Nissan LEAF Commercial Suggestions

Having just watched "Cars" (not sure which one... maybe 2 or 3? I have a child who feels the need to watch movies over and over and over...) I realized that Nissan needs to continue their upwards trend in getting a more effective message across in their LEAF ads.

Their latest ad that emphasized the differences the LEAF provides over a regular gasoline car (instead of pushing the "Green Thing") was a great turnaround when considering their previous ad campaign.

Now my commercial will start out with a "Woody" like character,  a well used mini-van,  sitting in the driveway.  A brand new LEAF pulls in and right away the mini-van laments that the LEAF is a novelty and would only be good for limited use.

As time goes by and the LEAF is used exclusively and the mini-van starts trying to justify its own usefulness but continues to question its own worth with its various oil leaks "They havent let me park in the garage in ages!"

The constant need for maintenance "I do have to say I dont have the pep I used to have!"

The rising cost of gasoline "I hate it when they only fill up half my tank!"

Then the mini-van jumps as the LEAF pulls in silently behind her "I just HATE it when that LEAF sneaks up on me!"

Just as its seems like the mini-van has lost all hope. The family comes out all carrying presents.  the mini-van instantly perks up knowing its Christmas and Grandma lives in the next state; a trip the LEAF cannot make (unless you live in WA or OR!!)

 Just like Woody and Buzz in Toy Story, there is no one shot solution.  But that is the #1 issue people come up with when talking themselves out of an EV. Still have too many prospective EV'ers who say "Sure its a good idea 28 days of the month but what about the 3rd Sunday of the month..."   Now, why someone can go thru a check list with 7 things on there with a resounding "yes" to the first 6 items ordered by importance but discount the entire deal based on a "no" to the least important item,  the semi annual family trip, is beyond me.

 We Americans are a car-centric society. Multiple vehicles is the norm.  (about 2/3rds of my driving life, I have had 2 cars or more) An EV in concert with a gasoline assisted vehicle be it hybrid or EREV is where its at and that will be probably at least another 10-15 years before EVs will be viable to move beyond that.

Just as the "EV only" household is very rare the "have multiple needs to drive over 50 miles daily" household is just as rare.  I have a LEAF and a Prius and we constantly switch cars but our situation is unique. we generally use the LEAF for the longest commute of the day. It saves us at least 5 cents a mile (more if you abuse the free public charging like I do,  shhhh!!)

Yesterday, I drove 102.3 miles with 2 quick charge stops  and it might have added to my day but in both stops the time was well used. the quick charge stop was one of 22 minutes, the other of 10 minutes.  the first stop of 22 minutes was simply to charge but I also had to stop to make some phone calls that could not be done while driving because it involved punching in about 30 numbers before I could get to a live person (yes, it was the federal government!! how did you guess?)

The 2nd stop was getting food. I did not need a lot to get home at that point, but I HAD to eat!