Volt vs. Leaf
Bring up the all-electric Nissan Leaf, which will eventually be manufactured at the Nissan plant in Smyrna, and Reuss comes armed, ready to take his shots. Reuss said he doesn’t even consider the Leaf as competition with the super fuel-efficient Chevrolet Volt, a plug-in hybrid that has a gas engine that only directly provides power at high speeds.
“(The Leaf) has a finite range and requires infrastructure and charging to run it, where the Volt is really an extended-range electric vehicle,” he said. “The Volt can really be the only car you own. You better be living within a certain range for the Leaf. … It’s a lot different market, a lot different car and a completely different driver.
“I’m not sure if I’d put the leaf in the hands of my three kids,” he said. “Say, what if they can’t charge it? What if they get to school and can’t charge it? The Leaf is a single-purpose car.”
