New Electric Car Features Single Pedal
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Some drivers lament that few cars are available with manual transmission these days; others wouldn't know what to do with a third pedal. But what if you only had one? It's a feature on an upcoming vehicle.
The 2018 Nissan Leaf does have a traditional setup with brake and accelerator pedals, but that gas can do double duty.
"Depress the pedal to speed up, ease up to slow down, and then release entirely to stop," said KYW Automotive Reporter George Polgar.
The e-Pedal activates with a flip of a switch on the dash. Polgar says it's designed to make the stop-and-go more bearable.
"It's a convenience," he said. "I'm going to be in traffic, I don't want to have to worry about it, I'm just going to use one pedal."
The e-Pedal boosts the Leaf's regenerative braking, adding juice to its batteries. But Polgar says the feature in the best-selling electric car also could attract younger buyers who have a different driving sensibility.
"It really changes the fundamental concept of the vehicle from being a car to being an appliance," he said. "It's a way of getting around as opposed to being a car that you're interacting with by gas and brakes and even shifting. It's a really very subtle but major shift in technology."
