realm of zero emission electric vehicles is still a quite small one. No manufacturer currently produces an electric only car on a large scale, but that is soon to change with the release of the new Nissan Leaf. Nissan has received overwhelming amounts of interest from the public with 20 thousand reservations for purchase being made before the car has even been set out for retail sale. The cars engine is comparable to a 100hp ICE and has an estimated range of about 100miles. It seems like Nissan has put a lot of thought into this car and knows their target market well, integrating many of the features into this car that their audience is looking for. The car manages to justify its $33,000 price tag with an intelligent array of electronic gadgets that many consumers are coming to expect from a mid range car. Coming in at a price point close to vehicles of similar quality, the Nissan Leaf could prove to be a very cost effective mode of transport for many people. Almost every aspect of the car despite range is on par with conventional gas powered automobiles, this is made possible by recent advancements in battery technology that seem to have a good outlook for the future. If such trends continue it appears that the electric car will have a chance at surpassing fossil fuel vehicles in a short amount of time. For more information on the Leaf visit Nissan's website.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteCoincidentally, the Nissan leaf was discussed at my last SAE meeting when GM came as the guess speaker. Their most emphasized point at the presentation was the upcoming Chevrolet Volt and how it was the transition step between completely gas powered vehicles and completely electric powered vehicles. The Volt is powered by electric motors and has a battery range of 40 miles, the average American's daily travel they said. While this is less than 50% of the Leaf's range, the volt also has a small 1.6L gas engine to generate more electricity if demanded for longer trips. I think both are very cool cars and I think in 10 years time when battery technology has developed even further, the leaf will dominate the volt. From the video I understood that the Leaf takes 16 hours for a complete charge on US voltage, unless a 240V wire is installed. 16 hours I have to say is much too long, and the 8 hours on a 240V system would be much more suitable for over night charges. Businesses with parking that allow for charging electric cars would also be benificial on getting that fully charged battery. I think the Leaf is a very suiting car for the average person and I really like that there is finally a movement in making electric cars more appealing and exciting. The two cars will be around the same market price and I presume if someone is to decide between purchasing either it would depend on preference and daily travel.
ReplyDelete