San Francisco residents thinking about purchasing a Nissan Leaf electric car are in luck as the potential cost to buy the slick little EV is dropping almost daily due to dealer price wars.

It all started when the first discount of $500 off the Nissan Leaf MSRP was announced. Soon after, a second San Francisco dealer topped that with a $1,000 discount. Since then another has claimed to beat both those offers while yet a fourth dealer claims to be the premiere place to buy a Leaf with a full 5% off the MSRP amounting to $1,639 shaved off the base model Leaf.

This latest offer comes from North Bay Nissan, who regrettably can’t offer free shipping due to the large discount already afforded.

Are you thinking about buying a Nissan Leaf? Living in or near the Bay area? Let us know.

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.

Thinking about buying a Nissan Leaf electric car but don’t feel like simple a test drive really puts it through the paces? You’ll be able to rent a Leaf at Hertz next year so for those on the fence, this might give environmentally conscious drivers a chance to make up their minds on the Nissan Leaf.

The Nissan Leaf has already shown signs of success with preorders being such that production shortfalls are expected. There have already been 7,000 pro-orders in the U.S. and another 4,000 in Japan.

Nissan claims that they Leaf will have a lower price tag than the Toyta Prius Hybrid and cost less to operate on account of being a 100% electric vehicle.

According to Business Week magazine, Renault-Nissan’s CEO Carlos Ghosn said that his company has 56,000 orders for the Leaf in the United States. The car will be available late this year, and Ghosn said that real mass production will start in 2012, when the alliance plans to have capacity to 500,000 electronic vehicles in Japan, Europe and the United States.

Nissan announced that over 50,000 people had signed up to be on the reservation list and that pre-orders would not start until April. That list allows people to move to the head of the line when it comes time to order the Leaf, but it’s not an official intent form.

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.

Nissan recently showcased several new electric vehicles at the opening of its new global headquarters in Yokohama. Nissan chief Carlos Ghosn, thinks that the Leaf and other EVs, will quickly become mass market hits, and even suggested that fully electric models could account for 10% of all car sales by 2020.

The Leaf, which runs a 100 miles on a single charge, excluding the cost of the batteries, will cost no more to buy and run than a traditional gasoline-powered car. Zero-emissions of CO2 and other greenhouse gases, he said, are a bonus. Charging time is seven hours, although a 30-minute quick charge can get batteries back up to 80% of full power.

In the last two years the number of potential vehicle purchasers who are considering making their next vehicle an electric car, has doubled. It seems that supply and demand will be keeping pace too as the number of electric car options available to buyers is gaining serious momentum over the next year or two.

The few electric vehicle manufactories currently out there, like Tesla Motors, will have to make room as the EV market broadens with the likes of the Chevy Volt and the Nissan Leaf (pictured above).

While doubling does sound impressive, it should be noted that those considering buying an electric vehicle in 2007 amounted to all of 2%, which has now risen to 5%. So 5% of the US market looking for a car is considering an EV. It’s not exactly a green revolution, but it’s a start.

Hopefully as prices continue to drop, range is extended, and companies like Better Place are able to establish an EV charging infrastructure, we might double that number again in a couple years.

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.