Nissan Leaf comes to Tucson for a visit

[Right Lane Cruiser]

The Leaf will only be available in select markets in 2010 and will go into mass production in 2012.

Joe Pangburn - AZBIZ - December 30, 2009

Will it really be as affordable as we all hope? --Ed.

The new Nissan Leaf may not be available for purchase in Tucson until late 2010, but the electric vehicle popped in for a visit today, Dec. 30.

Nissan brought two vehicles, one for show and one test car to the top of the Pennington Street Garage. Tucson is the first stop in the state as part of the 22-city Zero Emissions tour.

Dignitaries and media were able to test drive the Leaf on top of the Pennington Street Garage, during its first Arizona stop along a 22-city tour.

“This thing just goes,” said Secretary of State Ken Bennett after a test drive.

Billed as a zero-emission vehicle, the Nissan Leaf is a five-passenger, five-door sedan with a top speed of 90mph. The car, when fully charged, has a range of 100 miles.

Nissan is not giving out a price tag for the car yet, but says it will be comparable to other similar-sized family sedans.

Beginning early next year, electric transportation innovators ECOtality of Scottsdale, through a $99 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy, will begin implementing electric vehicle infrastructure in the cities initially... [Read More]

[Butterfly Mage]

It's probably a smart move to do a limited run at first. That will give Nissan two years to integrate refinements and bug-fixes. This HAS to be a recall-free car it'll set the green car movement back decades.

[ItsNotAboutTheMoney]

Originally Posted by Butterfly Mage

It's probably a smart move to do a limited run at first. That will give Nissan two years to integrate refinements and bug-fixes. This HAS to be a recall-free car it'll set the green car movement back decades.

Well, there's the FocusBEV and the Volt. It'd only take one of those to prove themselves and PHEV/BEV can take off.

Also, to a lesser extent, there's the Prius PHEV to come.

[nissanleaftour]

Originally Posted by Right Lane Cruiser

The Leaf will only be available in select markets in 2010 and will go into mass production in 2012.

Joe Pangburn - AZBIZ - December 30, 2009

Will it really be as affordable as we all hope? --Ed.

The new Nissan Leaf may not be available for purchase in Tucson until late 2010, but the electric vehicle popped in for a visit today, Dec. 30.

Nissan brought two vehicles, one for show and one test car to the top of the Pennington Street Garage. Tucson is the first stop in the state as part of the 22-city Zero Emissions tour.

Dignitaries and media were able to test drive the Leaf on top of the Pennington Street Garage, during its first Arizona stop along a 22-city tour.

“This thing just goes,” said Secretary of State Ken Bennett after a test drive.

Billed as a zero-emission vehicle, the Nissan Leaf is a five-passenger, five-door sedan with a top speed of 90mph. The car, when fully charged, has a range of 100 miles.

Nissan is not giving out a price tag for the car yet, but says it will be comparable to other similar-sized family sedans.

Beginning early next year, electric transportation innovators ECOtality of Scottsdale, through a $99 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy, will begin implementing electric vehicle infrastructure in the cities initially... [Read More]

It sounds like you went to the event :-D What did you think?

[Right Lane Cruiser]

No, I didn't go but wish I could have. It is a good bit warmer down in Tucson than it is up here in Minneapolis!

[WriConsult]

I saw the Leaf in person in Portland. Several times. Although we're not 100% sure we'll yet be in the market for a replacement vehicle by the launch date, the Leaf is at the absolute TOP of our "next car" list.

My TCO analysis puts the Leaf's ownership cost about as low as about any vehicle we could own -- comparable to a 10 year old compact. That's based on 10,000 miles a year and some BIG assumptions: net purchase price of $24k after tax credits (same as a Prius), same insurance cost as a Prius, maintenance cost of 1c/mile the first few years, and $1200/yr depreciation. I'm also assuming no substantial installation costs for the charging station, since it appears my utility may pay for it and in any event I have strong wiring skills for any parts of the installation that can be DIY.

Again, BIG assumptions because the real costs aren't yet known to me. The exact price tag could make the difference between a smash hit or another Honda Insight debacle.

Sure am glad it is a 5-door hatch, by the way. We'll be keeping a close eye on the Focus BEV, which may come out soon after the Leaf. I've rented both a Versa (sedan) and a gas Focus in the past 2 months, and it's very close to a dead heat for me as to which I'd own if I had to choose between the two sedans. But greater versatility of the Leaf's hatchback design will make the choice (vs. the Focus BEV) a slam dunk for us.

[ItsNotAboutTheMoney]

Originally Posted by WriConsult

I saw the Leaf in person in Portland. Several times. Although we're not 100% sure we'll yet be in the market for a replacement vehicle by the launch date, the Leaf is at the absolute TOP of our "next car" list.

My TCO analysis puts the Leaf's ownership cost about as low as about any vehicle we could own -- comparable to a 10 year old compact. That's based on 10,000 miles a year and some BIG assumptions: net purchase price of $24k after tax credits (same as a Prius), same insurance cost as a Prius, maintenance cost of 1c/mile the first few years, and $1200/yr depreciation. I'm also assuming no substantial installation costs for the charging station, since it appears my utility may pay for it and in any event I have strong wiring skills for any parts of the installation that can be DIY.

Again, BIG assumptions because the real costs aren't yet known to me. The exact price tag could make the difference between a smash hit or another Honda Insight debacle.

Sure am glad it is a 5-door hatch, by the way. We'll be keeping a close eye on the Focus BEV, which may come out soon after the Leaf. I've rented both a Versa (sedan) and a gas Focus in the past 2 months, and it's very close to a dead heat for me as to which I'd own if I had to choose between the two sedans. But greater versatility of the Leaf's hatchback design will make the choice (vs. the Focus BEV) a slam dunk for us.

Couldn't keep away, huh?

We're not planning to replace car 2 (now the Civic) for another 8 years so we'll have to wait.

I'm sure there'll be plenty of articles on the Leaf this year. Keep us updated in the comments.