Nick Heidfeld, a Former F1 driver, has officially gone to the dark side. How? He's bought a Nissan Leaf which is an all electric car.
Does the Nissan Leaf go fast? No, not really. Does it make loud noises? No, it makes hardly any noise at all since it uses an electric motor. Does it look cool? Ahh, depends on who you are and who you ask. Does it have responsive driving? Mmmm, probably not. So what was a race car driver like Nick Heidfeld thinking?
The purchase of an electric car by the German ex-Formula 1 driver isn't that surprising. Heidfeld currently competes in the newly formed and sanctioned Formula E racing series which features all electric car racing and is sanctioned by the FIA, the governing body behind F1. The series is meant to showcase new electric vehicle technology to the world. He'll mainly be using the car to ferry around his family in Switzerland where he currently lives.
What do you think of an F1 driver, even a former one, buying an electric car?
Nissan has done some cool marketing with the Nissan Leaf, but this Clean Graffiti video from Nissan UK is probably the coolest thing I've seen. It shows how the Nissan Leaf was able to power what is known as “Reverse Graffiti” by the artist Paul Curtis.
Curtis, who goes by the art nickname Moose, uses a water pressure washer with stencils held against walls to create truly stunning and thought provoking art. As the pressure washer takes away dirt and grime you can see what's left behind from the stencils. The idea is to show how air pollution affects cities around the world.
Paul Curtis, aka Moose, used the Nissan Leaf to power a few different designs in Hamburg, Germany and London, England. The results are beautiful and quite interesting.
Let me know with a comment below what you think of this Reverse Graffiti or “Clean Graffiti” as Nissan is calling it.
Clean Graffiti – Nissan Leaf
Nissan creates the first car-powered clean graffiti using the 100% electric Nissan LEAF – the world’s best-selling electric vehicle (EV). The street art was created on polluted walls in London and Hamburg depicting the cities iconic skylines.
The Nissan Leaf is the best selling electric car of all time having achieved 100,000+ sales. One owner has clocked over 100,000 miles on his Nissan Leaf and they these electric cars come in handy in gas shortages.
A man in Washington state has just clocked over 100,000 miles in his Nissan Leaf, an all electric car. This is thanks to Washington's charing infrastructure.
While the Nissan Leaf owner, Steve Marsh, did not put as many miles on his car as someone like Herb Gordon and his Volvo P1800, I think 100,000 miles is pretty good.
“With a daily commute of about 130 miles, I’ve saved more than $9,000 compared to my old gas-powered car since I bought my LEAF,” commented Marsh. “With plenty of public charging options, as well as a charger installed at my office, my LEAF is a perfect car for my commute.”
Do you think a Nissan Leaf or another electric car can get more miles than 100,000?
General Motors (GM) unveiled the start of production for electric motors that will be equipped on the 2014 Chevy Spark EV at the automakers' Baltimore facility in White Marsh, MD today. (Ok, that is not technically Baltimore but it is close enough.) This makes GM the first automaker to assemble and build electric motors in the US. In addition the plant will also manufacture and assemble transmissions for the Spark EV.
The 2014 Spark EV will represent a big shift for GM. While many point to the Chevy Volt's success, the company hasn't released a fully electric car that has been available to the public since the EV1. We all know that the EV1 was a PR nightmare for GM and is it important to note that the EV1 was not available for the general car buying public to buy. Oh, the times are changing though.
GM seems to be committed to building electric cars like the Spark EV and being environmentally friendly at the same time. Not only will the GM Baltimore Operations be building electric car motors and transmissions, but it also has a solar panel array on the Baltimore operations that generate 1.25 megawatts of electricity. I was told this provides roughly 9% of the energy for the plant, which isn't a lot but that is not bad either. The Baltimore facility is also 100% landfill free. Materials are either burned for energy, recycled or reused for other projects.
Larry Nitz, GM's global electrification director, mentioned that the through the whole process of designing the Spark EV that GM was, and is, customer focused. “Quiet, reliable, fun.” is how he described the Spark EV.
Having driven the Spark EV around the closed Baltimore operations facility, I do agree it is all three of those things. It is surprisingly smooth and has good pick-up but certainly is not fast. (Some fit and finish could use a some work though.) It is hard to tell from a drive that only lasted 5-10 minutes and was not on real roads though. As well you need to have a GM engineer making sure you aren't doing burnouts or anything. That is something a particular auto writer might have suggested.
GM has not announced official pricing for the 2014 Spark EV but has said it should be under $25,000. With a tax credit of $7,500 it should be affordable for the average consumer putting it right in the electric car market with the Nissan Leaf. While the Spark EV seems like it will be fighter against the Nissan Leaf, Nissan has sold 50,000 Leafs since the car's introduction. This makes the Nissan Leaf the best selling electric car of all time and most likely will be hard to catch-up with in terms of sales. (The Prius does not count since it is a hybrid, which has a gas motor, in case you were thought “What about the Prius?.”)
GM has also not confirmed the exact date when the Spark EV will be available for sale. Larry Nitz did say during lunch that only a select amount of Chevy dealerships will be selling the Spark EV. This is the similar strategy that GM used for the Chevy Volt launch. No word on how many GM expects to sell or what the electric motor output for the Baltimore plant is. (I asked they didn't say or budge a bit.)
Since this was a big announcement for GM and the area as a whole. Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley was on hand, as well Baltimore county executives, today to show his support for GM and the push to electrify the nations's vehicles. Governor O'Malley even took a spin around in the Spark EV exclaiming as he got in, “I haven't done this in 13 years!” I guess that shows how pampered politicians are! 🙂
You can see my video of Governor O'Malley taking the 2014 Spark EV for a spin. I need to work on my video editing skills a lot though. (Btw Windows Live Movie Maker sucks!)
One surprising guest I noticed at the event today was Debbie Phelps, Michael Phelps mom. I guess Debbie Phelps is now a celebrity in Baltimore so she gets invited to events like this Spark EV gathering. My guess is that Michael Phelps, Baltimore's most famous and beloved athlete, could easily buy his mom a 2014 Spark EV (well probably like 20) without affecting his wallet too much. She didn't drive a Spark EV, she just rode along in one, so I am unsure if she will be buying one in the future.
All in all it will be interesting to see what is next for the Baltimore facility in terms of manufacturing capabilities for electric motors and transmissions and if this will extend to other parts of the US. As well what is next for GM and their electric car future.
Stay tuned for more articles about the Spark EV and Baltimore GM plant.
Electric Cars Keep Driving in Hurricane Sandy Gas Shortage
If you currently live in New York or New Jersey,Hurricane Sandy has most likely caused you to deal with long gas lines, even if you don't own a car. People with electric cars however, like the Nissan Leaf, seem to be making out ok.
After Hurricane Sandy, millions of people in New York and New Jersey were affected by flooding and massive power outages. Even now with electricity restored and debris out of the way, Hurricane Sandy's massive damage is still being felt as it is a huge pain to get gas in the Tri-State area. In the early hours in the morning people are queuing up at gas stations to make sure they get some of the limited supply.
People like Varun Bhatia, who lives in Long Island isn't having as much trouble with his all electric car, the Nissan Leaf. “I didn't realize I would be the only one driving for a couple of days and everybody else would be just in a tough position,” said Bhatia of Long Island, New York.
Bhatia got his Leaf shipped from Washington State so he could be among the first in New York to own a Leaf. Now he is happy with his choice to buy an electric vehicle, especially since he can skip the long gas lines. He also has made good use of his Leaf putting 300 miles on the car during the three days after the storm hit. Not only has his Leaf saved him money, but his popularity seems to be going higher too. Bhatia helped saved a couple of friends who got stranded because of Hurricane Sandy.
Let's face it for most of us gas is essential for getting around. Also if you didn't have electricity during a Hurricane it would be hard to charge your electric vehicle. Still, it seems Bhatia made out pretty good with his Nissan Leaf in the great gas shortage. Maybe this will cause a lot of people to change their thinking about electric vehicles and cars.
