Stewy13
Well-known member
Not entirely sure how many forum members are from Canada but The Canadian International AutoShow is going on right now until the 27th. Not exactly a big car person but according to Nissan Canada's site they'd be there until tomorrow, so I decided to turn my lazy day into a car show day but mainly I just wanted to see the LEAF.
Seeing the car in person is much different than any of the photos you could find on the internet, but that goes for anything you see on the computer verses real life but I still like it, just didn't realize the headlights stuck out as much as they do.
Anyways, disappointed started when I was unable to sit in the car or even get a good look in it for that matter. Nissan had two representatives there; one man and one woman. The woman was busy talking with a couple people so I decided to ask the other representative as he didn't seem busy. After my first question I already had a distaste in my mouth, he was very rude, condescending, clearly had NO interest in this car and had all the wrong information. After I asked some more basic questions that I already knew the answers to it became very clear that he was going to be of no help to me. So I asked him if I could get a photo or two of me in the car? NO. Can I take a look inside the interior of the car? NO. Can you show me the headlights and car sound system? Hesitantly he said he'd show me the headlights but he wasn't going to play the stereo. Headlights were nothing impressive but he didn't seem to understand that there's a difference between high-beams and low-beams so I didn't get to see much besides the running lights (because that's all you need according to him).
After I was done with him and re-registered for e-mail updates at the terminals they had there, the lady was free so I decided to ask her the same questions that I asked him. She knew more but I was still surprised how uninformed these people were, BUT she was receptive to the things I had to say and was actually quite surprised how much interest I've taken into this vehicle. I asked her about a photo opportunity and she told me the same thing as the guy however she told me that even they aren't allowed to step in or out of the vehicle or take photos of them in the car.
I visited the other two electric cars they had there which were the Smart Four-Two and the Volt (Yes it's a hybrid but still it's a step towards). I really liked the Smart Four-Two, it's a nice small car that would be great if it's lease price wasn't $550/month considering the LEAF or Volt are going for around $350/month and have nicer interiors. The Volt was nice too but I can't compare it to the LEAF considering I didn't actually get to sit in the LEAF. What I can compare is; it seems like General Motors actually want to sell their vehicle whereas Nissan couldn't care, atleast that's the impression I got. The Volt had several representatives but the main representative was extremely friendly, took all sorts of questions and just was all around great. My impression of the Volt has defiantly been changed today, and the looks of the car are more appealing when it's there in front of you.
Anyways, that was my experience today. Wondering if there's any other forum members here who've attended or plan to attend. Also wondering if I should e-mail Nissan about this particular event and the experience I had, because honestly this would be nothing but bad press for the car. I have no idea what it takes to be a representative for this car but I'm sure anyone of us here would do a much better job than who they hired for this show and I for one would love to be one so that people like me don't have a bad taste in their mouth because of bad representatives.
Seeing the car in person is much different than any of the photos you could find on the internet, but that goes for anything you see on the computer verses real life but I still like it, just didn't realize the headlights stuck out as much as they do.
Anyways, disappointed started when I was unable to sit in the car or even get a good look in it for that matter. Nissan had two representatives there; one man and one woman. The woman was busy talking with a couple people so I decided to ask the other representative as he didn't seem busy. After my first question I already had a distaste in my mouth, he was very rude, condescending, clearly had NO interest in this car and had all the wrong information. After I asked some more basic questions that I already knew the answers to it became very clear that he was going to be of no help to me. So I asked him if I could get a photo or two of me in the car? NO. Can I take a look inside the interior of the car? NO. Can you show me the headlights and car sound system? Hesitantly he said he'd show me the headlights but he wasn't going to play the stereo. Headlights were nothing impressive but he didn't seem to understand that there's a difference between high-beams and low-beams so I didn't get to see much besides the running lights (because that's all you need according to him).
After I was done with him and re-registered for e-mail updates at the terminals they had there, the lady was free so I decided to ask her the same questions that I asked him. She knew more but I was still surprised how uninformed these people were, BUT she was receptive to the things I had to say and was actually quite surprised how much interest I've taken into this vehicle. I asked her about a photo opportunity and she told me the same thing as the guy however she told me that even they aren't allowed to step in or out of the vehicle or take photos of them in the car.
I visited the other two electric cars they had there which were the Smart Four-Two and the Volt (Yes it's a hybrid but still it's a step towards). I really liked the Smart Four-Two, it's a nice small car that would be great if it's lease price wasn't $550/month considering the LEAF or Volt are going for around $350/month and have nicer interiors. The Volt was nice too but I can't compare it to the LEAF considering I didn't actually get to sit in the LEAF. What I can compare is; it seems like General Motors actually want to sell their vehicle whereas Nissan couldn't care, atleast that's the impression I got. The Volt had several representatives but the main representative was extremely friendly, took all sorts of questions and just was all around great. My impression of the Volt has defiantly been changed today, and the looks of the car are more appealing when it's there in front of you.
Anyways, that was my experience today. Wondering if there's any other forum members here who've attended or plan to attend. Also wondering if I should e-mail Nissan about this particular event and the experience I had, because honestly this would be nothing but bad press for the car. I have no idea what it takes to be a representative for this car but I'm sure anyone of us here would do a much better job than who they hired for this show and I for one would love to be one so that people like me don't have a bad taste in their mouth because of bad representatives.