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The battery pack is under the seats -- the front is under the front seats, and the back is under the back seat. I don't think it has a transmission per se; just maybe a reduction gear?
I wish I had asked about the regenerative braking -- this car should be capable of accelerating pretty quickly -- it is about as fast as some of the Infiniti models.
I think wheel covers would be at the top of the list -- plus they are 17" rims. I tried to see what the tires were -- I doubt they made their handmade show car with the same OEM rubber that will ship, but I could be wrong. They were medium width, and a fairly smooth "performance" looking tread pattern.
The 100 mile range is for a fairly slow (LA4?) cycle, and many folks who know about these things are saying 60-70 miles with much highway speeds -- though as you point out, we do not know the DOD design, and since we know there is no active battery cooling, they may just have a very stable battery cell, and they may be able to "push" it regularly. The polymer layering is similar to the batteries that Apple now uses in their MacBook Pro, and that battery life went from about 2.5 hours up to ~7 hours with no increase in physical size...
I didn't see the underside, but from pictures I have seen it is pretty good. The headlights protrude *up* a couple of inches, near the back -- and this is supposedly to create a "break" for the side mirrors. And the side mirrors look fairly small and well shaped, as these things go... (They shoulda' used video mirrors!)
I agree Bryan -- the Leaf is precisely aimed at the mainstream buyer, who wants an electric car, that doesn't look much different from any other car out there. It certainly ain't a golf cart!
Yes, they said they expect ~80% of the time they expect people to be using the Level 2 charger.
A Cd of 0.28 certainly sounds right. The wheels and wheel openings are the biggest culprits. There is a grill opening below the stagnant point. The weight is pretty high -- 3,400-3,500 pounds is just ~300-400 less than the Volt, which has a 1.4L ICE and the associated cooling, fuel system, etc.
I think the interior space in the Leaf is probably much better than the Volt -- the Volt has its battery in the tunnel remember, so the center spot in the back seat is useless. (Do they even call the Volt a 5 seater -- I think it is officially a 4 seat car.) The Leaf looked to be pretty roomy all around. It still had "fat" seats, which is something we need to get over "needing"...
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