ZilviaBot

08-01-2009 08:48 PM

Filed under: Car Buying, Japan, Technology, Hatchback, Nissan, Design/Style, Alternative Fuel



It would be easy to paint Nissan as late to the burgeoning U.S. green party, as the company essentially only counts the Altima Hybrid to sell among its alt-fuel offerings - and that sedan utilizes technology borrowed from Toyota, and it's only sold in a few states in small volumes. While that may be the case, Nissan says their near-term prospects are really quite different. While the company has admittedly been cautious in marketing alt-fuel vehicles in North America, they have been hard at work developing electric vehicles - as well as the advanced lithium-ion batteries to support them - since 1992. What's more, officials say they are now singularly well-placed to leapfrog "transitional" powertrain solutions like gas-electric hybrids in favor of genuine zero-emissions vehicles, and they are promising that their first pure-electric car will reach U.S. shores late next year.

That car, the Nissan Leaf shown here, is the reason we find ourselves in the company's brand-new Yokohama headquarters today. Designed as a four-to-five seat, front-drive C-segment hatchback, Nissan says the Leaf is not just for use as a specialty urban runabout, but rather, it was designed as an everyday vehicle - a "real car" whose 160-kilometer+ (100 mile) range meets the needs of 70% of the world's motorists. In the case of U.S. consumers, Nissan says that fully 80% of drivers travel less than 100km per day (62 miles), making the Leaf a solid fit for America's motoring majority, even taking into account power-sapping external factors like hilly terrain, accessory draw, and extreme temperatures.

We were afforded an advance look at the Leaf ahead of the car's unveiling today, and while it was a hands-off affair, we did have the chance to formulate some in-the-metal first impressions and take a deep dive into the car's technology. Click through to the jump to learn all about it.


Gallery: 2010 Nissan Leaf EV



Gallery: 2010 Nissan Leaf EV- Yokohama Introduction


Continue reading 2010 Nissan Leaf electric car: In person, in depth - and U.S. bound [*UPDATED w/vids & live photos]

2010 Nissan Leaf electric car: In person, in depth - and U.S. bound [*UPDATED w/vids & live photos] originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 01 Aug 2009 21:48:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.



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Bushido

ugh.

looks like toyota had something to do with the exterior of this wretched looking thing.

and looks like honda had something to do with the instrument placement.

sorry Nissan, electric cars are the future, but this thing sucks.

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