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TUCSON - A major auto maker and the Pima Associaton of Governments are teaming up to help protect the air you breathe. Tucson will be one of the first five cities in the nation to be a launch market for an exciting new car.

"I'm happy to be here on behalf of the state of Arizona to welcome the all electric Nissan Leaf to Arizona", says Arizona Secretary of State Ken Bennet.

So important was this event atop the Pennington Street Parking Garage that Bennet came down even though he was on holiday break.

The Leaf is a five passenger car with a top speed of 90 miles per hour. It has a range of 100 miles before recharging and enough torque to safely drive on freeways. Most importantly it's a clean machine.

"The Leaf is zero emissions. No tailpipe. That's our core message point," says Tim Gallagher, West Coast Communications Manager from Nissan. "There is no emissions; no particulates. It is as clean as you can get in driving."

He says this is a major milestone in the auto industry.

"We're really close. We're 12 months away from being there. I think as a company the whole definition of mobility is changing."

The Leaf will be available on a limited basis late in 2010. Tucson was chosen because, "We were one of the first coalitions in the US to have an electric vehicle charging infrastructure workshop," says Colleen Crowninshield, Clean Cities Program Manager.

For Pima County that could mean a better quality of life.

"We want to make sure we continue to move in the right direction. And zero emission vehicles? What a better way? This is a beautiful city. We have great air quality. Let's keep it that way," Crowninshield tells us.

Farhid Moghimi got a chance to take the Leaf for a test drive. "It was a nice drive. Very smooth and comfortable to hear that it has a range of up to 90 miles or 100 miles actually before you have to recharge."

How many green backs will fall out of your wallet to rake up the new Leaf? Well Nissan is not releasing a price point until February, but News 4 heard a lot of chatter that it will be in the thirty thousand dollar range.