Getting Charged Up With the Nissan Leaf, Part 1

Automotive is an important market for semiconductor vendors. In turn, the chip industry has enabled car manufacturers to make major improvements in safety and performance -- and move toward more environmentally friendly vehicles.

Even though the number of vehicles manufactured grows by low single digits, the amount of electronics per vehicle keeps increasing. In 2008 and 2009 the automotive industry suffered severe losses, but in 2010 this market has seen a strong resurgence. Semico Research Corp. believes this momentum will drive automotive semiconductor growth for the next few years.

The next stage in the evolution of the automobile is the renewable energy source. Concerns about air pollution and the increasing cost of fossil fuel are driving this. Both Nissan and Chevrolet have major programs that they are launching in late 2010 and 2011 -- the Leaf and the Volt, respectively. The Leaf is all electric plug-in while the Volt is an electric plug-in with additional electricity generation from an in-vehicle, gas-powered generator.

On Dec. 4 I had the opportunity to test drive the Nissan Leaf. The company has mounted a demonstration tour across the US, and there was an event in Tempe, Ariz., during an arts festival. My wife and I had reservations, but there was also a steady stream of people walking in to test drive. See the introduction to the test drive below:

My family is familiar with new automotive technology. In 2001 we bought one of the first Toyota Priuses in Arizona. My daughter is still driving it. We liked it so much we bought another Prius in 2008.

My wife and I have put off buying another vehicle until we could try out the Leaf. We have been waiting since the rollout took a little longer than was first anticipated. The Leaf will not be available for delivery in Arizona for another few months.

Driving the Nissan Leaf was smooth and pleasant. I could not detect any difference between it and any other car. It was very responsive and quiet. Unfortunately they did not let us take it out on a highway. However, there was a section of road through Tempe that had little traffic and was pretty wide open. I was able to accelerate quickly and smoothly to 50 mph. There was no loud VAROOOM! Instead there was a low-level HMMMMM as I sped up. The car was very quiet, so much so that the turn signal sounded loud and obnoxious.

See the test drive below:

There is plenty of leg room and head room. It feels like any other car and not some tiny concept car for sci-fi geeks willing to suffer for the future. OK, I am a sci-fi geek but I want to be comfortable.

One is always concerned with running out of juice while on the road. There are a few charging stations scattered around Phoenix and Tucson at this time. Some of these are at locations for the local power companies.

I spoke with a representative for one of the companies making the chargers, and she explained that more public charging stations are coming. They are in discussions with BP and Arco to install at their stations. She said that within a year there will be stations every 30 to 40 miles along I-10 between Phoenix and Tucson. This is a heavily trafficked highway. It is about 125 miles from downtown Phoenix to downtown Tucson.

In the second part in the series we will review the charging mechanism and battery system in the Nissan Leaf and explore requirements for charging the vehicle at home and in the office.