I had the opportunity to drive a powertrain last week. Yes, I said a powertrain and not a vehicle. That cute little panda-like ride you see above is a beard for Nissan’s new electric vehicle (EV) and while it looks cute in its two-tone paint job, it is what lies beneath that is important. Electric vehicles are not new for Nissan. In fact, they introduced their first electric car in 1998 and then offered a micro car called the Hypermini for limited lease in 2000. Nissan’s executives spoke to this fact a few times during the presentation – perhaps to overcome the doubt that Nissan is serious about launching a EV next year in limited markets and then globally in 2012. [...]