Under the right circumstances, some people will be buying a 2011 Nissan Leaf for as little as $12,280. That’s right, it’s possible to get enough rebates on a Leaf to bring its starting base price of $32,780 down to less than $13K. Here’s how it works.

First off, there’s the $7,500 federal tax credit. That’s the biggest and most obvious credit. Then there’s another $5,000 for anyone living in the state of California due to its Clean Vehicle Rebate Project.

The next step gets quirte specific as it’s only available to eight counties in California: Fresno, Kings, Tulare, Madera, Stanislaus, San Joaquin and parts of Kern. Anyone living in these places can apply for a $3,000 rebate for buying an electric car like the Nissan Leaf. At this point, the purchase price of a new Leaf is $17,820. The final piece of the puzzle depends on where the buyer works as many well-to-do companies offer green incentive car buying programs for their employees. For example Sony Pictures Entertainment and Google both offer employees $5,000 off a vehicle like the Nissan Leaf.

The 2011 Green Car of the Year finalists have just been announced by Green Car Journal. The first two nods go to the obvious and popular selections with the Nissan Leaf and Chevrolet Volt. The other three cars have had a lot less eco-auto limelight but are by no means out of the race.

The Lincoln MKZ Hybrid made the list and gets its praise due to its super efficient Ford Fusion Hybrid drivetrain.

The Hyundai Sonata Hybrid also made the list with its great highway mileage and its cutting edge lithium-polymer battery.

The 2011 Ford Fiesta made the list as the only non-hybrid or electric vehicle. This gas-powered vehicle gets an impressive 40 miles per gallon on the highway.

The 2010 Green Car of the Year winner will be announced on November 18 at the LA Auto Show.

In a bid ease potential Nissan Leaf owners of “range anxiety,” Nissan has just announced that they will be offering a fee-based service that will provide unlimited roadside assistance that will allow anyone who runs out of battery power to summon up more with a phone call.

The cost of the roadside assistance is very reasonable at $18/year proving this isn’t just a cash grab on Nissan’s part but an honest attempt to give the few drivers who might find themselves stretching the Leaf’s 100 mile range, a little extra comfort.

The details of the Nissan roadside assistance program are such that drained Leaf’s, and their owners, will be towed to the nearest Nissan dealer for a recharge. If the Leaf owner has incurred any costs related to the exhausting of the battery, Nissan will reimburse them in full up to a maximum of $6,500.

Currently this program is only offered in Japan but it’s likely we’ll see something similar stateside in the near future.

Nissan has closed the door on Leaf preorders today. But, don’t panic Nissan fans, the preorder is not an ill omen. The reason for the cessation of taking Nissan Leaf reservations is that they have already hit a cap of 20,000.

Nissan had been expecting to hit the 20,000 mark by early December. Those of you who got onboard early enough will still have the opportunity to buy or lease a new Leaf. For those of you who are interested but late, there will be a new phase of reservations early next year.

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.

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.