Know what you want and need, or you may not get to buy a Nissan Leaf

Are you willing to argue with your friendly neighborhood Nissan dealer over the right to get yourself a Leaf? You might have to. Anyone who has gone through the Leaf reservation process this past week noticed a few screens that weren't exactly germane to determine which model – SL or SV trim – one was ordering. How far do you drive a day?, for example. Answers to these questions were not used to weed out potential buyers just yet, that might be a job for Nissan dealers.

Carlos Tavares, Nissan's chairman of the Americas, told Automotive News:

We may tell the customer, 'Look, you'd be better off buying an Altima or a Sentra because your driving patterns are not ideal for this car. ... We want to be transparent. It is fundamental for us to tell the customer what the car can deliver.

That's a good strategy to take, given the fair bit of confusion that still – yes, still – exists about plug-in vehicles. If someone comes into the dealership with unrealistic expectations about what the Leaf can do, it's better to lose a sale or three to prevent a lot of customer anger.

[Source: Automotive News – sub. req.]