Nissan Motor Company's first all-electric car, the Leaf, won't come out until next year, but anticipation is high (possibly since they launched their TV commercials). The car manufacturer unveiled prototypes during its three month tour of potential target markets across the United States. The Leaf can go 100 miles before needing to recharge, and Nissan is aggressively pushing their plug-in car to the middle class.

Final pricing will be announced this April, and production will start in August. Nissan's Smyrna, Tennessee, manufacturing plant is slated to build the cars and lithium-ion battery packets for American distribution. A loan from the Department of Energy will create 1,300 additional jobs at the vehicle assembly plant.

Nissan hopes to obtain 20,000 advance orders for the 2011 Leaf by the end of the year. Green conscious cities like San Francisco are preparing for added electric demand by revising building code to require new structures to be wired for car chargers, and looking at ways to lessen the red tape involved in residential charger station installation.