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The Nissan Leaf was named 2011 World Car of the Year at the New York International Auto Show, taking the top spot ahead of the BMW 5-Series and the Audi A8. It is the second important award for the Japanese automaker’s all-electric car after being voted 2011 European Car of the Year. Read more »

There has been a lot of conversation lately about electric cars and racing, with some even talking about introducing the technology into the F1 stage. Nissan, on its part, has a lot to gain in terms of awareness given the brands focus on the development of dedicated electric vehicles like the Leaf.

With this in mind, the Japanese carmaker developed a purpose-built prototype racer loosely based on the production Leaf that will receive its first public outing at the 2011 New York International Auto Show . Compared to the production model, the Lead NISMO RC (for Racing Competition), does away with the rear doors, rear seat, trunk, audio system, navigation, carpeting and other amenities, while gaining a mid-ship location for the battery pack, electric motor and inverter.

The Electric Zero Emission Sports car is not a new idea. There have been many concepts at many motor shows that have been loosely based on this concept. Although very few are designed featuring a tested and efficient drivetrain that's all ready in a production car. This is where the Esflow concept is unique.

The Esflow makes use of the same EV technology found on Nissan's first Zero Emission production vehicle, the all-electric Leaf. The concept behind the....concept is that driving efficiently and environmentally should be entertaining as well. The car aims to be the driving enthusiasts choice by blending electric power, dramatic styling and sporting qualities.

It has been known for a while now that Nissan is struggling with the Leaf’s slow rollout. The demand for the all-electric vehicle is so high that the Japanese maker has been forced to stop receiving new orders and concentrate on filling existing ones. However, projected production figures show that the company will only assemble 10,000 units until March 31, while it has already received 27,000 orders from the U.S., Japan and Europe.

Woe betide the electric car. Outpaced by their petrol-powered cousins in the 1900s, saddled with heavy and potentially dangerous batteries in the 1970s and crushed in the name of the Almighty Dollar in the 1990s, it’s been a rough road from there to here.

And now, on the dawn of a new age where electric cars seem poised to take their rightful place alongside gasoline cars, the electricity companies are about to throw a wrench into the works. If you live in California and intend to buy a plug-in hybrid Toyota Prius or Chevrolet Volt or an all-electric Nissan Leaf, you could be in for a...shock.

If the energy giants have their way, the Chevy Cobalt, which would have to rate on my list as one of the least desirable cars built by GM, is more economical to own or operate than any of the above. The reason?

Now, before someone adds a comment of the sort "in other related news, Audi unveiled the new A6", let us make it clear that we're not reporting on the actual Car of the Year (COTY) 2011 results, which were announced in late November 2010, but on the special ceremony that took place at the Pavillion Gabriel in Paris earlier this week to hand over the trophy to this year's winner, the new Nissan Leaf.

Michigan congressmen Sander Levin and Carl Levin proposed a new piece of legislation on Wednesday, which would potentially increase the number of plug-in hybrid and electric vehicles eligible for the $7,500 tax credit from 200,000 to 500,000 per manufacturer.

Nissan wants drivers of its new Leaf - which didn't seem to take as much time or PR mumbo-jumbo to reach the pavement as Chevy's Volt - to know everything there is to know about their cars and the trips being made in them.

In Nissan's case, trip transparency is provided by a handy-dandy system called CARWING. The program gives drivers a bucket o'information ranging from travel time to electricity consumption and "average energy economy" on daily, weekly, monthly or annual scales.

You can also compete with other owners for best efficiency levels (Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Platinum) thanks to some in-car "gaming". Thanks to MyNissanLeaf member gudy, we've got some screen shots of what the program looks like and some of the info available.

The Prime Minister of Portugal, Jose Socrates, has become the first head of state in the world to adopt an all-electric vehicle for official matters. On Wednesday, Portugal received delivery of the first 10 Nissan Leaf EVs to be offered in Europe, as recognition of the country's pioneering work in the electric mobility field with the MOBI.E Programme. One of those cars landing in the hands of Mr. Socrates, who will now travel exclusively by Electric Car (it was not disclosed if the Leaf would be the only EV in the fleet) for his official travels around the capital city of Portugal, Lisbon.

Once upon a drive, all we had to know about a car's fuel consumption was how many miles the vehicle could travel on a single gallon of gas in the city, on the highway and on a combined route, regardless of whether the engine was fed with petrol or diesel.

Nowadays, the appearance of all-electric and extended range hybrid electric cars in showrooms has forced [ahem...] the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to embrace a new method to measure the energy consumption of alternative fuel vehicles called MPGe (Miles Per Gallon Equivalent).

At the upcoming Tokyo Auto Salon 2011 with NAPAC (Japan Car Parts and Aftermarket Promotion Association), to be held from January 14 to 16, Nissan, together with Autech Japan and its in-house NISMO performance division, will premiere a total of nine vehicles.

Even though we can’t picture your average EV owner as being an avid fan of McDonalds, nevertheless, future Nissan Leaf and Chevrolet Volt owners living in Huntington, West Virginia, will have a very good reason to visit the food chain's new store located near the corner of 1st Street and 5th Avenue, as it’s the first restaurant of its kind in the U.S. to have a Level 2 Electric Car Charging Station.

The electric vehicle market in Japan is now burgeoning. Once the mainstay of small independents building low speed, short range Neighborhood Electric Vehicles (NEVs), major manufacturers including Nissan, Mitsubishi and Subaru are now hopping on the EV train in the hopes of raking in some greenie revenue.

With its U.S. launch mere weeks away, Nissan already has 6,000 orders in Japan and a further 20,000 in the United States for its lithium-ion powered Leaf EV. The automaker has so many orders, in fact, that they won’t be taking any more.

As you would expect, Nissan Chief Operating Office Toshiyuki Shiga is one happy man: "We believe this will be the beginning of the new era for the world's automobile industry, as well as a sustainable low-carbon society.”

With the 2011 Car of the Year Award secured, Nissan is rolling out the Leaf EV starting from Japan. The zero-emission electric hatch will go on sale in Japan on December 20th, followed shortly after by the U.S., while European customers will have to wait until later in 2011.

The base price in Japan has been set at 3,764,250 yen (US $45,000 at today’s exchange rates), with the consumption tax included. That’s a lot of money, but, fortunately for the Japanese, the EV is eligible for a 780,000-Yen government incentive, which brings down the cost to 2,984,250 yen or US $35,677.

While our readers favored the Alfa Romeo Giulietta in our poll, the jury of the 2011 European Car of the Year Award (COTY) announced that the Nissan Leaf is the winner, earning a total of 257 points. This is the first time in the 47-year history of the competition that the award goes to an electric vehicle.

“The jury acknowledged today that the Nissan LEAF is a breakthrough for electric cars. Nissan LEAF is the first EV that can match conventional cars in many respects”, said Håkan Matson, President of the Jury, Car of the Year.

The Giulietta came in second with 248 points, while the Opel/Vauxhall Meriva took the bronze, with 244 points.

Production of Nissan's pure electric Leaf started today at the firm's Oppama facility in Japan, ahead of the car's launch in Japan and the United States in December, and in select markets in Europe from early 2011. Currently, the Oppama plant has an annual production capacity of 50,000 units. The Japanese carmaker said it will begin exports to the USA in November, followed by Europe in December.

Although Nissan didn't mention the Cube in its press release on the new Townpod EV concept, it's not hard to make the connection between the two cars. However, the quirky looking sub-compact study, which made its world premiere today at the Paris Motor Show, makes use of the same zero-emission technology found within Nissan LEAF in a tall van-like body with suicide-style rear doors and split trunk doors.

At the 2010 Paris Motor Show, which opens on 30 September, Nissan will lift the wraps off a new electric car concept called the Townpod. The Japanese automaker will release full details at the show but for now, all we have about the concept model is this cropped photo of the front headlamp and Nissan's claims that "it combines eye-catching design with a spacious and practical interior," and that " it heralds a new-era of flexible, stylish vehicles that will bring electric-vehicle mobility to the masses."