The Future is Here

First of all, anyone who knows me well already knows that I'm not a big fan of anything that says "Nissan" on it.  Why?  They've just never seemed to be able to do what the "big boys" at Toyota and Honda could do.  To me, they seemed to skimp on vehicle trim and upholstery.  Styling was..."eh."  They didn't produce very much that got me excited.  I've always considered them the "also-rans" of the Japanese auto industry.  And I never really cared much for their "NISSAN---IT'S AWWWEEESOME!!!" campaign over the years.  There's not a lot of "aweseome" in "mediocre."

However, with their new all-electric LEAF model for 2011, they're certainly doing something right.  First off, "LEAF" is indeed an acronym.  It stands for Leading, Environmentally friendly, Affordable, Family car.  The car is quite roomy for such a small sedan.  By the way it drives, you'd never know that there isn't any fuel burning under the hood.  In fact, there isn't any liquid fuel anywhere in the car.  A pack of lithium-ion batteries sits right in the center of the car, under the passenger compartment.  These batteries enable the LEAF to go about 100 miles on one charge (your distance will vary depending on your driving habits).

How do I know so much about the LEAF?  Simple.  To learn about a car, the best way is to drive it.  And that I did.  There was an ad on the radio saying something about a local event where attendees would be able to climb behind the wheel and take one out for a spin.  Being the car nut that I am, I couldn't pass that up.  So I went to the website and signed up as soon as I got home.  Last December at the Los Angeles Auto Show, I drove a 2011 Ford Fiesta (a horrible snot-colored one which really wasn't so impressive to be honest), a 2010 Ford Flex (a very nice car if I do say so myself---sort of a modern throwback to the old station wagon), and a 2010 Ford Fusion hybrid (one of three or so hybrids I've driven so far).  Besides those, I've test driven numerous cars at various dealerships, and driven some very nice cars at a couple of events that Cadillac has put on.  I like to test drive vehicles on a regular basis, just to keep abreast of what's out there should I ever need to replace my car.

About this event...Upon arrival at the parking lot of the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium, I had to check in.  Once our names were called, about a dozen or so of us gathered to be taken through the various exhibits by one of the guides.  She answered any questions that we had about the LEAF or anything about it.  Next, we got into a line to wait for the next of 16 cars that Nissan had on hand for the event.  When my turn came, I was directed to a silver one a few feet away.  Before getting in the car, I was allowed to take a few photos of it.  Once inside, a Nissan rep was waiting to show me a little about the car and its controls before taking off.  (I never did get her name, but she was very nice.)  The controls are very unusual...a push button start and an almost joystick-like thingie on the center console that acted as the shift lever.

And off we went.  The first part of the drive was a course set up in the lot so drivers could experience the tight turning circle and cornering ability of the vehicle.  Next, we got out onto Pico Blvd. for a spin in real city traffic.  More or less, we simply drove around a long block (I was hoping to get on the freeway to see how an electric car could handle high speeds, but I figured they wouldn't allow that---and I was correct.)  However, I did have a stretch of road about a city block long where my co-pilot said to jump on the gas (hee hee...the "gas" in an electric car) to see what it would do.  And jump it did.  You would have never figured that battery powered ANYTHING would move like that.

Back at the parking lot, about a mile after starting, I pulled the car into where I first saw it and turned it off.  Now for the $30,000 question---would I buy one?  Perhaps if I had a few bucks---30,000 of them to be exact---I might consider it.  For now, though, I'll wait until some advancements are made and the range goes beyond 100 miles.  Someday that will happen as battery tecnology improves.

Yours truly getting a charge out of an electric vehicle.

Before I left, they took pictures of drivers next to a LEAF.  The car they had as a prop just happened to be the same color as the car I drove.  And they had refreshments, too.  Good chocolate chip cookies.  Just the appetizer for the barbeque I went to right after I left there.

Chevrolet has their Volt coming very soon.  I'll have to visit a Chevy dealer and take one of those out to compare the two.  That will be a future report.  But I have to admit---as the electric car concept goes, Nissan made a be-LEAF-er out of me.