Sports leaf with more power lower stance and better looks

[GreenPowerDP]

However, I think it has a lot to do with Elon Musk's recent announcement that he was going to bring an EV in the "$30k price range" but would be superior in every way to the Leaf. Infiniti's decision to delay (perhaps forever) the LE was published not long after Musk's announcement.

I really hope the Infiniti LE makes it to market, but I think the indefinite hold has more to do with Tesla "cancelling" the 40 kWh Models S version (sorry, I can't find the link - but I think Elon said something like - cancelled due to lack of interest). The LE and 40S would both have been in the $50K-$60K range.

The Infiniti LE would have to be "better" than the 40 Model S in battery and performance to compete, and the initial reports of the Infiniti using the Leaf battery and powertrain would mean a non-starter. I think they looked at performance and decided that they wouldn't be competitive. My hope is that they do have something in development because I do think there is a market in the $50 - $60K range.

[RonDawg]

However, I think it has a lot to do with Elon Musk's recent announcement that he was going to bring an EV in the "$30k price range" but would be superior in every way to the Leaf. Infiniti's decision to delay (perhaps forever) the LE was published not long after Musk's announcement.

I really hope the Infiniti LE makes it to market, but I think the indefinite hold has more to do with Tesla "cancelling" the 40 kWh Models S version (sorry, I can't find the link - but I think Elon said something like - cancelled due to lack of interest). The LE and 40S would both have been in the $50K-$60K range.

The Infiniti LE would have to be "better" than the 40 Model S in battery and performance to compete, and the initial reports of the Infiniti using the Leaf battery and powertrain would mean a non-starter. I think they looked at performance and decided that they wouldn't be competitive. My hope is that they do have something in development because I do think there is a market in the $50 - $60K range.

If the "base model" Model S were cancelled, that would seem like the perfect opportunity for Infiniti to move into that market. That's why I think Musk's announcement to compete in a lower price bracket caused Nissan to re-consider. They knew that the LE, as designed at that point, would be technologically inferior, especially if it was more expensive.

[edatoakrun]

Reality check:

The LE is still planned for production, probably with significantly improved battery technology, and there is no actual evidence that Tesla's activities or projections had anything to do with the delay.

..."Certain technologies that we see now, which we didn't see two years ago, are going to be available in a time frame that was relatively close to where we were going to introduce the Infiniti," Mr. Palmer said. "Rather than miss those opportunities, and then have to reconfigure the car to adopt them in its life cycle, what we wanted to do is to bring those from the beginning."

Mr. Palmer said the company has decided to "push back the timing a little bit in order to give accessibility to those particular new innovations" in the first LE model. He didn't commit to a new release date...

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142 ... 98372.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

However, I think it has a lot to do with Elon Musk's recent announcement that he was going to bring an EV in the "$30k price range" but would be superior in every way to the Leaf. Infiniti's decision to delay (perhaps forever) the LE was published not long after Musk's announcement.

I really hope the Infiniti LE makes it to market, but I think the indefinite hold has more to do with Tesla "cancelling" the 40 kWh Models S version (sorry, I can't find the link - but I think Elon said something like - cancelled due to lack of interest). The LE and 40S would both have been in the $50K-$60K range.

The Infiniti LE would have to be "better" than the 40 Model S in battery and performance to compete, and the initial reports of the Infiniti using the Leaf battery and powertrain would mean a non-starter. I think they looked at performance and decided that they wouldn't be competitive. My hope is that they do have something in development because I do think there is a market in the $50 - $60K range.

[RonDawg]

The "reality" is that Nissan-Infiniti are being very coy and non-committal about when the public can buy this Luxury Electric vehicle. Much like the Carbon Motors Police Car that never came to fruition, I'll believe it when I see it.

[rlewis123]

There are a number of techie people who would buy a Leaf if it looked less homely to them. I work with a lot of them in Aerospace.

I like the look but many of my friends don't. The Leaf is a good performer and it would not need much in the way of performance add-ons.

If Nissan made an Leaf sporty model that looked more like a Honda 2000 roadster, Lotus Elan or Mazda Miata it would be an instant hit with a whole other group of drivers. It would not even need a lot more performance to please that crowd and they would easily be happy to drop $40,000 to look sharp and still be Green.

I think that the aftermarket market for Leaf perf and appearance add-ons would really take off except for one problem - A lot of these cars are leased and need to return to stock configuration at some time in the future.

[Drivesolo]

There are a number of techie people who would buy a Leaf if it looked less homely to them. I work with a lot of them in Aerospace.

I like the look but many of my friends don't. The Leaf is a good performer and it would not need much in the way of performance add-ons.

If Nissan made an Leaf sporty model that looked more like a Honda 2000 roadster, Lotus Elan or Mazda Miata it would be an instant hit with a whole other group of drivers. It would not even need a lot more performance to please that crowd and they would easily be happy to drop $40,000 to look sharp and still be Green.

I think that the aftermarket market for Leaf perf and appearance add-ons would really take off except for one problem - A lot of these cars are leased and need to return to stock configuration at some time in the future.

Agreed. There are a lot of styling improvements that could be done to the Leaf that would have very little or no effect to its function or manufacturing cost. Considering the comparison of what the original Prius looked like (Echo based chassis) to what the Prius looks like now, there will likely be a very stylish looking Leaf 2-3 iterations from now.

However, better performance would help greatly. It may be a small group of consumers that are looking for performance in an EV but better performance of a car improves the image of the car. That will help influence other potential buyers even though they may never want the improved performance but are attracted to the car by the improved image that comes w/ ownership.

[TomT]

I'm not sure I'd use the Prius as an example... It went from out-right ugly then to simply homely today...

Considering the comparison of what the original Prius looked like (Echo based chassis) to what the Prius looks like now, there will likely be a very stylish looking Leaf 2-3 iterations from now.

[LeftieBiker]

Our 2013 PIP isn't the best color (Sea Foam Pearl) but it's still an attractive car, and much better looking from the rear than my Leaf. Don't hate on the PIP!

[TomT]

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder... The Prius is not bad from behind but, sorry, it is simply unattractive from any other angle...

Our 2013 PIP isn't the best color (Sea Foam Pearl) but it's still an attractive car, and much better looking from the rear than my Leaf. Don't hate on the PIP!

[LeftieBiker]

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder... The Prius is not bad from behind but, sorry, it is simply unattractive from any other angle...

Our 2013 PIP isn't the best color (Sea Foam Pearl) but it's still an attractive car, and much better looking from the rear than my Leaf. Don't hate on the PIP!

The Prius is better looking from both front and rear than the Leaf. The leaf wins the side view/profile category. You may prefer the Leaf's "newt eye" headlights, but by most standards the Prius has a nicer nose. They could make a "Sport Leaf" better looking just by redoing the nose with flush headlights and a better grille, and making the rear look more like the rear of a sports car and less like a half-finished concept car.