Nissan Leaf as rental or loaner car
Monday
May 9, 2011
The next time you’re in Portland, Oregon and you’re in need of an electric rental car, feel free to contact West Hills Collision Center.
The owner, Don Blazer, has been using electric cars for seven years and therefore is familiar with all the advantages and disadvantages of using one. One of the disadvantage he saw was that it required special charging equipment and is not good as a loaner car.
However, with the Nissan Leaf and availability of charging stations, he thought it was time to use it as a renter or loaner car.
“Normally I would not loan out this expensive of a vehicle but right now there is a very limited number of electric vehicles available,” said Blazer. “Of the 50,000 body shops in the United States I know of none using electric vehicles as loaner or replacement rental cars.”
Loaner is free only to those who use the collision center.
Article via: Plugin Cars | Image by Patric Connor
Hybrid/Electric Cars Passes Safety Performances with Flying Colors
Wednesday
Apr 27, 2011
Electric cars not only allow you to save money by not buying gas, not only does it reduce the carbon emissions around you, it may also save your life.
According to some crash tests don on both the Nissan Leaf and Chevy Volt, they performed really well. The reason for their performance? Weight.
“They behave like heavier cars, and in a crash that can be a good thing,” Wiesenfelder told FOX Business Network’s Jeff Flock. “All other things being equal, heavier cars fare better in crashes.”
Specifically, the battery is so heavy that the roof strength needs to be reinforced. This results in the roofs not buckling as much during crashes.
[Article via: Fox Business | Image via: Wikimedia Commons (Public Domain)]
