PHILIPSBURG--It looks like any other car on the road, but a closer look at the name tag will boldly proclaim – Nissan Leaf (Leading, Environmentally friendly, Affordable, Family car) – one of the world's leading fully electric cars.
This blue car was purchased by Jim and Jody Rosen for its environmentally friendliness and as an investment in their only granddaughter Abigail's stake in a better planet. "This is not for us. It is for Abigail and her generation," said the proud grandparents.
Jim is an avid motorbike rider. However, when Abigail came along two years ago, the need for a car became clear. "After driving a bike all my life, I actually reach for the car first now," he said.
In depth research online and Jim's already vast knowledge about using solar panels to generate energy led to the selection of Nissan Leaf.
Instead of US $50 per week for gas on St. Maarten, the average driver will pay US $16.50 per week, some US $900 per year.
"Add in fewer parts for maintenance (like none for servicing and a Leaf is almost free in a few years! And it does better in floods than your regular gas engine too," Jim said.
The Leaf can go up to 3.6 miles per kilowatt. Twenty miles per gallon of gas in St. Maarten costs about US $5.40.The same distance in the Leaf charged on GEBE power is about US $1.83.
Jim's home is completely powered by solar panels. "Our home runs on solar and is off the grid and now our car gets around the island with zero emissions and powered along with our house by the sunlight that falls on less than a quarter of our roof. So I have solar, but even with GEBE there is a big savings with the Leaf."
The Nissan Leaf retails for around $18,000 pre-owned. It is a compact five-door hatchback electric car manufactured by Nissan and introduced in Japan and the United States in December 2010. The US Environmental Protection Agency official range for the 2013 model year Leaf is 121 km (75 miles) and rated the Leaf's combined fuel economy at 115 miles per US gallon gasoline equivalent.
The downside of owning a Leaf on St. Maarten is it has no warranty outside of the United States. This makes it a costly investment, Jim said. He believes it is time for regulations to make it easier to own and maintain electric cars.
"St. Maarten is more threatened by global warming than other countries. When do we decide we cannot afford the consequences of not so very cheap fossil fuels," Jim said. "I have been an environmentalist for over 40 years and unlike many so-called environmentalists I have lived it rather than talked about it. I have personally planted over 100,000 trees."
