Eideard

If you aren’t already on the list to purchase a 2011 Nissan Leaf, you’re officially out of luck. During a speech to the Detroit Economic Club today, Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn announced that the U.S. market allotment for the first year’s production of Leafs is already sold out more than six months before the EV even goes on sale. Nissan has now received 13,000 orders for the $32,780 electric car – quite impressive for a vehicle almost no one’s driven.

So far, the orders are comprised of refundable $99 deposits, so it will be interesting to see how sales and orders hold up once people begin getting calls from dealers. Prior to going on sale in 2008, the Smart ForTwo also received thousands of orders before deliveries began – and we all know how well that turned out. While the Leaf will undoubtedly be a much more pleasant and practical car to drive than the Smart, it remains to be seen how customers will react once they get used to the real world electric range.

Ghosn remains extremely bullish on electric vehicles and will be adding production capacity in both the United States and Europe over the next three years.

We were on the list to reserve one; but, my wife’s ancient Volvo keeps on keeping on. What can I say?

“Zoe” opening up to the Press
Daylife/Getty Images used by permission

French carmaker Renault is facing a [miniscule] backlash over plans to christen a new model Zoe.

Parisian Zoe Renault, 23, has hired lawyers to insist that Renault scrap its branding.

“I could not bear to hear: ‘Zoe’s broken down’ or ‘We need to get Zoe overhauled‘,” she told Le Parisien newspaper.

Renault is facing other petitions from women called Zoe. A Renault spokesman said Zoe was not a “definitive choice”.

The all-electric Renault Zoe ZE (zero emission) is set for launch in 2012. Zoe – which means “life” in Greek – was apparently chosen to underline the car’s environmental credentials.

Zoe Renault – who has no apparent family link to the company – said in an interview with Le Parisien that she could not bear to be associated with a car for the rest of her life, and all the inevitable sarcastic gibes.

Her lawyer David Koubbi, who specialises in the protection of first names and is representing other Zoes, said he had sent a letter to Renault’s chief executive arguing that the plans were an attack on the rights of his clients.

If the company does not change its plans, Mr Koubbi said he would take the case to court.

Cripes. A lawyer whose specialty is the protection of first names?

Sound like the practice of law in France attracts as many unproductive parasites as does the U.S. bar.

The light rail here, which opened in December, has been a greater success than its proponents thought it would be, but not quite the way they envisioned. Unlike the rest of the country’s public transportation systems, which are used principally by commuters, the 20 miles of light rail here stretching from central Phoenix to Mesa and Tempe is used largely by people going to restaurants, bars, ball games and cultural events downtown.

The rail was projected to attract 26,000 riders per day, but the number is closer to 33,000, boosted in large part by weekend riders. Only 27 percent use the train for work, according to its operator, compared with 60 percent of other public transit users on average nationwide.

In some part thanks to the new system, downtown Phoenix appears to be one of the few bright spots in an otherwise economically pummeled city, which like the rest of Arizona has suffered under the crushing slide of the state’s economy. The state, for years almost totally dependent on growth, has one of the deepest budget deficits in the country.

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This is available gasoline-powered starting at ab’t $6500

Hyundai has launched an all-electric version of its i10 city car ahead of its first public appearance at the Frankfurt motor show later this month.

The zero-emission Hyundai i10 Electric will be available to lease in the firm’s native Korea from the second half of 2010 before going into full production in 2012.

The i10 Electric marks a change in strategy for Hyundai, which has previously distanced itself from producing all-electric vehicles in favour of hybrid and hydrogen fuel-cell technology…

One of the i10 electric’s main selling points is its fast charge system, which can charge up the battery to 85 per cent capacity in 15 minutes from a 413V power source. A full 100 per cent charge takes up to five hours.

The i10 Electric can achieve 100 miles on a single charge. Its top speed is 80mph and 0-62mph occurs in 15 secs. The electric motor produces 155lb ft of torque.

Of 47 sources available for this Post I just had to choose Autocar. They are about the stodgiest motoring publication in the whole wheeled world. And I used to have an airmail subscription back in the 1950′s.

I welcome another offering to the EV mix. The i10 is about as boring as something like this might look. I don’t doubt that was a marketing choice – in Korea.

Mitsubishi Motors announced that its heavily anticipated i-MiEV electric car will begin being leased to corporate and government customers in Japan in July. Individuals who want to purchase the EVs will have to wait until next April, when it will sell for a suggested $45,000 U.S. (before taxes).

The all-electric vehicle will have 100 mile range using lithium ion batteries. The i-MiEV will have an onboard charger so that it can charge into standard outlets in Japan (100 or 200 volt). Charge times to replenish the 16 kWh battery pack will be 7-14 hours, although Mitsubishi is developing fast charging stations that will take just half an hour…

Mitsubishi has been stoking demand for the EVs around the world by selecting cities as their first international locations for field tests. Vancouver B.C., Portland and the Principality of Monaco will all receive early i-MiEVs to evaluate their suitability outside of Japan.

Mitsubishi will be among the first large-scale automotive OEMs to sell an EV in more than a decade.

Drafting behind Mitsubishi with all electric vehicles will be Subaru, Toyota, and Nissan, which has powerful partners in Renault and charging station vendor Better Place.

Certainly, there’s a place for electric among commuter-mobiles.

Let’s see if the economies of scale get the i-Miev down to that price range.

Mitsubishi has unveiled the first mass-market electric car from a mainstream car maker. Slightly bigger than the Smart ForTwo but with a similar design, the i-MiEV — which goes on sale in the UK later this year — is based on the i, Mitsubishi’s existing city car. With room for four adults, it has a top speed of 87mph and produces the equivalent of 57 horsepower.

Its lithium-ion battery has a range of 100 miles and can be charged from flat to 80% in 20 minutes using Mitsubishi’s bespoke high-powered charger; otherwise, a normal mains electricity socket will charge the battery from flat to full in six hours. Mitsubishi estimates that the car can travel 10,000 miles on £45 of electricity at current UK domestic prices…

Kieren Puffett, editor of car website Parkers.co.uk who took the i-MiEV for a test drive today, said the car was ideal for urban areas. “Through the town, the car is particularly torquey, it can get away from traffic lights and across roundabouts really quite quickly. That’s quite a nice benefit for town driving.”

He added: “Because it’s based on an existing city car, the characteristics are fairly familiar. If someone got in, I don’t think they’d notice anything massively adrift.”

Puffett had some reservations, however, about Mitsubishi’s claims on the car’s range. “I deliberately drove the car with headlights, heater and the radio on. I did about 50 minutes of driving and covered about 22 miles — and I discharged the battery to half way from full.”

The cost per mile is what impresses me. If the gasoline-engined version gets 40mpg, that’s about $500 or more for 10,000 miles. Versus $75 or so for the electric version? What could be someone’s hangup over a neat commuter-mobile like this?

Europeans are already smart enough to be driving little critters like this forth-and-back to work and shopping – instead of Ford F150 pickups or Toyota Landcrushers.