Autoline #1438: Innocence Lost

Innocence Lost

There was a seismic shift 45 years ago. And as all change goes it was unwelcome at the time. So much in fact, that in a manner of fifteen short minutes it transformed a cultural hero to social pariah, all thanks to the innocence of choice.

But that's what happened on July 25, 1965 at the prestigious Newport Folk Festival when Bob Dylan plugged in, turned on and embraced the sound electric. The audience reaction was an early version of shock and awe. His fans became horrified that he had abandoned his acoustic legacy when he launched into an electric version of "Maggie's Farm." But in reality what they didn't know was that he was simply evolving as an artist as evidenced by the success of his beloved "Like A Rolling Stone," which had been recorded just days before the event. It was clear he was moving on.

For more than 100 years the internal combustion engine has driven the car. And though it continues to be tweaked and improved to the point where automotive's pioneers might not even recognize today's highly-efficient ICEs, evolution persists. We've been talking alternatives for years -- hybrids, PZEVs, Natural Gas and Hydrogen have all piqued our interest, but our muse has always been electrics. So much promise, so much promised, so much never delivered. But finally like Dylan, we're starting to move on...welcome to the world of the Nissan LEAF.

On this week's Autoline John McElroy travels to Tennessee -- a state that brought human evolution to the headlines last century -- to talk about the evolution of the car this century as the LEAF goes electric. John gets a deep dive on the car from Nissan Product Planner Mark Perry while marketing chief Jon Brancheau talks to him how they are rolling it out across the country. In addition, John drives the LEAF all around the city of Nashville and gives you his impressions of this first mass produced all-electric pioneer.