Nissan has announced production plans for the Leaf, a pure-electric subcompact car with a 100 mile range that, according to Nissan, will cost about as much as a nicely-equipped compact sedan. The Leaf will go on sale in select markets towards the end of 2010. Take a closer look at the Nissan Leaf in my Nissan Leaf photo gallery.

This isn't the first time electric cars have been available to the public. A few years ago, General Motors, Honda and Toyota made publicly available EVs; all of the leases have since expired, and only the RAV4 EVs that Toyota sold (rather than leased) are still on the road. I was a big fan of EVs, and I think they were victims of bad PR, fueled by the automakers that didn't want to bear the cost of building them. People said that the 100-130 mile range of those cars wasn't enough, even though a) the average American only drives about 33 miles per day; b) EV owners charge up at home, so they have a full "tank" every morning; and c) most families in the States own two cars. People claimed their was no demand, but the truth is that every electric vehicle from a major automaker had a waiting list when it went out of production.... whoops, how did that darn soap box wind up under my feet?

Anyway, I'm pleased to see EVs coming back. What are your thoughts? Now that we've seen gasoline hit $4/gallon, are you more willing to consider an EV like the Leaf? Click the "comments" link and tell me what you think. -- Aaron Gold

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