Lance Armstrong has pedaled for a good share of his long career behind or near vehicles spewing toxic emission. Now the seven-time Tour de France titlist can pedal (and is standing behind) a clean machine — the 2011 Nissan Leaf.Armstrong is part of a new media campaign for Nissan that will also feature voice-overs by Robert Downey Jr.
The Leaf, which will be available for lease or purchase for the first time in December in Arizona, California, Oregon, Tennessee, and Washington, is the carmaker’s first mass produced all-electric vehicle.
Correspondingly, Nissan is shifting its focus to a new theme: “Innovation for All.”
The initial distribution states for the Leaf were chosen because of their participation in the EV Project. It’s partnership with ECOtality that has received funding from the U.S. Department of Energy to create the nation’s largest electric vehicle infrastructure
The Nissan Leaf will be available to customers in Texas and Hawaii in January, 2011 and to consumers in North Carolina, Florida, Georgia, Washington D.C., Virginia, Maryland, South Carolina, and Alabama in April 2011. Nissan will expand distribution nationally throughout 2011.
Article Last Updated: August 24, 2010.
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A sports, travel and business journalist for more than 45 years, James has written the new car review column The Weekly Driver since 2004.
In addition to founding this site in 2004, James writes a Sunday automotive column for The San Jose Mercury and East Bay Times in Walnut Creek, Calif., and monthly auto review and wellness columns for Gulfshore Business, a magazine in Southwest Florida.
An author and contributor to many newspapers, magazines and online publications, co-hosted The Weekly Driver Podcast from 2017 to 2024.
