Development Woos Nissan

Confederate Dixie Rebel Acres, one of the largest subdivisions in Franklin, has wasted no time in figuring out how to market its homes to Nissan executives relocating from California to the company’s new headquarters in Cool Springs. “We’ve had a brainstorming session with some of our sales people, and we’re just brimming with ideas that we hope will make these Nissan folks feel at home,” says N.B. “Trey” Forrest, marketing director for the development. Forrest says that the homeowners’ association at Confederate Dixie Rebel Acres voted last week to add a lighted Japanese flag to the American flag and Confederate battle flag that currently fly near the entrance gate to the massive gated cul-de-sac off Mack Hatcher Parkway. “We had a few old World War II vets squawk, but we think this will help our new neighbors feel more at home,” he says. To help sell the 16th new construction phase in the development, marketed as CDRA XVI, the sprawling model McMansion previously known at the “Stonewall Jackson Cottage” has been rechristened the “Kyoto Komfort Kottage.” CDRA XVI also is trying to appeal to Nissan executives by retrofitting all clubhouses with sushi-making facilities, and even promoting alternative lifestyle organizations within the development. “We’ve got clubs for relocating L.A.-area baseball fans—one for the Dodgers and one for the Angels,” Forrest says. “We’ve got a bank of sunlamps in the health club for people who miss the Southern California weather. And we know a lot of gays live out there, so we’ve even started a club for Nissan-associated gays who move here. We’re calling it Yokahomos. “What we hear is, these Nissan people are folks with some spending power, but they also value understatement and good taste,” Forrest says. “All these changes speak directly to that market, and we’re going to have a lot of them fitting in perfectly at Confederate Dixie Rebel Acres.” (The Fabricator is satire. Don’t believe everything you read.)