Think people aren't interested in electric cars in the United States? Try this on for size:  before a single Nissan LEAF has been seen in a U.S. showroom, they are apparently sold out.

Nissan’s chief executive, Carlos Ghosn, said recently that the company had already received 19,000 orders in the United States and Japan for the all electric Nissan LEAF it plans to be selling by late fall.

“The preorders are such that we are very comfortable with what we have undertaken,” Mr. Ghosn recently told the Detroit Economic Club. “The more we advance into it, the more comfortable we are with it.”

The 19,000 preorders for the LEAF consist of 13,000 in the United States and 6,000 in Japan.

The MSRP for the 2011 Nissan LEAF is $32,780, but with a $7,500 federal tax credit, the consumer's after-tax net value of the vehicle could be as low as $25,280 -- or even lower after calculating state and local incentives if applicable.

In California and Georgia, for example, LEAF buyers can subtract another $5,000 off the price, bringing the cost of the all-electric, zero-emission LEAF down to a very approachable $20,000 plus taxes and fees.