Nissan's Expanding Electric Vehicle Lineup Surfaces

At the technical briefing for Nissan's revolutionary new Leaf electric vehicle in Japan recently, the press department nearly caught us off guard by flashing some unexpected images between reams of diagrams and figures expounding the virtues of the Leaf. Luckily we had our trusty camera at the right moment and were able to capture three sketches that help bring the company's future electric vehicle plans into focus.

As far back as last October's Tokyo Motor Show, Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn hinted that a stylish, compact, performance-oriented four-seat Infiniti with zero emissions was being developed in Japan, and the teaser silhouette you see of the sleek, compact four-door confirms what we previously reported.
Expected to be based on a modified version of the Leaf platform but with a slightly more powerful motor, the premium Infiniti sketch employs intriguing design elements such as the C-pillar from the Infiniti Essence first seen at the 2009 Geneva show. Also strongly rumored at last year's Tokyo Motor Show to eventually make it into production was the two-seater Landglider EV concept, which tilts in corners and handles like a four-wheeled motorcycle. The third and final sketch to flash across Nissan's screen was the "e LCV," or the electric light commercial vehicle. A brief explanation on the photo suggests that this model will be the world's first practical global zero-emissions light van. One insider suggests that we can expect this model to employ a modified version of the Leaf's platform, which was uniquely designed as an electric car and features construction that permits Li-ion battery packs to be centrally located under the first- and second-row seats. A closer inspection of this drawing reveals that the e-LCV appears to incorporate design details from the current production NV200 Vanette commercial vehicle, and boasts a nose and charging port cap identical to the Leaf.

Launch details on the EV range remain sketchy, but expect Nissan to space its EV additions at yearly intervals, likely starting with the e-LCV in early 2012.

2011 Nissan Juke Versus 2011 Mini Countryman

Well-being a Mini, at least it has performance on its side, with an uprated version of the familiar Cooper S engine (Valvetronic throttle-less induction is added to the existing direct-injection and turbo), an electronically controlled center diff for its optional AWD system, and a sophisticated multi-link rear suspension.

Nevertheless even those things don't make it unique. Nissan's new Juke has its own DI 1.6-liter turbo four, multi-link chassis, and tops the Mini with side-to-side torque vectoring for its AWD system.

So we got the Juke and Mini together. It took place off the Mini's German launch event, which meant no Motor Trend verified test-track performance numbers were possible, but we made sure to run them back to back on a good mix of delimited autobahn, fast country roads, twistier hill route and suburban schmoozing. The Mini came with the AWD system (called All4) and a six-speed manual, while the Juke had a CVT (with six virtual ratios) because that's standard with the AWD system. In fact the front-drive Jukes have simpler torsion-beam rear suspension. The Mini is always multi-link, about whether it has All4.

www.motortrend.com

With Leaf, new electric car, Nissan plugs affordability

With Leaf, new electric car, Nissan plugs affordability

Barack Obama pledged to put 1 million plug-in vehicles on the road by 2015, and whether he succeeds depends in part on whether cars such as the Leaf, or the forthcoming Chevrolet Volt from General Motors, are priced low enough to be quickly embraced by consumers. During the 2008 presidential campaign, then-Sen. The Leaf is "the first affordable, zero-emission vehicle for the mass market," said Brian Carolin, a senior vice president for Nissan North America. The cars will become available in December on the West Coast and next year in the rest of the country.

The Leaf will sell for $32,780, with consumers paying $25,280 after a $7,500 federal tax credit is included. roads for years, their production cost has kept manufacturers from making them for a mainstream audience, and the relative affordability of the Leaf surprised some industry observers. Although a small number of electric cars have been traveling U.S. The Nissan Leaf, the first of several pure-electric vehicles being developed by major manufacturers, will be roughly comparable in price with conventional autos, the company announced Tuesday, posing what may be the first mass-market test of consumer interest in battery-powered cars.

Federal efforts
Congress and the Obama administration have committed billions to nurturing the development of a mass-market electric car, citing the goal of reducing pollution and the nation's dependence on foreign oil.
More immediately, the federal government is offering the $7,500 tax credit to defray the cost of the new technology for consumers. Lawmakers had estimated that an electric car would cost $10,000 to $15,000 more than its conventional equivalent.
Whether electric cars will appeal to drivers remains an open question. "There appears to be a small premium" for the Leaf even after the federal tax credit, said Philip Reed, senior consumer advice editor for the automotive Web site Edmunds.com. But he noted that in California, where the state offers an additional $5,000 tax credit, the Leaf may be less expensive.

Pluses and minuses
The practical aspects of battery-powered cars also pose advantages and disadvantages. The Leaf can go 100 miles on a single charge, far less than the range of a conventional gasoline-powered car. The economics of electric charging are similarly complicated. Drivers intending daily use of the Leaf are encouraged to buy a home docking station that allows the car to be recharged more quickly -- in about eight hours from empty. Moreover, the cost of powering the Leaf is roughly one-sixth that of gassing up a conventional car, according to Nissan, based on $3 a gallon for gas and 11 cents per kilowatt-hour for electricity.
Skeptics, moreover, note that hybrid cars, though they were introduced to the United States more than 10 years ago, still represent less than 3 percent of the cars and light trucks sold each year.
Enthusiasts and some environmentalists, however, say that the Leaf will tap into a vast, pent-up demand for electric cars, especially among those seeking to pollute less.
Nissan is planning to produce relatively small volumes for the United States at first. Even before the price announcement Tuesday, the company said it had received expressions of interest from 81,000 people.
"Today, most of those people are driving hybrids," said Mark Perry, director of product planning and advanced technology at Nissan North America.

Based From www.washingtonpost.com