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Today we announced that so far, we've secured 6,635 US reservations- in only three days!
A couple of other interesting tidbits:
• We had 2,700 reservations in the first 3 hours that reservations opened.
• 75% of reservations are for the upper trim level (includes fog lights, automatic headlights, rear-view monitor & solar panel spoiler)
• About 75% are from our primary launch markets where we have working partnerships (California, Washington, Oregon, Arizona and Tennessee)
• Most popular colors: blue and silver (other colors are red, black and white)
charging overnight on eachend is not a problem.
Thanks! -- Bill
I have been following the development of this car since I heard about it last September. I had a Civic Hybrid that I bought new in 1997, I loved that car and was never disappointed in any way with it's performance. I had to pass it along to my son in law when we lived overseas for a while. He still drives it and has never had any problems.
I am even more excited about the new LEAF !!!
Guess I have to wait for another electric or build my own.
Mike.
The company E-stor near Austin TX., has the best hope I`ve seen so far to get more EV`s on the road, with their capacitor type energy storage. Just hope they dont sell out to the oil companies.
Note: The first EV was believed to be built between 1832-1839
with many others to follow over the years.
Just like my smart fortwo, an EV is not an all-purpose vehicle, until the battery range as well as infrastructure for quick charging changes you'll need to accept that it may be your second car or could be a primary car if you rent something else for longer trips. The battery tech is getting better (Nissan even hints that a next gen battery could have a 200 mile range) but it's not there yet in this price range (the Tesla S and Fisker Karma will have greater range but at a much higher price tag as well as very limited quantities).
I can afford multiple cars that are all under cover (plus have 3 drivers who travel in different directions for work, etc.) so the LEAF will be ideal for 2 out of 3 of us for simple work commuting; due to the much less than 50 mile one-way commute we'll charge it overnight so quick charge station access won't be a problem.
To answer a few postings here -- Nissan plans to offer several driving opportunities prior to the cars release, nothing posted yet but in the works. MBZ offered the same for the smart (whose deposit was also refundable) so if you don't want to get pre-wired for the garage quick charger, I'd wait to drive it. As to the 48 mile one-way commute, keep in mind that both sides would need a quick charger otherwise you might not get enough juice -- as with gas cars, your mileage will vary so you'll need to check your route to see if this works. The LEAF has an on board range calculator so a dry run to see that you don't exceed the half-way mark would be best to reduce 'range anxiety' --- having a charger on the other side would then just be a bonus.
As far as the battery cost --- lot's of speculation that Nissan has cracked the code on getting the cost down as they've been at it for 17 years! Their senior management has said that they will make a profit and the LEAF won't be a loss leader so we'll see!
I'm also from a town (NW 'burb of Chicago) that's not among the first few cities so may not see LEAF's being sold here until 2012 but hopefully sooner. We actually have 4 functional charging stations (mostly for EV fleet vehicles) but there does seem to be some interest.
I do find the Nissan ad "priced for everyone" to be misleading. Most people will not qualify for the 7500 tax credit because the credit is not a refundable credit. It requires a tax liability of at least 7500 to receive the full credit. For a joint income, 7500 tax liability comes at 55,550 taxable income. Working backwards from taxable income (line 43), you'd add the value of exemptions (line 42) and also standard or itemized deductions (line40a) to come up with adjusted gross income of at least $83K. Any cap gains or dividends will increase that. So basically, an income will need to be at least $83K with no adjustments or other credits, such as education credits, to qualify for the full electric vehicle credit. In reality, people do have some adjustments and other credits, so the adjusted gross income will likely need to be well over $100K, even $150K for those with 2 kids in college and claiming the education credits, to qualify for the full electric vehicle credit. I don't consider that to be "priced for everyone". Lower income buyers will likely see their full tax liability erased, but will be disappointed that their net cost for the Leaf will be considerably higher than the widely advertised and misleading $25K the ads suggest.
http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=16&t=283">How Will Tax Credit Work?
My original calculations were very conservative and did not factor in the indexed cost-of-living changes in the tax table every year and itemized deductions, rather than the standard deduction. When both are factored in, you would need a joint income of close to 150K with few other credits to get the full credit on the Leaf. Fewer than 1% of all taxpayers are in that group - far from Nissan's foolish "priced for everyone" ad. Of course, who would advertise "priced for the highest 1% of all earners"?
SANTA MONICA, Calif. — June 18, 2010 — Today at 11AM Eastern Daylight Time, Edmunds’ GreenCarAdvisor.com will provide access to a free live chat about the government program that will provide free home charging stations to early buyers of new electric vehicle including the Chevy Volt, Ford Transit Connect, Nissan Leaf and Smart Fortwo.
The chat can be accessed at http://blogs.edmunds.com/greencaradvisor/2010/06/got-questions-about-free-ev-cha- rger-program-get-answers-here.html.
General Motors is the sponsor of the chat, which will feature representatives of charger providers Coulomb Technologies and ECOtality. Coulomb was named a co-recipient of Edmunds.com’s Green Car Breakthrough Award earlier this year.
“The grants for home chargers are worth up to $2,000 per household each and in some cases the program will also help cover the cost of installation,” reported GreenCarAdvisor.com Senior Editor John O’Dell in his story at http://blogs.edmunds.com/greencaradvisor/2010/06/federal-grant-for-free-home-ev-- chargers-expanded-by-30-million.html. “In announcing the program yesterday, the Energy Department said that half the money would come from taxpayer funds and half from private contributions.”
Thanks,
Jeannine Fallon
Corporate Communications
Edmunds.com
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Thanks,
Jeannine
Corporate Communications
Edmunds.com
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http://www.mynissanleaf.com for much more info (including feedback on dealers). Nissan did announce the battery warranty (it's 8 years/100,000 miles). If you check out the info on that forum you'll see that there are a few dealers that will actually be selling the LEAF at a discount so competition may be for an overall less than list selling price for the new LEAF versus the Chevy Volt which already appears that some dealers may be adding a market price adjustment (i.e., more profits for the dealer). We'll see when both cars actually start showing up in showrooms --- by the way the first LEAF was recently delivered to Lance Armstrong ...
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The Leaf ranges from about 75-130 depending on speed and driving style and terrain.
If you live in a city, and your commute is, say, 40-60 miles round trip, you can buy a Leaf and be fine, even taking into account some daily side errands and a drive to lunch.
It's useful as a commuter car.
Not as a road trip car.
Definitely not a hybrid...
http://www.energyinyourlife.com/article.php?t=100000076
It's easy (but useless) for him to make fun of something he obviously doesn't fully understand.
That was his point? If so, then I have a message for him:
"Thanks for the news flash, brainiac. No one knew."
dupid.
Thanks,
Jeannine Fallon
Corporate Communications
Edmunds.com
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http://www.autoweek.com/article/20110414/GREEN/110419941
Here are some recent fill-ups to give you an idea of how much the range varies depending on driving:
-- When the car is fully charged in the morning, the range readout on the dash has read as high as 111 miles. Nissan Leaf salesman and EV advocate Paul Scott, who works at Nissan Santa Monica and owns a Leaf, says he has gone as far as 120 miles on a charge (he is a very conscientious driver).
-- Yesterday we went 43 miles and used up 14 kilowatt-hours of battery. That was with a fair amount of A/C going. Driving as we were that day we could have continued for a total of 73.1 miles before the battery was empty.
-- On March 30, we went 47 miles on 14 kilowatt-hours for a range of 80 miles.
-- On March 28, we went 44.4 miles on 14 kilowatt-hours for 76.1 miles range.
-- On April 11, we went 53.9 miles of mostly 55-mph freeway driving and used 14 kilowatt-hours, giving a potential range of 92.4 miles.
-- On April 5, potential range was 81.2 miles; on April 1, it was 62.6.
Then there are the operating costs. While the price of electricity varies all over the country, here in Southern California Edison territory it is about 13 cents per kilowatt-hour. That figure drops to 10 cents a kilowatt-hour if you get a separate meter and charge overnight. At 3.8 miles per kilowatt-hour, it takes one dollar to go 38 miles or $10 to go 380 miles. If a car gets 20 mpg and gasoline is $4 a gallon, operating costs for an EV work out to almost one-eighth if the cost for a gasoline-powered car. Higher electricity bills and lower gas costs will change that figure, but it's still way less expensive to operate an EV than an internal-combustion engine.
They need to run the same test in San Diego on SDG&E rates. Which are tiered with NO night rates or special EV rates. Notice Summer rates are higher than winter rates for SDG&E customers. You get to the tier 4 rate after you use 626 KWHs in a month. With taxes that 31 cents is 34 cents per KWH. If you use their 3.8 miles per KWH it comes out to .089 cents per mile. At $4 per gallon the Prius will cost you about .079 cents per mile. Just does not make any sense to own a Leaf unless you are generating your own solar electricity. That is still a debate in my mind even with a lease.
http://sdge.com/customer/rates/tierCosts.shtml
http://publicola.com/2011/04/06/cost-of-driving-rises-another-3-4-percent/
According to a new report from AAA, the average annual cost to own and drive a car has riven 3.4 percent in the past year, thanks largely to increases in fuel prices, depreciation, and tire prices. Overall, the cost of owning a sedan in the US rose 1.9 cents per mile last year, to 58.5 cents a mile, or or $8,776 a year for a person who drives 15,000 miles a year. Drive more, which you’ll have to if you live in a far-flung suburb, and you’ll pay more (driving an extra 5,000 miles adds another $1,083 a year); drive an SUV, and your average annual cost goes up to $11,239. That’s almost half the median personal income of US residents! The cost of tires went up the most of any factor included in the cost of driving, rising 15.7 percent to 0.96 cents per mile.Overall, the cost of owning a sedan in the US rose 1.9 cents per mile last year, to 58.5 cents a mile, or or $8,776 a year for a person who drives 15,000 miles a year.
Moreover, the cost of driving has either increased steadily or remained essentially unchanged over the past decade, even as gas prices have fluctuated. Driving, in other words, isn’t getting any cheaper—and that isn’t even including the costs of the negative externalities associated with driving, like sprawl, poor health, pollution, highway runoff, sedentary lifestyles, social isolation, and car crashes.
Am I optimistic that, eventually, the car warriors will realize that alternatives to driving alone aren’t just a pet project for hippie environmentalists and “social engineers” who want to force people out of their cars? Not yet, but if the cost of driving continues to skyrocket the way it has been, even the most dedicated “free market” car proponent may have to admit that driving alone no longer makes anything resembling financial sense.
I agree on all but the home in Hawaii. That netted me on the sale last year enough to buy 3 Nissan Leaves. With enough left over to get a Yaris for when electricity costs more than gas to run the car. Your too eat up with every automotive fad. You need to get a grip or you will waste all your sustenance on frivolous expenditures. I suppose it is too late to warn against the Cell phone or TV?
Hybrids? EVs?
Hybrids = Several million sold worldwide = not a fad = stopgap technology until something better comes along.
EVs = stopgap technology until something better comes along.
I know you aren't paying 1.5 Cents per thousand watts (Kw). We'll half half the country moving to Austin if that's true!
That probably is 15 cents per Kw?
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,