Forbe’s Flint calls Nissan Leaf ‘most daring gamble in the automobile world’

The Nissan Leaf is one of the most anticipated cars (or electric-cars) in 2010. Nissan recently said that it will start the reservation process in April with firm orders to begin August. Deliveries of the Leaf are scheduled to start in Dec. 2010. Exciting huh? Not if you’re Jerry Flint, a Forbes journalist who thinks that the Leaf is the “most daring gamble in the automobile world.”

Flint says that the Leaf is “more likely to be a sales failure than a sales success.” What’s Flint’s reasoning? He says that the Leaf  “doesn’t have the range of a conventional car, it doesn’t have the top speed, it costs more and it takes forever to refuel.”

In fact the only two benefits he points out for the fully-electric Leaf is that electricity costs less than gasoline and that Nissan and the entire automobile world will learn how electric-cars work in the real world.

Do you agree or disagree with Flint? Let us know in the comments section below.

Click here for more news on the Nissan Leaf.

Refresher: Power for the Nissan Leaf comes from a 107-hp electric-motor that runs on power supplied by lithium-ion cells. On a full-charge, the Nissan Leaf allows for a driving range of 100 miles with a top speed of 87 mph. A full charge takes up to 8 hours on a standard 200V outlet. Buyers can opt for the DC 50kW quick-charger, which recharges the battery up to 80 percent in under 30 minutes.

2010 Nissan Leaf:

2010 Nissan LEAF EV 2010 Nissan LEAF EV 2010 Nissan LEAF EV 2010 Nissan LEAF EV

– By: Kap Shah

Source: Forbes