The new Nissan Leaf electric car polar bear ad goes straight for the heart of environmentally conscious drivers. Check out the video Nissan has simply title, “Polar Bear” above.

Don’t mind me here. I’m just going to grab a tissue. I seem to have gotten something in my eye.

The Wall Street Journal got a chance to take the Nissan Leaf electric car for a spin. They posted their little tour in the above video. It won’t give you any major new revelations about the Nissan Leaf, but it helps satisfy those of us who can’t wait to get in and try one of these slick, little EVs ourselves.

Al Castignetti, the division VP of Nissan, recently stated at the groundbreaking event in Tennessee that more than 50% of the 130,000 Nissan Leaf pre-orders came from people who currently own a Toyota Prius.

Castignetti went on to say that, “. It tells us that there is a segment of eco-friendly consumers who are interested in going to the next level. They own a hybrid vehicle. But if the next step is available, they want to take it.”

Castignetti described the enthusiasm that Nissan dealerships have been expressing about the Leaf and explained that in order for a Nissan dealership be allowed to sell the Leaf they must install a minimum of two electric car charging stations. All larger Nissan dealerships will be required to install four charging stations with one that is reserved for Nissan Leaf owners.

To those of you looking to pick up a Nissan Leaf in 2011 who had the foresight to put down a $99 reservation deposit, well done. You’re the only ones who will be owning a Nissan Leaf in 2011 on account of Nissan’s recent official statement that they are all sold out.

Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn just announced that order reservations for the Leaf electric car in the U.S. has met Nissan’s capacity for the year at 13,000.

Priced at $32,780, the little electric car is making great strides into the marketplace for a vehicle that has been almost completely untested by the media and public.

Since the $99 deposits are fully refundable though it still remains to be seen how many of those actually turn into full blown Leaf purchases.

Nissan is confident in the electric car market and will be continuing to invest in production in the U.S. and Europe over the course of the next few years.

Nissan just announced that their highly anticipate Nissan Leaf electric vehicle will be available to order this August and will be in driveways by December.

Nissan has been touting the affordability of the Leaf since it was announced. They currently refer to it as “the world’s first all-electric, zero-emission car designed for the mass market.”

The Nissan Leaf price hasn’t been announced yet but we have been promised an April unveiling of the magic numbers. After that announcement, potential buyers will be able to drop a $100 reservation fee to place an order in August.

If you’re wondering what price range you can expect, the Nissan Leaf is expected to be priced competitively against the popular Toyota Prius hybrid. As an all-electric vehicle, this price could make the Leaf a very competitive car. Especially considering that Nissan’s Leaf has a top speed of over 76 mph and a range of at least 100 miles.

For those of you in the market for a new eco-friendly vehicle, let us know if you’ll be considering the Leaf, or plan to put the $100 reservation fee down.

GM seriously got the hype machine working overtime when they found out that based on new DOE formulas, the 2011 Chevy Volt would be capable of 230 MPG. Now Nissan has played the same game with new DOE formulas and have come up with an MPG rating for their forthcoming electric vehicle the Nissan Leaf. The Leaf will apparently be capable of 367 MPG. While this MPG thing without any gas involved is a bit of head-scratcher, in all fairness Nissan didn’t hold a press conference about it, they just posted it on Twitter as a sort of rebuttal to the Chevy Volt announcement.

“Nissan Leaf = 367 mpg, no tailpipe, and no gas required. Oh yeah, and it’ll be affordable too!” Nissan Tweeted.

Nobody knows the details of what Nissan means by “affordable” yet, other than it’ll likely be significantly less than $45,000.

The Nissan Leaf EV is a four-door hatchback that seats five adults and has a 100-mile range. Recharging can be done at special commercial charging stations in 30 minutes or up to eight hours at a traditional plug.

The Nissan Leaf goes on sale in the U.S., Japan and Europe next year.

According to Nissan North America’s Director of Government Affairs, Tracy Woodard, and spokesman Fred Standish, electric vehicles (EVs) and batteries production will begin in their automotive factory in Smyrna, Tennessee in 2012, supported by a U.S. Department of Energy loan of about $1 billion.

The overall investment is estimated at $516.4 million and may rise to double that. The Smyrna facility is capable of making between 50,000 and 100,000 vehicles a year, and the workforce, which has been downsized to slightly more than half its peak of 7,000, is expected to rise by about 1,300 once production commences.

Nissan’s stated goal is to have 10 percent of global sales volume vested in the sale of EVs by 2015.