Nissan Leaf Roadshow or The Age of Electric Drive has Begun

I spent a couple of hours at the first roadshow of Nissan Leaf in Santa Monica. See the pictures below. A few thoughts:

First impression - very positive. It had a very elegant design, sober coloring, had wide enough body for comfortable seating. I couldnt see the inside of the hood or the boot. It didnt seem to have too much space in the back.

Quite a few people showed up. Almost 800 people RSVP'd to attend. Many others like me didnt RSVP but attended. People were of all backgrounds, old and young. There werent too many women but a few starting trickling in by the time I left.

This is set for release in Dec 2010. The first version will have 1000 cars. I signed up to testride end of next year when they release the car.

I had a little bit of fun. I interviewed a couple of regular folks on their attitudes towards this car. Environment as an issue is being discussed in the family, school and workplace. I also spoke to EV enthusiasts as well.

I gave a quick interview (!) to Nissan people on camera about why Leaf was the greatest thing since sliced bread and urged everyone to go electric.

Enjoy the slideshow!