Buy a Nissan Versa Note through Amazon (sort of)

Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos seems as if he'll try anything in the name of improving customer experience. Having convinced investors that razor-thin profits are acceptable for the foreseeable future, it seems like nearly everything Amazon does comes off as a loss-leader, designed to rope shoppers into Amazon's ever-expanding ecosystem. It's a constant topic of debate and discussion for tech pundits, but it hasn't been anything but ancillary to car shopping.

Until now. The online retailing giant's teamed up with Nissan to generate sales leads for the new Versa Note hatch, and while the offer itself seems to be no more than a promo, we can't help but posit that Amazon may be contemplating some sort of move into the automotive sales channel.

Head over to Amazon, enter your info on the product page, and you'll be paired up with a local Nissan dealer to complete the transaction. The first 100 buyers score a $1,000 Amazon gift card. Our sister site Automotive News reports that three customers will actually have their orders fulfilled by Nissan, with the cars arriving in a large Amazon box accompanied by a film crew.*

While it's a win for Nissan, inasmuch as it's a way to gin up publicity for their latest B-segment offering, we're sure Amazon's closely gauging interest, crunching the resultant data and at least evaluating the pros and cons of entering the space in a more meaningful way.

Imagine, say, an Amazon fulfillment contract with Tesla Motors, backed by both companies' support and service arms, allowing Elon Musk to make an end-run around states with rigid dealer-franchise laws without tying up so much manpower.

Amazon's got both the freewheeling, try-anything ethos and the logistical muscle to make such a thing happen.

Will there come a day that you'll be able to configure a new Corvette and then buy it with one click? We wouldn't be surprised if the notion's been a glimmer in Bezos' eye for some time now.

*This piece originally noted that the three deliveries would be fulfilled by Amazon, not Nissan. We regret the error.

By Davey G. Johnson