Electric Cars: New Models Coming; Volt and Leaf rated Nearly 100 MPG
I am cruising through Times Square silently but very, very stylishly in a sleek electric Tesla roadster. Soon you will be able to rent a few of these and many more prosaic electric cars from Hertz at airports and in their car-sharing program in New York City, Washington, D.C. and San Francisco. Electric cars are moving toward the mainstream as new models are announced and the Nissan Leaf and Chevrolet Volt reach their first buyers this month.
The Tesla couldn't show its stuff in slow-mo city traffic. But just a brief clear space is enough to feel the breathtaking acceleration (0 to 60 mph in 3.9 seconds). Of course, the move toward electric cars is not about speed -- though most have excellent acceleration -- but about high mileage and low emissions. In that realm, the Environmental Protection Agency just announced the official gas-mileage equivalent numbers for the Leaf and the Volt. Let's take a closer look at what's going on with electrics:
MPG, Sort Of In the hype-filled wait for the Leaf and Volt to appear, speculation about gas mileage flourished. GM briefly claimed the Volt would be rated the equivalent of 230 mpg, then disowned that number. Now the actual EPA ratings have just been released. The Volt, says the EPA, gets an estimated 93 miles per gallon equivalent when driving under electric power only. In the EPA tests, the Volt was able to go about 35 miles on electric power only. When its backup gasoline engine kicked in to generate power, the mileage became just 37 mpg. The EPA then calculated the combined mpg equivalent as 60 -- a number without too much real-world application. To get the numbers, the EPA uses a formula to compare gallons of gasoline and electric kilowatt hours. The estimated annual charging cost for the Volt is $601.
For the Nissan Leaf, the mpg equivalent is 99 mpg. The Leaf runs solely on battery power, so that is the only rating. The EPA said the Leaf could go 73 miles in its tests before needing recharging -- considerably less than the 100-mile range Nissan has been promoting. Still, the EPA calculates that the annual cost to recharge the Leaf would be $561 -- a lot less than the typical gasoline bill. How much an electric car is reducing greenhouse gas emissions depends on how power is generated where it is plugged in. (See Electric Cars: How Green are they Really? ).
New Models The Volt and Leaf are going to be the first plug-in cars on American roads, but they will not be alone for long. Most major manufacturers have announced plans to electrify vehicles. Several of the planned models were shown off at last month's Los Angeles Auto Show. A rundown of the major new entries:
• Honda Fit Honda will produce an electric version of its popular five-passenger hatchback, which it says will have a range of 100 miles and will fully recharge in six hours.
• Toyota RAV 4 Toyota has joined forces with the battery expertise of Tesla, producer of that sleek roadster shown below in Times Square, to produce the electric RAV 4. This will give Toyota a head start in 
electrifying the small crossover segment. Tesla CEO Elon Musk is predicting the RAV 4 electric will have a 150-mile range.
• Plug-in Prius In addition to its hybrid Prius, Toyota is introducing one that plugs in to recharge. I also drove this car at the Hertz Times Sqare event. While no Tesla Roadster, it is smooth, quiet and mannerly - a terrific urban car.
• Ford Focus The compact gasoline Focus will debut early next year, and the electric version will go on sale late in 2011. Ford also has an electric delivery van, the Ford Transit Connect, already on sale in small quantities.
• Mitsubish iMiEV This small-car entry will go on sale in the fall, beginning in California.
• Smart fortwo Daimler Benz already has begun leasing a few of the electric Smarts. This seems like a good direction for this tiny car, since it bypasses the Smart's annoyingly herky-jerky transmission in the gasoline version.
• Coda This independent company is producing a small electric car (pictured at right) based on a body 
design once used for the Mitsubishi Lancer. Most of the parts are made in China, but Coda has some plants in the U.S.
In offering electric cars in its regular rental fleet and in its car-sharing Connect by Hertz program, Hertz will build its own charging stations but will also aim to cooperate with other companies and with municipalities. "Corporations are extremely interested in electric cars," said Richard Broome, a Hertz senior vice president. "They see both the chance to save money with the cars and new business opportunities associated with them." For instance, General Electric -- which makes a charging unit -- has ordered 12,000 Volts for its sales fleet.
Broome says that by the end of the year, Hertz will be renting 300 to 500 Volts, Leafs, Codas, Smarts and others. Electric rental will not necessarily be more expensive, he said. A Leaf will rent for about the same as a Toyota Camry.
Cities from New York to Raleigh, N.C. to Portland, Ore. have begun building charging stations, and some will give preferred parking to electric cars. If an electric car owner could recharge the car in a municipal or corporate parking lot while working or shopping, it would ease fears of running out of battery power.
Photos by Jerry Edgerton
More from MoneyWatch: