Nissan has joined the race to create and sell the first practical electric car, and they plan to do it come 2010 -  approximately 1 year from now. The Nissan Leaf, as they call it, is expected to achieve up to 100 miles per battery charge with a top speed of 75 mph. The leaf is a pure electric car that runs on lithium-ion batteries and can hold up to 5 passengers. This battery is estimated to fully recharge within 8-16 hours, depending on the wattage of the outlet.

The target economies for this new future electric car are the United States, Europe, and Japan. The starting price for this innovative sedan will be somewhere between $25-30,000, a price that is much less than its prestige rival, the Tesla Model S which costs $58,000 and debuts in 2012.  Hopefully these new electric cars pave way for making future cars less expensive and less oil-dependent.