From gasmiser:

“I finally saw the Leaf in person today at Boardwalk
The model shown today was the SV model (w/o the Level III charging port) and was silver in exterior color. Interior was a light tan on the seats and door panels. Carpet was a generic non-pile type, dark-grey in color. The seats had a fabric that was similar to a Prius Gen II micro fiber. Seats were very comfortable. Driver’s seat had a height adjustment, as well as front to back, and back rest adjustments fore and aft. Door panels were a combination of microfiber on the arm rests, and plastic. I sat in the driver’s seat with the seat all the way back, and there was just enough room for a 6′2” guy behind me without his knees hitting the back of the seat. Leg room was comfortable. Steering wheel had tilt feature. Center consul and driver/passenger up front had cup holders. Doors closed nice and solid with double rubber seals. I think it would be a tight fit for 3 adults in the back seat.

I was able to try the features: radio, touch screen interface, AC, map, etc. AC blows ice cold. Just turning it on reduced the range by 9 miles. The range display/screen was easy to read and operate.

I viewed it in motion around the parking lot and it is extremely quiet.

I’m 6′2”, and sitting in the front seats, I found that I still had a several inches to spare in height. In the back seat, I had a few inches in height to spare.

Fit and finish was on par with an upscale model Mirano or Maxima. The trunk was nice and deep. One guy held up his road bicycle next to the car and one could see it would fit no problem lying the bike down in back with the rear seats folded.

The only initial thing I didn’t like about the Leaf was the wimpy horn. That will definitely need to be upgraded.”

From Tango:

”

Interior:

• Underneath the radio is a space to put a phone.
• Also underneath the radio, there are spaces for four connectors with small flip-up covers. On the SV version we saw, two of those spaces were occupied. One had a USB connector, the second had a 3.5mm audio input jack. The other two weren’t used.
• The startup “chime” was different than on the Nissan website.
• The nav system is standard (not an option).
• The main system screen is a touch screen
• The car does not come with floor or cargo mats of any sort. If you don’t order mats with the car, you’ll have your feet on the bare carpet for the entire car (in one of the other threads, there was a question about whether the car came with cheapo mats and the mats available as an accessory were “better”). Susan, the GM at boardwalk said she’d sell them at the same price later if needed.
• When the seats are folded down, the “floor” is not level throughout the car. The trunk area floor is about a foot or more lower than the level that the backs of the fold-down seats. (This is different than on my subaru outback, where when you fold down the seats, they are basically on the same level as the cargo area floor).

Exterior

• the reps and the GM didn’t know what the exterior would look like with the “eco package”. There were folks asking if it was the huge “zero emissions” stickers or if it’d be something more subtle.

Ordering

• The dealers have seen a marked drop in number of orders over the last week or so.
• One of the nissan corporate reps (not the store GM) said that they’re expecting 1000 cars delivered to the states in december, but wasn’t sure what that meant in terms of people actually getting the cars. I think he was talking about 1000 cars will be at least on the docks by then, but transfer to the dealer and other issues he didn’t know about. I have to add though, that he was being a little cagey about this, so i’m not sure if it’s because he wasn’t supposed to say, or if he was just guessing.
• The nissan corporate rep said he had been taking some flak over the lack of information about the accessories. He said he was going to take that back to corporate.”

Here is a Flickr photostream of the event.

We joined the hundreds of luminaries who have sampled the all-electric Nissan Leaf before it arrives in December. It’s an impressive piece of software baked into an expensive compact car. Here’s how the Leaf turns driving into an app.

Automakers have futzed with electricity as a source of power for over a century with little success, mainly because batteries simply can’t hold as much energy per pound as gasoline. The Leaf and the rest of the new-age EVs tackle those problems with a cavalcade of technology that solve some issues while adding a few new ones.

This walkaround with Mark Perry, Nissan North America’s product planning chief, gives you an idea of how different electric car ownership will be from a regular vehicle when the first few hundred Leafs hit the United States this year:

Even in its darkest days, Nissan earned a reputation for top-notch engineering, and with the Leaf, Nissan shows it can compile capable software as well as hardware. Owners can choose from three start-up sounds, similar to a desktop PC, which Perry said was necessary because testers couldn’t tell when the vehicle was on. If owners forget to plug it in, the Leaf can email a reminder. And its navigation system can automatically find the nearest electric charging stations.

We didn’t have a chance to drive the Leaf much beyond city traffic, but doing so wouldn’t have revealed any hidden oasis of driving pleasure. Outside of a nice launch boost from the electric motor’s instantly available 206 lb.-ft. of torque, the Leaf rides and handles like a generic compact car. Its 3,200-lb. curb weight provides some buffer from rough roads, but at higher speeds the 108-hp motivates with the polite restraint of a kindergarten teacher.

The Leaf’s software also holds dominion on the road. The speedometer sports a little “tree” that grows the more economically a driver performs; eventually you can rack up a tiny grove of electric trees. Instead of a shifter, the Leaf has an oversize computer mouse to shift to drive or “Eco,” the mode of choice for hypermilers. In Eco, the car boosts its regenerative braking and stiffens the accelerator pedal response; shifting into it at speed felt like the Leaf had been hugged by a polar bear.

To maintain a range of 80 to 110 miles, the Leaf will use more than 90% of the energy that its 24-kWh lithium-ion batteries can hold. That’s a Muhammed Ali-worthy pummeling compared to the ginger 50% load that the Chevrolet Volt will limit its 16-kWh pack to. “We have 17 years of experience with these batteries,” Perry said. “We’re confident in them.”

What’s most jarring about driving the Leaf is just how much data it wants to give you. During our drive, we scrubbed several miles off the range, but the Leaf nudged us to note that shutting off the air conditioning would add eight miles back to the reserve. But should a Leaf driver attempt a Kramer-esque testing of its distance-to-empty measures, the car will coast to a stop with a modicum of power still left in its battery pack, the reserve meant to ensure battery conditioning capable of meeting its 8-year, 100,000-mile warranty.

The high-tech gleam — and a marketing push far greater than seemingly justified by a 20,000 vehicle per year sales goal — has generated Nissan 19,500 pre-orders for the Leaf, and Perry nearly snagged another during our drive from a Civic driver at a stoplight. Yet despite its technology, the $32,000 Leaf would lose a strict comparison of driving functions, costs and enjoyment to an $18,000 Nissan Sentra.

But the Leaf isn’t about driving as an experience to savor. It’s software with wheels, a rolling app meant to strictly oversee how much energy you’re using on the road. For those who get satisfaction from such parsimony, and don’t live in an apartment or other dwelling with no access to a 220-volt outdoor plug, the Leaf offers a compelling solution to the problem of driving.

If you don’t see driving as a problem, the Leaf isn’t for you.

-Courtesy of Jalopnik

The website has been having some errors today, but we are assured that it will be up and running again at 4pm PST. In the mean time, feel free to contact Susan Daniero at Boardwalk Nissan in Redwood City, let her know you are ready to order, and she’ll process your order ASAP once the system comes back online. She can be reached at (650) 364-0100, or SDaniero@bwalkauto.com

But in the rush to drive electric, one thing is missing — places to charge up.

Concerned that the next generation of green drivers not be left stalled by the roadside, air officials have approved a $5 million plan to install 5,000 electric car chargers around the nine-county Bay Area in the next five years at homes, apartments, office buildings, parking garages and other locations from San Jose to Santa Rosa.

There are currently about 120 public electric vehicle chargers in the Bay Area.

“We’re trying to address range anxiety,” said Damian Breen, director of grant programs for the Bay Area Air Quality Management District, which approved the program earlier this month. “We want people not to be worried their electric vehicle is going to run out of juice.”

Funding for the program comes from a $4 fee for air pollution programs that motorists pay as part of their vehicle registration.
Within the next few years, there could be tens of thousands of electric vehicles on Bay Area roads. Already, Nissan has taken 20,000 paid reservations nationwide for the Leaf, and GM is putting 10,000 Volts up for sale in November. By 2012, Toyota, BMW, Mercedes, Tesla, Mitsubishi and other companies are expected to sell electric or plug-in hybrid vehicles.

Exact locations for the charging stations have not been chosen yet, Breen said. But the goal of what is one of the largest programs in the nation of its kind is to divide chargers among homes, apartment buildings and public areas, from airports to supermarkets.
The Nissan Leaf, a five-seat vehicle that goes on sale in December and will travel 100 miles on a charge, will cost Californians $20,380 after rebates and tax credits. A 110/120-volt cord from the car can be plugged into any wall socket but will take 20 hours to charge the vehicle.

Most Leaf drivers are expected to buy a 220/240-volt charger to install in their garages, cutting the recharge time to eight hours. But the charger costs $2,200. Federal tax credits will pay up to half, and Breen said the air district will likely offer a voucher to cover 25 percent of up to 3,000 home units as part of its charger program.

The air district will place an additional 2,000 chargers — 220/240-volt — in public areas such as BART stations, shopping malls and parking garages. In most cases, motorists will swipe a credit card, like at a gas pump, and pay $5 to $10 to fully recharge a car, depending on the time of day and cost of PG&E power.

Lastly, 50 public high-speed chargers — 480 volts — also will be installed. Those will be able to recharge a Nissan Leaf in 30 minutes.

In the next few years, charging stations for electric vehicles will become commonplace, said Felix Kramer, founder of CalCars, a nonprofit group in Palo Alto that retrofits vehicles so they can be plugged in.

“Commercial parking lots are going to offer charging as a competitive advantage,” he said. “New buildings will start announcing them as a feature to attract tenants. Condos will have them.”

Kramer drives a 2003 Toyota Prius, which he converted to a plug-in hybrid in 2004 by adding dozens of lithium-ion batteries to the trunk. Because it can run on electricity before the gasoline engine kicks in, the car gets 100 miles per gallon of gas or more. Plugging it in at night to recharge the batteries is an afterthought.

“Everybody plugs in their cell phones to recharge them. It’s no big deal,” he said. “It takes me eight seconds to plug my car in.”
Kramer said the air district’s program should place most emphasis on home charging stations. Because the Leaf has a range of only 100 miles, he said, it will be purchased by many families as a second car, and charged mostly at home.

Chevy Volts will be able to travel 40 miles on electricity, and 340 miles total, because they also run on gasoline. The Volt, which will cost $33,250 after federal tax credits (it isn’t eligible for a state tax credit because it isn’t a purely battery vehicle), recharges faster than the Leaf.

It will take about four hours to recharge the Volt on 220/240 power and nine hours on 110/120 power. Unlike the Leaf, the Volt doesn’t need a separate charging station, but will have different power cords for 110/120 and 220/240, the latter of which requires special outlets, similar to the kind used for home dryers.

Homes and workplaces should be the air district’s main priority, said Shad Balch, a GM spokesman.
“It’s not about where you frequent the most,” he said, “but where you spend the most time.”

Last year, the air district approved a smaller, $1.8 million program to install 474 chargers over the next two years. Those will be located at Safeways, Best Buys, Google and in public garages in San Jose, San Francisco, Oakland and other locations.

-Article Courtesy of the Mercury News

‘Last week, I got to attend the Plug-In Vehicle Show in San Jose, California. I drove the new Nissan …Leaf. It’s an all electric car, and it is fabulous. It has great pick-up, plenty of room, and a remarkable sophisticated instrument system. It has, for example, a moving map that shows a target pattern telling you how far you can drive from where you are with the amount of battery energy you have left. I very much hope to get one someday. It is the first all-electric vehicle I’ve driven that I would be allowed to own. The electric car future is just about here.”

So how do we test drive a Nissan Leaf in the Bay Area? Oh, we only needed to have an immensely successful Science show geared for kids, a catchy name, and a well into triple digit IQ. I guess we’ll have to wait a bit longer for our chance…

When Nick Chambers, Zach McDonald, and Mark stepped into the car, the dashboard display indicated an average of 14.7 miles traveled per kilowatt-hour of energy used. A dozen or so miles later, we managed to reduce the efficiency to 13.6 miles per kilowatt-hour. Seeing those numbers shattered my expectation that EVs almost always travel 4 miles per kilowatt-hour.

Keep in mind that almost all of our driving in SF was stop-and-go low-speed driving in congested traffic. Mark acknowledged that the miles-per-kilowatt-hour metric would go down in highway driving. However, seeing the capability of the LEAF to squeeze that much mileage out of a kilowatt-hour showed how the total range of the car’s 24 kilowatt-hour battery pack, under fairly common conditions, could easily go way beyond 100 miles.

The key could be the effectiveness of the LEAF’s regenerative braking system. We spent about half the time in regular “Drive” mode and half the time in the “Eco” mode, which uses more aggressive regen. As a result, when we started out, the display showed 63 miles of range left in the battery—but around 12 miles later, the display showed 59 miles of range. Again, our driving cycle, with lots of braking at low speeds, gave plenty of opportunity for the regenerative braking to extend the car’s range.

The biggest revelation from Mark was that Nissan engineers are allowing 95 percent of the LEAF’s energy storage to be used. This stands in sharp contrast to the Chevy Volt, which only ever uses 8 of its 16 kilowatt-hour pack. In most conventional hybrids, the battery is never charged or discharged beyond 60 or 70 percent.

Mark believes that it will be a rare occurrence for a LEAF driver to dip so far into the state-of-charge. Regardless, Nissan is showing a great degree of confidence in the capability and durability of its battery technology to allow so much of its capacity to be used in those rare times. This could be a key differentiator from the competition. (Bear in mind that the warranty on the LEAF’s battery is 8 years or 100,000 miles.)

Combine the big number for miles-per-kilowatt with the 95% battery usage figure to get a picture of a robust well-managed battery that—at least for in-town driving—could mean high real-world numbers for driving range.

Other tidbits:

• Acceleration was smooth and effortless on San Francisco’s very steep hills—regardless of the driving mode. It only took another inch or so of accelerator movement in Eco mode for the LEAF to confidently zoom up hills.
• During the city’s busy and noisy late afternoon traffic, the LEAF’s sound warning was barely audible.
• At 6’4”, I had plenty of head and legroom in the driver seat and backseat. Two large adults in the backseat would have no problems, and three can fit in a pinch.
• As expected in an EV, acceleration was brisk, quiet and smooth—and the handling and driver experience were uneventful. In other words, it drove like a competent compact car, requiring no adjustments or changes from how you would operate a gas-powered car. That’s a good thing.

That’s it for now. It’s been a tiring three days at the Plugin2010 conference in San Jose. We’ll be writing up more of our discoveries in the next few days. Also, Nick shot video of our LEAF ride in San Francisco, and will soon have something to show—including a detailed narrated visual rundown of the dashboard screens and features. Stay tuned.

Article Courtesy of Plugincars.com

Chevrolet and Nissan are playing a nice game of tit for tat at the moment, as both are trying to get the largest foothold into the marketshare. Nissan matches Chevrolets warranty terms, and Chevrolet has a lease planned out that’s only $1 a month more than the Leafs.

All we know is that we expect the San Francisco Bay Area to be covered in both cars, as enough high tech companies employ many forward thinking people. Dealerships in the Bay Area, such as Boardwalk Auto Center should do well, as they have both Chevrolet and Nissan franchises, and will allow customers to see both cars side by side to see which one is the best for their needs.

Also in the works, Nissan will be starting the request a quote to dealers from customers with Leaf orders on August 27th. Boardwalk Nissan, our favorite Nissan dealer in the San Francisco Bay Area, has already confirmed they’ll sell for MSRP.

It sure is an exciting time to be interested in EV’s!

GE Introduces Smart Grid-Compatible Electric Vehicle Charger

* GE WattStation™ is an easy-to-use electric vehicle charger designed by renowned industrial designer Yves Behar
* Will help utility companies manage electricity demand, expanding consumer access to electric vehicle charging stations
* Significantly decreases time required for full car charging

For more information on GE WattStation, including preorder details, please visit www.ecomagination.com/wattstation.

The booth was similar to what Nissan had set up at the Amgen Tour of California, with a few minor changes here and there. We were all a little disappointed that the Leaf was roped up and locked as usual, but thanks to the free lunch Boardwalk Nissan provided the Nissan staff, we were able to see inside, and get a few more pictures of the interior. The most surprising thing of all was how massive the trunk of the Leaf is! None of us were expecting to see such a cavernous spot behind the rear seats.

It was a pleasure meeting the early adopters of the Leaf, and we can’t wait to see them again!