Should You Lie to Your Customers?

A few months ago, in "Confusing the Customer? Good Work!", I pointed out that it's sometimes to your advantage to keep certain facts (like your margins or supply chain specifics) from your customers. While I was forced to admit that it was poor business ethics (and poor sales strategy) to actively confuse your customers, I still think that you don't owe your customers complete transparency. However, I could be wrong.

I recently ran across a video that shows what a typical sales pitch might be like if the sales professionals told the complete truth. It's a fairly silly little satire, but it makes a point:

The reason I think this video is worth watching is that, if these guys were real and this a real commercial, I think they'd sell a lot of cars.

READERS: What do you think? Is it ever acceptable to lie to customers? If so, when?