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WASHINGTON, D.C. — Promotions like what AutoNation recently undertook with GOSO, a social media management provider, evidently have worked quite well to promote the new Nissan LEAF. The fully electric vehicle reportedly is drawing strong pre-sale traffic already.

The LEAF becomes available for purchase or lease at Nissan dealers in select markets this December and nationwide next year. However, The New York Times reported this week that Nissan chief executive officer Carlos Ghosn claims the company already has received 19,000 orders from the United States and Japan for the vehicle.

"The preorders are such that we are very comfortable with what we have undertaken," Ghosn told the newspaper after a speech to the Detroit Economic Club.

Nissan announced back in April that consumers were required to put down a $99 refundable reservation fee for the LEAF. The automaker stated the vehicle is fully eligible for a $7,500 federal tax credit, pushing the MSRP of $32,780 down to $25,280.

AutoNation chose to use Facebook as a platform to promote the Nissan LEAF, leveraging GOSO's experience with the popular site.

The technology firm created a Facebook campaign called AutoNation Nissan LEAF Plant-A-Tree. Facebook users who like this specific page can have a tree planted by Trees for the Future on their behalf in select locations around the world, including Haiti, the Philippines, India or Brazil.

The page is located at http://www.facebook.com/autonation?v=app_118253374876582.

"We are excited to be working with AutoNation on their green initiative," noted Leandro Monteiro, business partnerships coordinator for Trees for the Future.

"It's great to see an automotive group that is so environmentally conscious and active," Monteiro added.

This Facebook page is the second one GOSO coordinated with AutoNation. Firm executives mentioned they also created a Ford Fiesta Movement Facebook application for AutoNation on its proprietary platform.

GOSO explained the application supported Ford's campaign as it followed each team's movements and brought all of their real-time updates into respective AutoNation market Facebook pages.

"It has been an amazing experience to work with such a forward-thinking company as AutoNation," stated GOSO president Adam Boalt.

"They are constantly evolving their culture to better the car buying experience," Boalt added.