Nissan has announced some pretty lofty goals, including being the largest manufacturer in the US for electric cars.  The model to make it happen is the 2010 Nissan Leaf, an electric car marvel.  Nissan expects to receive 20,000 orders of the battery powered Leaf by the time it hits the show rooms next year.  I don't see how.

First of all, you are buying a very limited range vehicle, for around $30,000.  Personally, for that kind of money, I'd like to be able to drive wherever, whenever I want.  I don't want to wait around for a charge or risk not being able to find a suitable charging station while I'm out and about.  But of course, I'm not the target audience, those living in the big cities that don't have to worry about rural commutes.

Next, consider the Nissan dealership just might be pushing a $150 per month battery lease option.  Meaning, you buy the car, but lease the battery that powers the car.  This is done to help alleviate the concern of replacing a battery in the coming years, if there were a problem, or they don't have the shelf life they are counting on.

Too many if's and's or's and but's for me.  However, I wish them all the luck and the more competition Toyota has, the better it is for the consumers.  Check out the Nissan Leaf pics below.

Well, they all have spots on Leno, of course.

Jay Leno took a step down (or up) from late night TV and started broadcasting in Prime Time.  Well, Ford is taking advantage of this exposure and Leno's love for vehicles, to help get the American public accustomed to driving Electric vehicles.  That's why the Sept 18th show will feature Drew Barrymore racing a new all electric Ford Focus.

The car Barrymore will be driving won't actually be available until sometime in 2011, so don't get out your checkbooks just yet.  However, it might not be a bad idea to start saving now.  Most estimates put the new all electric Ford Focus at $10,000 higher than it's all gasoline counter part.  eeek!

It's been a little while since we've reported on the Chevy Volt and what it means to the domestic auto market.  Unfortunately, we haven't heard a lot, because there have been some doubts about the battery.  Consider the impact on GM if this final push for innovation launches with a thud, plagued by it's biggest technological advancement in decades, the Volt's battery.

To meet expectations and guarantees, the Chevy Volt's battery must be capable of at least 4,000 recharges and a 10 year life span.  Seems like a pretty tall order, considering that no technology exists amongst the li-ion type battery market.  Basically, it's starting from scratch, and hoping that come 2010 we have a marketable product that everyone will want.  As of this posting it's reported that the battery development has completed and we are only waiting on testing.

I just hope GM doesn't blow it's wad on a car that only delivers half of what was promised.  Already buyers remorse is setting in on the new car market, let's not make it worse with an overhyped product.  Chevy hopes to release the Volt on November 2010.

P.S. European markets will be getting a much nicer and sportier Chevy Volt.

Right now as I speak the US automakers are stumbling all over themselves to come up with a plan of action which will allow them to get $25 billion dollars in aid from Congress.  One of the requirements, before they fork over the cash, is for the automakers to produce an action plan in regards to how the money will be spent and insure they will not be in this same dire position down the road.  It's believed that their focus will shift toward cutting existing lines and producing more fuel efficient vehicles and that may mean bringing a hybrid diesel electric to the US market.

The technology is not new, rather it's been used for years in the train industry, dating back as far as the 1920's.  Today VW is leading the way with hybrid diesel electric engineering and using the technology in their VW Golf.  The hybrid VW is capable of getting up to 70 miles per gallon, but will not be distributed in the United States.  According to VW the technology would be too expensive to build and bring into the US, thus creating a potential market for domestic manufacturers.

Another hurdle US automanufacturers are faced with is the longevity of their current vehicles on the market.  More people are holding onto their existing cars for longer and even more are buying used, rather than new.  For example, it's easier to buy used diesel vehicles and let someone else take a bath in the depreciation after driving off the lot.

I believe serious thought needs to be put into engineering a quality hybrid diesel electric car for the domestic market.  The need for more fuel efficient cars isn't going anywhere and if the automakers hope to pull themselves out of their gas guzzling hole then something needs to change.  The current trend of cornering the large SUV and Truck market is obviously failing as a business model and 70 mpg is an appealing buy for anyone looking to purchase a new vehicle.

Golf Diesel Electric