Nissan Leaf Tour

During a motorcycle ride on March 13, went by Concord Mills to see the Nissan Leaf. They had a big event there, with a number of displays and even allowed test drives of the cars. The Leaf is all electric; it has a 90 mph top speed, and a 100 mile range before it needs to be recharged. The car is seen here (the flipped up part in the front of the car is where the car is recharged). Depending on the charger that time can range from "a few" to "around" 8 hours. That is the current drawback of all electric cars though I believe development will continue on these vehicles. In fact other companies are working on other variations of these cars as well as motorcycles.
The engine compartment is seen here. To be honest, if you did not know would be hard to tell this has an electric motor. Current cars have so many covers and protective housings that it is hard to tell what is under the hood at times. I happen to drive a Nissan (it is a Versa) and really can't get a good look at that motor either. What was interesting about it was the lack of a tailpipe and the lack of noise as it went down the road. Being used to internal combustion engines, it is a real change. Course there is a lot of maintenance that does NOT come with these cars; no tune ups, oil changes and a lot of other problems with motors. Electric engines tend to be pretty reliable.
Again the dash is really basic, and looks like the typical small car. Roomy in a small car way; the Leaf had a really good sound system. Braking the car at stops also puts power into the battery. The car would be a great commuter car with its range; for people who drive less than 100 miles at a day, or at work who would have access to chargers for the car, could save a ton of money on fuel. It had the typical fit and finish we all have come to expect from the Japanese; I found it to be a nice little small car. The one problem with it now is the price is very high as production is limited. If it catches on, I expect the price will fall, though there is a Federal Tax Credit to kind of cushion the cost a bit.
This is a look at the Leaf battery pack. That is also a matter of interest, not sure how long the batteries will last; over time most batteries tend to lose the ability to recharge/hold a charge. Also some question about how it will work in cold or very hot weather, but the car has been extensively tested. Nissan thinks a lot of it, and the tour brought a lot of people and cars to Concord Mills, and there was even early on a Sunday morning a lot of interest in seeing this modern version of the old idea of the electric car. It will be an interesting story to follow in the months and years to come. I believe we will see more electric vehicles not fewer.
This is a look at a charging station. With oil getting both harder and much more expensive to find, and as we have found in the last few weeks, very subject to rapid price rises due to events such as the problems in the Arab countries, and the disaster in Japan (and my heart goes out to the Japanese people in this time of trouble for them) such vehicles are on the way to being a viable alternative. Range and cost are issues now, but with development and more production, that could change, and will. It will be some time before they become a great alternative for the mass of people, but there are some interesting concepts and new ideas under development. Chevy's Volt will have both electric power from batteries and a gasoline engine generator to extend its range to virtually unlimited distances. As I have noted there are also a number of electric motorcycles out there which are doing some surprising things. Some of those vehicles have reached some amazing speeds..the idea that these are golf carts could not be more wrong. I will watch this developing industry with interest.
The ride took me to a number of places, and I will have some more photos in my next update from the March 13 ride. Thanks for visiting my blog.