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http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/2/AmericanFlag.jpg If Fortune Favors the Brave, This Car Deserves To Succeed (http://www.insideline.com/nissan/leaf/2011/2011-nissan-leaf-first-drive.html)

http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/501/Nissan_Leaf_BEV.jpgAndrew Frankel - INSIDELINE (http://www.insideline.com) - April 28, 2010

Given that there has been so much talk and so many wise words from so many different directions about our all-electric future, it can almost go unnoticed that the one thing no one has actually gotten around to doing is translating a single syllable into something a normal family with a normal budget can go out and buy.

Until now.

The 2011 Nissan Leaf is not a low-volume slice of automotive exotica like a Tesla Roadster, nor is it an electrified version of a conventional gasoline car like the Mitsubishi i MiEV, and it is certainly not a plug-in hybrid like a Chevrolet Volt or a conventional hybrid like a Toyota Prius. The 2011 Nissan Leaf is a brand-new, purpose-built, mass-produced, battery-powered family car and, as such, the very first of its kind in the world. And we've driven it.

But is it a real car for real people?

You Say You Want a Revolution... http://www.insideline.com/nissan/leaf/2011/2011-nissan-leaf-first-drive.html

I hope it sells a lot. An electric motor is about 80% efficient whereas a gasoline engine is 20-25% efficient. So I think the Leaf comes out ahead on pollution even when charged off a coal-fired power plant.

If Nissan ever does develop a 300-mile battery on a $27k car, I will certainly buy one.

Pretty sure the Leaf (which I refuse to spell in all caps unless we find out it's an acronym for something) will be a whopping success. Especially where I live: my neighborhood is home to both a Zap Xebra and a PHEV Prius (no lie) as well as innumerable garden-variety hybrids, and I saw a ZENN on the way to work today. Will I start seeing plenty of Leafs on the road by a year from now? You'd better believe it.

Will its sales compare with, say, the Prius? No, not even close. By "whopping success" I mean it will sell in comparable volumes to maybe the Mini Cooper. They won't take over the auto marketplace by any means, but I bet they will become common enough that most people will be used to seeing them by 2-3 years from now.

Sadly, even at $450/kwhr, a 300 mile range would be around $24k for the battery pack alone.

LEAF == Law Enforcement Access Field, a la the Clipper chip.
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No, nothing to do with cars...
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_H*

wikipedia puts it as

The Nissan Leaf (also formatted as "LEAF" from the acronym Leading, Environmentally Friendly, Affordable, Family Car) (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nissan_Leaf)

of course, we could make wikipedia say almost anything....

I thought it might stand for "Low Emissions Alternative Fuel". Lots of possibilities, I suppose. :D