People take longer trips all the time, I do. People with kids do. It's here, then there, then camping, a soccer or softball tournament. These kinds of demands will put a crimp on a car that gets 100 miles in optimum conditions.
I'm sure the Tesla is great to be out there 175 miles at highway speeds. It's also $100,000.
A $10,000 Versa will go 300+ miles.
Again, when the price is reasonable for a reasonable range, people will consider them.
For 33K, you can buy a few cars that give you extremely good range and mpg, the Prius being one of them, the Jetta diesel, another. They can also get a lot of car for that amount, a BMW 328i, a Camaro SS w/426 hp, Ausi A3, etc. Early adopters have no problem with the Leaf. Mainstream America will.
If someone's going to pay $600 a month for a car, many are going to want more than 100 mile range and waiting 8 hours to charge. They're going to want more than what's basically a slightly bigger Versa. (You can say the Leaf is an independent design, fine. It still resembles a plump Versa).
Just saying that's it's going to be a tough sell when the early adopters have their cars.
I'm sure the Tesla is great to be out there 175 miles at highway speeds. It's also $100,000.
A $10,000 Versa will go 300+ miles.
Again, when the price is reasonable for a reasonable range, people will consider them.
$33k LEAF isn't much more or less than what most people pay (which is apparently around $30k) so I would argue that it's not really all that expensive.
For 33K, you can buy a few cars that give you extremely good range and mpg, the Prius being one of them, the Jetta diesel, another. They can also get a lot of car for that amount, a BMW 328i, a Camaro SS w/426 hp, Ausi A3, etc. Early adopters have no problem with the Leaf. Mainstream America will.
If someone's going to pay $600 a month for a car, many are going to want more than 100 mile range and waiting 8 hours to charge. They're going to want more than what's basically a slightly bigger Versa. (You can say the Leaf is an independent design, fine. It still resembles a plump Versa).
Just saying that's it's going to be a tough sell when the early adopters have their cars.