[December 12, 2010] All-electric Leaf debuts Tweet Dec 11, 2010 (The Press Democrat - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- Redwood City entrepreneur Olivier Chalouhi said the new all-electric Nissan Leaf he drove off the lot in Petaluma on Saturday would bring him less attention once he'd gotten it home and resumed his regular life. But as the first person in the entire world to take delivery of what's being touted as the first affordable, mass-marketed fully electric car, he was patient and pleasant in the spotlight Saturday. Surrounded by corporate officials, electric auto advocates and media representatives assembled at North Bay Nissan, the French-born Chalouhi, 31, repeatedly retold how he landed the very first Leaf. He dutifully posed for pictures with the shiny, black car he'd just bought -- even flipping open the charge port again and again as photographers and video cameramen jockeyed for position. Dealership owner Greg Dexter called the event the most exciting day in his 34 years of selling Nissan cars and trucks. He vowed to get more than 100 other customers who pre-ordered Leafs from North Bay Nissan "behind the wheel very soon." Nissan quickly already has received 20,000 orders for the five-passenger car which, though entirely electric, can reach speeds up to 90 mph. It has a 24-kilowatt-hour battery and can travel up to 100 miles between charges. Depleted batteries in both LV and LS models can be charged completely in eight hours with a 220-volt connection. The LS version also is compatible with commercial "quick-charge" stations that can charge it to 80 percent capacity in 30 minutes, Leaf specialist Victor Maldonado said. Nissan will begin taking orders again early next year. The ceremony that marked the transfer of Chalouhi's car was attended by Carlos Tavares, chairman of Nissan Americas, who noted that he'd learned only that morning that Chalouhi and he were schooled in the same town outside Paris. "Our planet is very small," and needs to be kept safe, Tavares said. "I'm very proud, and also very emotional." Chalouhi, the founder and chief technology officer for a start-up called Fanhattan, which is slated to lift the veil on its connected TV space technology next week, leased a Honda Accord when he first moved to California from Europe 3 1/2 years ago. When he turned the car in last April, he knew it would be the last combustion-engine car he'd drive. "Three-and-a-half years ago I was less concerned about the environment -- maybe because I (now) have kids," he said. "I want them to have the kind of environment I'm still enjoying." He needed a car that was highway capable and roomy enough to accommodate two car seats. He briefly considered the new Chevrolet Volt, a hybrid set to roll out in the next few weeks powered by a lithium-ion battery that's backed up by a gas-powered generator providing an additional 300 miles per tank of fuel. But "as soon as I heard about the Leaf, the Volt was dead in my mind," Chalouhi said. "I don't think that you can compare the two." He paid $99 to reserve the Leaf last April and placed his order at 12:05 a.m. Aug. 31, the first day to do so. Chalouhi, whose wife, Jana, drives a gas-powered Honda Fit, was notified a few days later that his Leaf order was the very first one taken in the United States. Though he lives just a few miles from a competing dealer on the Peninsula, Chalouhi was free to negotiate a deal and said he chose his car from North Bay Nissan because of its willingness to to sell below the manufacturers' suggested retail price. North Bay e-commerce director Ron Coury and Maldonado said Chalouhi paid 5 percent below the MSRP of $35,410 for the Leaf's SL model. He can recoup $7,500 through a federal tax credit for electric vehicles. North Bay Nissan has taken orders for about 120 Leafs, Victor Maldonado said. "We are the No. 1 dealer taking orders right now in the USA," he said. Electric vehicle advocate Mark Geller, co-founder of Plug In America, praised Nissan Motor Co. Chief Executive Carlos Ghosn's vision of an all-electric car. Chalouhi said his home-charging station was installed Friday. In the meantime, he's been commuting to work in San Mateo -- round-trip of 20 miles -- on an electric bicycle he converted himself. He's glad to be taking delivery on the Leaf, however. "I needed a car because," he said, "while the electric bike is really great, the weather, you know, is degrading." To see more of The Press Democrat, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.pressdemocrat.com. Copyright (c) 2010, The Press Democrat, Santa Rosa, Calif. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For more information about the content services offered by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services (MCT), visit www.mctinfoservices.com. [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]