redLEAF
Well-known member
Bicster said:I think it will be much like the EV-11 test drive events, where you get to do a couple of laps on a closed course in a parking lot, and get to fondle the car a bit. It would only require a couple of LEAFs. I doubt we'll be getting test drives on public roads.
Disagree -- in the late fall before the spring arrival of the new smart fortwo's, MBZ/smart had a driving event that allowed each person to drive on real roads (along with a smart rep of course) to experience a combination of local and highway. These were close to production cars (actually I think they came from Canada) , not multi-million dollar prototypes so if Nissan has these available, I would think they would extend the driving experience accordingly --- a little drive around a parking lot may not be enough to belly-up for a $32K+ car (before tax rebates) for most people and it would be a mistake to think so. If on the other hand they only still have a handful of pre-production cars than I would agree --- hey, Nissan didn't even bring the LEAF to the Chicago Auto Show this year so perhaps you'll be right after all but I hope not.
As another aside, the smart rollout with Penske did it right with NASCAR style semi-trailers decorated with smart cars on their sides so the traveling caravan was quickly identified when they traveled from city to city. They also had very knowledgeable marketing/sales people, a cutaway chassis, etc. on hand and were genuinely excited to show the cars --- as again Nissan didn't show up out my way hopefully they'll extend the same effort when the time comes.