Meet the new Nissan LEAF, the first 100% electric vehicle, at the U.S. Drive Electric Tour

Nissan has already launched the U.S. tour of the “world’s first affordable” all-electric vehicle. The tour is called the “Drive Electric Tour” and it’s a traveling show-off for the new Nissan LEAF and it’s open to the public.  In each city, you will be able to play with interactive displays and even drive the car yourself. I gleaned so much information about this car from a few of the Nissan experts on hand, but you won’t hear a peep out of the LEAF itself--it’s so quiet!

For my first ride in the LEAF I asked to ride along with a random gentleman I met during my Friday lunch hour at the event in Chicago.  Lukas drove and is a Swiss national who has been taking a few semesters of classes in Chicago on his way to becoming a lawyer.  Riding shotgun and filling us in on the features of the LEAF was Nissan representative, Petra, and she was originally from Czechoslovakia.  One of the questions I asked them was what was the general consensus of thier people’s opinions on American’s obsession with huge gas guzzling cars?  Both of them giggled and agreed that people around the world were waiting for us to catch up and start realizing that we might be throwing money down the drain with our tank-y 8 cylinder behemoths and ruining our own environment at the same time.

The Drive Electric Tour in Chicago coincided with the State of Illinois and the City of Chicago’s announcement of their major plans to foster adoption of electric vehicles and the network of power stations that will power them. 

One of the setbacks of years' past for electric cars has been the individual car model charging systems.  One of the Nissan reps told me that is now a thing of the past for there is a universal system for charging and you will be even be able to charge your car at Whole Foods and many more major stores, restaurants and drug stores in the very near future. 

The battery in the Nissan LEAF is able to power-up 30 minute here and 20 minutes there; the lithium battery of the LEAF does not have to be drained and then fully charged--it has cumulative charging!

The car is quiet and, if I drove a car, this is the one I would drive. It’s perfect for city driving and the interior, both front and back seats are roomy and very comfortable. Click here to see the car.

Check your locale Nissan dealership for pricing and delivery.  Delivery dates for Illinois’ LEAF’s has moved up because of Illinois Governor Pat Quinn’s commitment to the electric car.

Go to https://www.drivenissanleaf.com/Event/ for car and event details.

I did take video of Lukas and Petra and the enthusiasic staff of the Chicago tour but my editor is dork and he erased all of it it so you will just have to trust me and go to the event in your town and take a test drive: You will fall in love with the LEAF. THANK YOU TO LUKAS who sent me the picture of himself and Petra. This shows the car and the awesome staging Nissan has for the LEAF that travels from town to town.

[But: HERE’S AN EXTRA video of me talking to my cab driver about the Nissan LEAF: basically it’s me thinking that Nissan should give the cab drivers a break on the sale of the LEAF so Chicago can be the permanent “Drive Electric Tour.” I bet Cab driver’s could rep the car very well! Maybe Chicago/Illinois is already offering incentives for cabbies?  If so, my cab driver was not aware of it. Thank you, Kamal, from FLASH Cabs.]

And make sure you buy my book, Mafia Hairdresser, or I'll cut you!, at Joseph Michael's Salon and Spa, of course.

Here are the dates when the Nissan Drive Electric Tour will be in your town:

Los Angeles    10.7-9

Houston          10.14-16

Dallas              10.21-23

Phoenix           10.28-30

Las Vegas       11.4-6

San Diego       11.11-13

San Francisco 11.18-20

Portland          12.2-4

Seattle            12.9-11

Austin             1.6-8

Atlanta            1.13

Orlando           1.20

Miami              1.27

jon-david is a Chicago author of the semi autobiographical 80's tale: Mafia Hairdresser. Available on all ebooks.

                                                                           Don't forget to subscribe to TheLocalTourist.com to keep up with Chicago and more!