Nissan LEAF

[ShiroiHikari]

Have you guys heard of this car? It sounds almost too good to be true! It is completely electric-- NO GASOLINE REQUIRED. Also apparently it doesn't need oil either. You plug the sucker in and it recharges! I want one T_T

http://www.nissanusa.com/leaf-electric-car/index.jsp

[Davidizer13]

Yeah, the technology for this has been around since at least the mid-1990s, with GM's EV-1 experiment, which was described in the movie Who Killed the Electric Car? but you couldn't buy that car; you could only lease it from GM. I think what happened between then and now was that a) demand increased and b) advances in the technology dropped its cost.

Anyway, as cool as the Leaf is, I'd rather have something with a bit more power: the Tesla Roadster. It's the same deal as the Leaf (no gas, no oil, low maintenance, etc.), only more expensive and faster. Either way, though, it's a really cool concept.

[GAINAX]

I can't agree with the Tesla Roadster being low maintenance, they ended up breaking two when Top Gear took it out on the track.

[Rusty Claymore]

Once the battery cost goes down it'llbe great. Except I've never really liked the sound they make. So they need a deisel engine simulation option lol!

[Ante Bellum]

I can't agree with the Tesla Roadster being low maintenance, they ended up breaking two when Top Gear took it out on the track.

But it looks cool.

[ShiroiHikari]

How fast do you really need to go in a car though? Speed limits are only like 70 MPH. XD

People are also complaining about the range but you have to keep in mind that this stuff takes time to get established. It's not gonna be perfect right off the bat. Most families have two cars anyway, so keep your combustion engine vehicle for long trips and use the LEAF for in-town stuff.

And obviously the LEAF isn't for everybody. If you drive 100 miles a day (Lord help you) then it's not going to be practical. If you're like me and drive 100 miles in a week, it'd be pretty neat.

I think this is a big, big step forward toward a brighter future and I'll be severely disappointed if it doesn't catch on.

[Shao Feng-Li]

Why do they have to make these cars look so wimpy...

I'll stick with my Accord and Mom's Tahoe.

[Warrior4Christ]

First off, funny name.

Also, keep in mind that the very first mass-produced in the 1800s were all-electric. So technically, the concept is quite old.

How fast do you really need to go in a car though? Speed limits are only like 70 MPH. XD

People are also complaining about the range but you have to keep in mind that this stuff takes time to get established. It's not gonna be perfect right off the bat. Most families have two cars anyway, so keep your combustion engine vehicle for long trips and use the LEAF for in-town stuff.

And obviously the LEAF isn't for everybody. If you drive 100 miles a day (Lord help you) then it's not going to be practical. If you're like me and drive 100 miles in a week, it'd be pretty neat.

I think this is a big, big step forward toward a brighter future and I'll be severely disappointed if it doesn't catch on.

I guess it's only practical as a second car, since the range is a serious limiting factor. How long does it take to charge?

The nice part having full torque taking off. But I do like the power of combustion engines... and it's sad to think that electric vehicles can't come in manual.

[goldenspines]

Awww, it's cute. :3

Personally, since this is the first of its kind that Nissan has attempted(I think), it's probably going to have a few wrinkles to iron out, so I'll probably be looking forward to the updated version. ^_^
But I do like the idea that they've gone all the way with this electric car concept (instead of a car being only half electric). It would make a great little town car just to zoom around in.

Why do they have to make these cars look so wimpy...

Because they are still pure, innocent and oil free (which changes a car'soutlook on life, and if anything, gives it hope for the future). If you start driving around a lot and having to pay for your own gas, the electric car starts looking a lot more tempting. <3

[shooraijin]

How fast do you really need to go in a car though? Speed limits are only like 70 MPH. XD

People are also complaining about the range but you have to keep in mind that this stuff takes time to get established. It's not gonna be perfect right off the bat. Most families have two cars anyway, so keep your combustion engine vehicle for long trips and use the LEAF for in-town stuff.

And obviously the LEAF isn't for everybody. If you drive 100 miles a day (Lord help you) then it's not going to be practical. If you're like me and drive 100 miles in a week, it'd be pretty neat.

I think this is a big, big step forward toward a brighter future and I'll be severely disappointed if it doesn't catch on.

That's why it's impractical for me -- I drive about 60 miles a day, and sometimes in excess of 100. So a fuel efficient gas car makes more sense (and my Civic Si gets ~30mpg, so I'm happy with that :-D ).

City cars do work well in cities, but it's no good for suburbanites.

I agree with you that the Leaf will be good for a certain specific niche now, and more people as the range expands, but Nissan will need to be very careful about how they market it.

[Shao Feng-Li]

Because they are still pure, innocent and oil free (which changes a car'soutlook on life, and if anything, gives it hope for the future). If you start driving around a lot and having to pay for your own gas, the electric car starts looking a lot more tempting. <3

Hasn't yet...

[ShiroiHikari]

I like the idea of not having to monitor and change various fluids all the time. Also I assume maintenance costs will be lower since there are fewer parts to break?

[Cognitive Gear]

I really like the electric cars. Hopefully they will catch on so that the pricing can drop, and the technology can continue to advance. The Mini Coupe E is exactly the kind of thing I hope to see more of. It looks just like a regular mini, but functions solely on electricity. For most people, the 100-150 mile range should be sufficient.

[Rusty Claymore]

Ugh, I'm gonna have to Seppuku before I'm 30... lol
Well, there is always putting cards in the spokes of my bike lol.

[Roy Mustang]

I think this is a good step in making more and better electric cars in the future.


[font="Book Antiqua"][color="Red"]Col. Roy Mustang [/color][/font]

[That Dude]

But I do like the idea that they've gone all the way with this electric car concept (instead of a car being only half electric).

If you start driving around a lot and having to pay for your own gas, the electric car starts looking a lot more tempting. <3

The only problem is that you won't really be saving any money at all with an all electric car, it costs just as much or more to juice it up.

So out of the main technologies that are on the market the hybrids are probably actually the better of the two. More practical and money saving.

What we really need to do more work on are hydrogen cars, the only waste is water and they can pretty easily get up to 60mpg.

[Cognitive Gear]

The only problem is that you won't really be saving any money at all with an all electric car, it costs just as much or more to juice it up.

I'm not sure where you got that idea, but according to Scientific American:

[quote]When you compare battery to gasoline power, electricity wins hands down. A 2007 study by the non-profit Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) calculated that powering a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) would cost the equivalent of roughly 75 cents per gallon of gasoline—]

I was a pretty big advocate of the hydrogen vehicle, until I began to think about the effects all of that water could have. Even if we assume that all of the existing drainage systems are sufficient in the big cities, there is still the very real, and dangerous icing problem. If you live somewhere that it snows all throughout winter, chances are that the water will either freeze when it hits the pavement, or freeze inside the tailpipe, causing all kinds of other problems.

[ShiroiHikari]

Well, another thing to keep in mind is that the idea isn't really to save money, it's to stop using gasoline altogether.

[Rusty Claymore]

Well, I hear france has this nifty thing called nuclear. It'd solve the electric generation problem, but some folks take issue. I'm for a society where folks can use whatever they want and not have to worry about getting shot cause they do or do not drive a hummer lol.

[Nate]

Well, I hear france has this nifty thing called nuclear.

Nuclear powered cars what a great idea that is. :|

I'm for a society where folks can use whatever they want and not have to worry about getting shot cause they do or do not drive a hummer lol.

I'm for a society where <words I can't say> aren't driving my gas prices up to 3.50 a gallon by using <more words I can't say> hummers that guzzle gas like the oceans are filled with fossil fuels instead of water.

Just throwing that out there.

[mechana2015]

That's why it's impractical for me -- I drive about 60 miles a day, and sometimes in excess of 100. So a fuel efficient gas car makes more sense (and my Civic Si gets ~30mpg, so I'm happy with that :-D ).

City cars do work well in cities, but it's no good for suburbanites.

I agree with you that the Leaf will be good for a certain specific niche now, and more people as the range expands, but Nissan will need to be very careful about how they market it.

One thing that could shift the marketability would be if corporations and parking garages started integrating charging stations, or if stand alone charging stations came into use. This would negate some of the range issues and expand the market further until they are able to expand the range of the car itself.

[Warrior4Christ]

I like the idea of not having to monitor and change various fluids all the time. Also I assume maintenance costs will be lower since there are fewer parts to break?

Fewer parts, yes.
How long are batteries supposed to last? I'd imagine that would be a few grand to replace when the time comes...

The only problem is that you won't really be saving any money at all with an all electric car, it costs just as much or more to juice it up.

So out of the main technologies that are on the market the hybrids are probably actually the better of the two. More practical and money saving.

What we really need to do more work on are hydrogen cars, the only waste is water and they can pretty easily get up to 60mpg.

I read a study into the total pollution of various engine types, and I think after taking into account the manufacturing of the engine and batteries, the production of electricity (from common coal power plants), and the refinement and burning of oil, the turbo-diesel ones came on top over the petrol-electric hybrids and all-electrics.

I was a pretty big advocate of the hydrogen vehicle, until I began to think about the effects all of that water could have. Even if we assume that all of the existing drainage systems are sufficient in the big cities, there is still the very real, and dangerous icing problem. If you live somewhere that it snows all throughout winter, chances are that the water will either freeze when it hits the pavement, or freeze inside the tailpipe, causing all kinds of other problems.

Interesting... it would hardly be a disadvantage here. There might be one morning of the year where you might have to wait an extra hour in the morning for it to warm up. I'd be willing to put up with that.

One thing that could shift the marketability would be if corporations and parking garages started integrating charging stations, or if stand alone charging stations came into use. This would negate some of the range issues and expand the market further until they are able to expand the range of the car itself.

Ah, the chicken-and-the-egg problem...
http://www.joelonsoftware.com/articles/fog0000000054.html (from a software point of view)
No one's going to rush to build a charging station until there's electric cars to use it. Few are going to rush to get an electric car because it's limited by range.

[Etoh*the*Greato]

Fewer parts, yes.
How long are batteries supposed to last? I'd imagine that would be a few grand to replace when the time comes...

If hybrids are any estimation you could look at a good five or six years for good performance, and then around 8k at this point in time to replace. One of the unforseen advantages of Hybrids that I can see is that they're placing electric parts in higher production, thus forcing companies to refine the process of manufacturing them and making them cheaper.

[Shao Feng-Li]

Well, another thing to keep in mind is that the idea isn't really to save money, it's to stop using gasoline altogether.

Which won't happen, not as long as people have things like cattle ranches. It'll be a long while before we have something that can match a heavy duty V8 diesel.

Then it doesn't help that most of the hybrid/electric cars look kind of stupid.

Well, I hear france has this nifty thing called nuclear. It'd solve the electric generation problem, but some folks take issue. I'm for a society where folks can use whatever they want and not have to worry about getting shot cause they do or do not drive a hummer lol.

Heh, nuclear would be neat. Nuclear is a great thing, efficient, burns clean, rarely has accidents... but when it actually does...

I'm for a society where <words I can't say> aren't driving my gas prices up to 3.50 a gallon by using <more words I can't say> hummers that guzzle gas like the oceans are filled with fossil fuels instead of water.

You won't like my Tahoe that only gets about 12 MPG then, huh?

[Etoh*the*Greato]

Gas prices are a lot more complicated than that. I'd love to blame the hummer dorks and the people driving pickups they have no practical need for, but they're not sole perpetrators. Sure, America's appetite for gas is insatiable, but you have to look at the companies as well. The Companies and the people releasing the crude oil. The prices are controlled up there as well. SUVs that could perform neither S nor U had been around for several years before the gas prices started their sharp drive up.

[That Dude]

Nuclear powered cars what a great idea that is. :|

Actually you could have clean and safe nuclear powered things by using Thorium instead of Uranium. Pretty much all the power, none of the radioactivity.

Now we just need to make refining and using thorium mainstream.

[TGJesusfreak]

Yeah. I've heard of this. The only issue with electric cars is that the batteries after they are recharged a lot don't work so well anymore. Then you have to replace them and that costs up to, $3000 sometimes. Being electric it probably runs on lithium ion batteries... (correct me if I'm wrong please:) )

[Etoh*the*Greato]

Thorium

Brilliant! I call for an invasion of Azeroth to acquire their rich thorium veins!! They've got too much of the stuff. Heck, they're making ARMOR out of it for pete's sake. Going green just got a new definition.

[ShiroiHikari]

Hur hur nuclear power creates giant bombs! Oh wait no it doesn't. This isn't 1986 anymore.

Also, as for replacing the battery, $3000 bucks for car maintenance every 5 years isn't that bad, is it? I mean, over that 5 years you don't have to change fluids, you don't have to change filters, you don't have to BUY GASOLINE, you don't have to do any of the usual expensive crap that comes with traditional vehicles. So isn't $3000 every five years kind of a good deal?

Oh, and another thing-- I'm not saying that we can just completely stop using gasoline as soon as these cars come out, or that we can EVER completely stop. Some people do need trucks and big vehicles in order to do their jobs, and until the technology gets better you can't really do that stuff with electric motors. It's possible that they'll end up using biodiesel or something for those applications.

It's just, we have to face facts that sooner or later, we're going to run out of the stuff and we should try to solve the problem as soon as we can instead of just lazily passing it off on the next generation.

[Etoh*the*Greato]

I'm pretty on board with alternate forms of energy for these cars (and will be even more on board once the tech is cheap enough for the masses, which is becoming a possibility thanks to the nouveau riche and the green freaks) but actually, considering when you need to change the batteries, 3k every few years is actually pretty hefty. It's my one complaint with electric hybrid cars...