The first page of a new chapter in green-car history was written yesterday, as Nissan formally handed over a 2011 Leaf electric car to Olivier Chalouhi of Redwood City, California.
He was the very first person in the U।S. to order the all-electric vehicle, and the first to take delivery.
Leaf convoy
Chalouhi accepted the keys to his black 2011 Nissan Leaf SL at a dealership in Petaluma, about 40 miles north of San Francisco. Accompanied by four other Leafs, he then drove his new car to a press event at San Francisco's City Hall.
The scheduled 1:30 pm event kickoff was delayed about 15 minutes when the guest of honor got caught in the notorious San Francisco traffic. After crossing the Golden Gate Bridge, the convoy of Leafs drove along Lombard Street and pulled silently into City Hall.
Once the electric cars arrived--and Chalouhi plugged in his Leaf to recharge at City Hall's public charging station--a crowd of a few hundred listened to speeches by elected officials, Nissan representatives, and Chalouhi himself.
San Francisco leads
San Francisco plans to install roughly 100 more public charging stations for the Leaf and other plug-in vehicles, and officials claimed that the city and surrounding region had produced more early orders for the Leaf than any other.
Other electric cars there included a Tesla Roadster and a Toyota Prius converted to operate as a plug-in hybrid. One of the most popular attractions, though--at least for those well below driving age--proved to be the chance to take photos with Nissan's famed polar bear, star of a memorable Leaf TV commercial.
Family electric car
Chalouhi, 31, is the founder and chief technology officer of Fanhattan, a venture-backed stealth start-up in the connected TV space. His daily commute to work from Redwood City is roughly 10 miles, he said, noting that he commuted to work on an electric bicycle before the Leaf became available.
Chalouhi told reporters the Leaf will be his primary car, but that his wife Jana has another vehicle that the family plans to use for longer trips. A 240-Volt charging station has already been installed in the family's garage.
