- Nissan has begun scheduling public test-drives of the 2011 Leaf electric car.
- The drives start on October 1 in Santa Monica, California.
- The tour will hit many major U.S. markets and end in late March in Nashville.
NASHVILLE, Tennessee — Nissan has kicked off its national test-drive program for the 2011 Nissan Leaf, saying that consumers who are interested in driving the electric car can sign up at the Drive Electric Tour Web site. The test drives start on October 1 in Santa Monica, California at the AltCar Expo.
The Web site details a long list of tour stops for the Leaf. After the Santa Monica stop, the Leaf drives will move to the Orange County Auto Show in Anaheim, California, from October 8-10. The tour will hit many major U.S. markets and end in late March in Nashville.
Nissan said the test-drives give the public the "opportunity to learn about the car, its technology, its features and to actually take it for a test-drive."
The Leaf is edging ever closer to reality, with the public test-drives set and a national media preview on tap in Nashville from October 19-27.
Inside Line says: Here's your chance to put the Leaf through its paces, although you won't get the chance to experiment with charging it up on your home turf. — Anita Lienert, Correspondent
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tbone85 says:
03:02 PM, 09/10/2010
"We are champions of free markets afterall"
Speak for yourself. I am a champion of rational markets. As I learned in my first day of Econ 101 there is no such thing as perfect competition, and virtually every market is manipulated. Worshiping at the faux alter of "free markets" is the reason we have a $50 billion/month trade deficit.
02sevenspokes says:
01:51 AM, 09/09/2010
too bad you have to wait 4 hours for it to recharge if more than 3 people test drive it back to back
judokid says:
11:59 PM, 09/08/2010
If only people knew how many of our precious "domestic" cars are actually foreign or foreign/based...
equalizer says:
09:26 PM, 09/08/2010
kkroll, please refrain from jingoistic remarks that make Americans look like backward simpletons with no future. We are champions of free markets afterall, unless you are suggesting that our products can't compete based on quality and performance alone. The Leaf is a cheaper alternative to the Volt, what's wrong with that? It has inferior range, doesn't look as nice as the Volt (in my opinion), and probably doesn't ride/handle as well, but it does cost less. Why would you deny hard working Americans the right to choose between the two based on their needs and wants?
Make your purchase decision based on what you think provides the best value, not where it's made. Examples like the CTS, Corvette, Mustang GT, Ram, and many, many other American designed and made cars need no calls to "buy American!" to effectively compete with their import counterparts.
kkroll says:
08:52 PM, 09/08/2010
Oh, and could they make it look any uglier.
kkroll says:
08:51 PM, 09/08/2010
Oh here's a good idea, lets all buy this and support japan instead of buying the VOLT "WHICH IS AMERICAN!!!", that would be the best idea in the world, NOT!!!!!!!!!!! Yes, the VOLT is going to have a higher price tag then the LEAF, but there is reason for it being cheaper. It's Japanense for one and two, while driving the LEAF, since the only source of power for the whole car is the main battery, that means longer you play the radio, longer the AC is on and longer your lights are on the more power you use from that main battery. In turn, that 100 or so miles they are claiming, will be used up largely by everthing esle in your car, leaving you with whatever power is left for driving. Overall, Japanense and Asian cars in general, "BAD IDEA", on the other hand, DOMESTIC'S, "GOOD IDEA". Its in your hands, the citizen's of the United States, DOMESTIC or FORTUNE, no one is stopping you from making your decision, just make the right one. USA!!!