{"id":661,"date":"2009-08-02T12:31:59","date_gmt":"2009-08-02T07:01:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mohamediqbalp.wordpress.com\/2009\/08\/02\/nissan-turns-over-an-electric-leaf\/"},"modified":"2009-08-02T12:31:59","modified_gmt":"2009-08-02T07:01:59","slug":"nissan-turns-over-an-electric-leaf","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/venusimportexport.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/2009\/08\/02\/nissan-turns-over-an-electric-leaf\/","title":{"rendered":"Nissan Turns Over An Electric Leaf"},"content":{"rendered":"<h1>Nissan Turns Over An Electric Leaf<\/h1>\n<div class=\"entryDescription\">\n<ul>\n<li class=\"entryAuthor\">                        By Chuck Squatriglia                         <a href=\"mailto:chuck_squatriglia@wired.com\">                            <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.wired.com\/autopia\/wp-content\/themes\/wired\/images\/envelope.gif\" alt=\"Email Author\" border=\"0\" height=\"11\" width=\"14\" \/>                        <\/a>                    <\/li>\n<li class=\"entryDate\">                        August 2, 2009                        &nbsp;|&nbsp;                    <\/li>\n<li class=\"entryTime\">                        12:00 am                        &nbsp;|&nbsp;                    <\/li>\n<li class=\"entryCategories\">                       Categories: <a href=\"http:\/\/www.wired.com\/autopia\/category\/evs-and-hybrids\/\" title=\"View all posts in EVs and Hybrids\" rel=\"category tag\">EVs and Hybrids<\/a>                    <\/li>\n<li class=\"entryEdit\"><\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<div class=\"entry\">\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.wired.com\/images_blogs\/autopia\/2009\/08\/nissan_leaf.jpg\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-11123\" title=\"nissan_leaf\" src=\"http:\/\/www.wired.com\/images_blogs\/autopia\/2009\/08\/nissan_leaf.jpg\" alt=\"nissan_leaf\" height=\"446\" width=\"670\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>After teasing us for months with prototypes and promises, Nissan unveiled a sleek five-passenger electric hatchback with a claimed range of 100 miles. It\u2019s called the Leaf, and Nissan says it will be here next year.<\/p>\n<p>Nissan pulled the sheet off the Leaf tonight at the company\u2019s new headquarters in Yokohama, Japan, where CEO Carlos Ghosn promised to usher in the auto industry\u2019s electric era. All of the major automakers are rushing to <a href=\"http:\/\/www.wired.com\/autopia\/2009\/01\/automakers-agre\/\">bring mainstream EVs to market<\/a> in the next few years, but Japan\u2019s No. 3 automaker has been among the most aggressive. Ghosn has made it clear he believes EVs are the future and he wants Nissan to lead the way<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe have been working tirelessly to make this day a reality \u2014 the unveiling of a real-world car that has zero, not simply reduced, emissions,\u201d Ghosn said in a statement. \u201cIt\u2019s the first step in what is sure to be an exciting journey \u2013 for people all over the world, for Nissan and for the industry.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Nissan isn\u2019t saying what the Leaf will cost \u2014 look for a price in the $25,000 to $30,000 range \u2014 but promises it will be the first affordable, practical electric car when it goes on sale in the U.S., Japan and Europe by the end of 2010.<\/p>\n<p><span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.wired.com\/images_blogs\/autopia\/2009\/08\/nissan_leaf_021.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-11129\" title=\"nissan_leaf_021\" src=\"http:\/\/www.wired.com\/images_blogs\/autopia\/2009\/08\/nissan_leaf_021.jpg\" alt=\"nissan_leaf_021\" height=\"404\" width=\"670\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Nissan has focused most of its eco-friendlier efforts on building more fuel-efficient gasoline cars. The company has essentially skipped the hybrid party \u2014 its one gas-electric model, the Altima Hybrid, uses a drivetrain licensed from Toyota. But Ghosn has emerged as one of the industry\u2019s loudest EV evangelists. Nissan\u2019s parent, Renault, is working closely with Better Place and Shai Agassi to <a href=\"http:\/\/www.wired.com\/cars\/futuretransport\/magazine\/16-09\/ff_agassi\">bring electric vehicles to the masses<\/a>, and Ghosn has on many occasions unequivocally stated that electric cars are the future.<\/p>\n<p>The Leaf \u2014 sorry, Nissan, we\u2019re not going to use the all-caps spelling \u2014 is the first of what Nissan says will be a family of electric cars that will follow the Leaf in quick succession.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe celebrate today the start of a new chapter of our company\u2019s life,\u201d Ghosn said.<\/p>\n<p>The Leaf draws power from a 24 kilowatt-hour battery pack comprised of 192 lithium-manganese cells. The pack, developed with NEC, is laid out flat beneath the floor to maximize interior room. Nissan claims the car has a range of 100 miles, but one EV expert we spoke to tonight said 70 is probably more realistic given the size of the pack.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.wired.com\/images_blogs\/autopia\/2009\/08\/nissan_leaf_05.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-medium wp-image-11130\" title=\"nissan_leaf_05\" src=\"http:\/\/www.wired.com\/images_blogs\/autopia\/2009\/08\/nissan_leaf_05-300x199.jpg\" alt=\"nissan_leaf_05\" height=\"199\" width=\"300\" \/><\/a>Nissan says the battery recharges in four hours when you plug it into a 220-volt line \u2014 the same kind your dryer runs on. Plug it into a standard 110-volt and you\u2019re looking at twice that long. The car has a quick-charge capability that will let you get up to 80 percent charge in less than 30 minutes, but Nissan didn\u2019t say what kind of power you\u2019ll need. We\u2019re guessing 480 volts at 100 amps.<\/p>\n<p>When <a href=\"http:\/\/www.wired.com\/autopia\/2009\/04\/we-drive-nissan\/\">we drove the prototype last spring<\/a>, Mark Perry, Nissan\u2019s director of product planning, said the cost per mile is 4 cents if you figure gas is four bucks a gallon, electricity is 14 cents a kilowatt hour and you drive 15,000 miles a year. Compare that to the 13 cents a mile you\u2019ll pay in a car that gets 30 mpg. Perry says the car will cost about 90 cents to charge if you plug it in off-peak.<\/p>\n<p>The pack provides juice to an AC motor that produces 80 kilowatts (107 horsepower) \u2014 roughly what the Honda Fit puts down. The motor also cranks out 207 pound-feet of torque \u2014 impressive, given that the 3.5-liter V6 available in the Altima produces 258. The prototype we drove was snappy off the line, so the Leaf should be no slouch in traffic. Top speed is limited to 90 mph.<\/p>\n<p>People will either love the styling or hate it. The car is about the size of the Versa and draws styling cues from the Murano and the Japanese-market March Micra. We see a bit of the Versa and Renault Megane in there along with hints of the the Fit and the Toyota Prius. Nissan wanted to create a car that was distinctive and readily identifiable as an electric vehicle, but not unusual.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFrom the beginning, we did not want to make the car very strange, because one of the perceptions of the EV (is) people think that EVs are toys, or cheap\u2026 that you cannot drive high-speed, that EV means \u2018not (a) real car,\u2019\u201d Nissan styling chief Shiro Nakamura <a href=\"http:\/\/www.autoblog.com\/2009\/08\/01\/2010-nissan-leaf-electric-car-in-person-in-depth-and-u-s-b\/\">told Autoblog<\/a>. \u201cBut the car we have is a real car \u2013 you can drive it at 140 kilometers, you can sit four or five passengers comfortably.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.wired.com\/images_blogs\/autopia\/2009\/08\/nissan_leaf_031.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-11132\" title=\"nissan_leaf_031\" src=\"http:\/\/www.wired.com\/images_blogs\/autopia\/2009\/08\/nissan_leaf_031.jpg\" alt=\"nissan_leaf_031\" height=\"299\" width=\"450\" \/><\/a>The design also is dictated in large part by the drivetrain. Electric cars demand aerodynamic efficiency to maximize range and minimize wind noise \u2014 imperative in a car with an almost silent drivetrain. Nakamura isn\u2019t disclosing the Leaf\u2019s drag coefficient but said, \u201cIt is very good.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Range anxiety \u2014 the fear of being stranded by a dead battery \u2014 remains one impediment to the mass adoption of electric cars, and Nissan hopes to alleviate such worries with a car that tells you when and where to charge up. Nissan calls it \u201cEV-IT\u201d and says it will work with the car\u2019s navigation system to:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Show the driving radius within range under the current state of charge.<\/li>\n<li>Calculate whether the vehicle is within range of a pre-set destination like your home or office.<\/li>\n<li>Provide information about charging stations within the current driving range and provide info about them.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Drivers also can monitor the state of charge of their vehicle online and by cell phone. For example, when your battery is fully charged, you can get a text message.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe IT system is a critical advantage,\u201d Tooru Abe, Nissan\u2019s chief pro<br \/>\nduct specialist, said in a statement. \u201cWe wanted this vehicle to be a partner for the driver and an enhancement for the passengers. We also wanted this vehicle to help create a zero-emission community, and these IT features will help make that possible.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The first cars will be built in Japan, but Nissan recently <a href=\"http:\/\/www.wired.com\/autopia\/2009\/06\/tesla-loan\/\">received a $1.6 billion loan<\/a> from the Department of Energy to refurbish a plant at its headquarters in Smyrna, Tennessee to build electric vehicles and batteries.<\/p>\n<p>So what\u2019s with the name? Nissan says, \u201cthe Leaf name is a significant statement about the car itself. Just as leaves purify the air in nature, so Nissan Leaf purifies mobility by taking emissions out of the driving experience.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>At the tailpipe, anyway.<\/p>\n<p><em>Photos: Nissan<\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>See Also:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.wired.com\/autopia\/2009\/04\/we-drive-nissan\/\">We Drive Nissan\u2019s Electric Car, and It\u2019s Sweet<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.wired.com\/autopia\/2009\/06\/nissan-evs\/\">Nissan\u2019s EV To Be Made In America<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.wired.com\/autopia\/2009\/07\/ev-moon-shot\/\">Price Is EV\u2019s Elephant In the Room<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.wired.com\/autopia\/2009\/01\/automakers-agre\/\">Automakers Sing the Body Electric<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.wired.com\/cars\/futuretransport\/magazine\/16-09\/ff_agassi\">Driven: Shai Agassi\u2019s Audacious Plan To  Put Electric Cars on the Road<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.wired.com\/images_blogs\/autopia\/2009\/08\/nissan_leaf_04.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-11133\" title=\"nissan_leaf_04\" src=\"http:\/\/www.wired.com\/images_blogs\/autopia\/2009\/08\/nissan_leaf_04.jpg\" alt=\"nissan_leaf_04\" height=\"411\" width=\"670\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.wired.com\/images_blogs\/autopia\/2009\/08\/nissan_leaf_06.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-11134\" title=\"nissan_leaf_06\" src=\"http:\/\/www.wired.com\/images_blogs\/autopia\/2009\/08\/nissan_leaf_06.jpg\" alt=\"nissan_leaf_06\" height=\"446\" width=\"670\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"zemanta-pixie\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"zemanta-pixie-img\" alt=\"\" src=\"http:\/\/img.zemanta.com\/pixy.gif?x-id=254dff77-db84-8a24-a6d1-204cdf863363\" \/><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Nissan Turns Over An Electric Leaf By Chuck Squatriglia August 2, 2009 &nbsp;|&nbsp; 12:00 am &nbsp;|&nbsp; Categories: EVs and Hybrids After teasing us for months with prototypes and promises, Nissan unveiled a sleek five-passenger electric hatchback with a claimed range of 100 miles. It\u2019s called the Leaf, and Nissan says it will be here next&hellip; <br \/> <a class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/venusimportexport.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/2009\/08\/02\/nissan-turns-over-an-electric-leaf\/\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-661","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/venusimportexport.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/661","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/venusimportexport.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/venusimportexport.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/venusimportexport.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/venusimportexport.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=661"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/venusimportexport.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/661\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/venusimportexport.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=661"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/venusimportexport.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=661"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/venusimportexport.com\/wordpress\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=661"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}