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Nissan has promised that the Leaf, which goes into mass-production as a global model in 2012, will be about the same price as a gas-engine car such as the 1.5 million yen ($15,000) Tiida, which sells abroad as the Versa, starting at about $10,000.
The Nissan is pure electric. You drive until the battery pack is low, then stop and plug in for a recharge. Unlike the Volt, it has no "range extender" gasoline engine. But Nissan says its car will go 100 miles on a charge compared with Volt's 40 miles on battery before Volt's gas engine has to start running to generate power.
Nissan says 100 miles covers about 98% of daily driving needs in America.
As is becoming the norm, Nissan will encourage customers to have a heavy-duty circuit, typically called 220 volts, because that charges much faster than plugging into a standard 110- to 120-volt household outlet. A few hours vs. overnight.
Eventually, merchants and offices may offer 480-volt "fast-charge" hookups — 30 minutes or less — as a shopper lure or worker perquisite.
All Nissan will say about price is that it should be about the same as a bigger family sedan. So — wild guess — maybe $25,000 for a car that — if not electric — would be $15,000.
You could get the 480 volt "fast charge" easily enough at home by purchasing a transformer.
Question: I am not one of Al Gore's global warming nuts but that's not to say I wouldn't enjoy kicking OPEC in the A$$. If I purchased one of these what kind of solar panel array would I need at home to be able to charge it in 8 hours? This I would like to do.
My driving routine is ideal for an electric car. I generally either drive 3 miles to the park & ride lot or maybe as much a 30 miles for shopping. Our longer trips are in the 400 mile range so an electric is not suitable.
Would I buy one? Not until the price drops to the $5,000 maximum I will pay for a used car.
My driving routine is ideal for an electric car. I generally either drive 3 miles to the park & ride lot or maybe as much a 30 miles for shopping. Our longer trips are in the 400 mile range so an electric is not suitable.
Would I buy one? Not until the price drops to the $5,000 maximum I will pay for a used car.
they have to get the price < $25k and range has to be a guaranteed 100 miles at night with the lights and heater on or it is a fail.
I hear they are working on paints that will collect solar energy. Someday we could see the car itself be a solar collector and that would extend range in high solar locations.
If I purchased one of these what kind of solar panel array would I need at home to be able to charge it in 8 hours? This I would like to do.
One that probably costs 2-3 times the cost of the car.
It's impossible to say what size array you'd need, but seeing how they're recommending a 220v circuit to avoid an all-night charge requirement, let's assume the "normal" charge uses a 20A, 120V circuit for 8 hours. In that case, you'd be drawing 2,400 watts for 8 hours, or 19,200 watts.
To allow for days with little/no sun, you'd probably want a system capable of generating somewhere between 3,000 and 5,000 watts. Based on current costs of +/- $9/watt, you're looking at anywhere from $27,000-45,000 for such a system.
The Volt, while being obnoxiously priced, is still the better solution. I would prefer a car that I can drive 40 miles on a battery, have the small gas engine kick in for the next 300 (if I remember right), fill up the tank, and keep going indefinitely. At night, pull out the charge cable snake it into the motel room and charge her up for the next 40 miles. Put a set of those new flexible solar panels I saw somewhere on the roof, following the curve of the car, and charge the batteries while driving.
A car like this, while still using gas, would get you across the entire U.S. if needed. Meanwhile it does a great job of getting you around town.
Now if they get the cost to half of the expected...
You could get the 480 volt "fast charge" easily enough at home by purchasing a transformer.
Question: I am not one of Al Gore's global warming nuts but that's not to say I wouldn't enjoy kicking OPEC in the A$$. If I purchased one of these what kind of solar panel array would I need at home to be able to charge it in 8 hours? This I would like to do.
This is not a hate on Nissan. This is simply advice. Nissan is doing good by coming out with such a car. With that said, I think it should be modified. Electric alone isn't the greatest way. It is a start in the right direction, but I think it should be made to be able to run on a car every 100 miles or so.
100 miles is crap, as is a "few hours" to recharge. Useless for anything but very short town trips, or a short commuter, and if that's all you're buying it for...well, that's a lot of money to pay for something with such limited use.
I'll buy electric when they put one out that can make cross country trips in the same amount of time that a gasoline or diesel powered vehicle can.
100 miles is crap, as is a "few hours" to recharge. Useless for anything but very short town trips, or a short commuter, and if that's all you're buying it for...well, that's a lot of money to pay for something with such limited use.
I'll buy electric when they put one out that can make cross country trips in the same amount of time that a gasoline or diesel powered vehicle can.
Is it possible to travel 100 miles in a day?
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solar roof
