Why did Tesla really open its only battery-swapping station for electric cars?

And what's the next Nissan Leaf going to be like?

This is our video look back at the Week In Reverse--right here at Green Car Reports--for the week ending on Friday, March 13, 2015.

Friday, we summarized what we know so far about the 2018 Nissan Leaf electric car.

The styling will likely be influenced by the Nissan Sway concept, shown at the recent Geneva Motor Show. And the second-generation Leaf may offer a choice of battery sizes.

What range they deliver, and how big they'll actually be, is still apparently being debated at Nissan.

But the 2018 Leaf will face competition from the 2017 Chevrolet Bolt, claimed by GM to offer 200 miles of range--so Nissan will have to get close to that for at least one version of the new Leaf.

On Thursday, we looked at the single Tesla Battery Swapping station that's open for business in Harris Ranch, California.

Unlike the fast-growing Supercharger network of DC quick-charging sites, Tesla owners can't just drive up and battery-swap. And the swapping service won't be free either.

We concluded that the swapping is largely for regulatory reasons, rather than to offer a service to Model S drivers.

Wednesday, we asked why other plug-in hybrids can't copy the 2016 Chevy Volt's all-electric running?

The answer turns out to be attention to design, and a battery pack and electric motors sized to power the Volt under all circumstances until its battery depletes.

For Tuesday, we reported on a new list of the top 10 cities for electric cars.

Sure, San Francisco and LA are in there--but it's hardly all California.

We kicked off the new week on Monday with another report from Geneva, this one on the new Quant F and Quantino concept cars from Nano FlowCell.

The company offers a list of claims for its striking concepts that definitely grabs attention--but we'd prefer to see some third parties weigh in on their technology claims.

We've also got another video review from the irrepressible Joel Feder, who drove the BMW i8 plug-in hybrid sports coupe.

It's hardly a track car, but let's just say he enjoyed himself--gull-wing doors and all.

Finally, we took a look at what its maker claims could be China's competitor to the Tesla Model S.

The Aoxin Ibis is a full-size electric sedan, with many electric motors but only 181 horsepower. Its range is quoted at 285 miles.

Let's just say we remain skeptical on that one, too, although it's ... ummmm ... interesting to look at.

But we'd say Tesla's safe, at least for now.

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