Jalopnik: sales incentives

Smart To Offer U.S. Buyers Incentives For First Time

Ray Wert — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 10:15:00 EDT

With low sales due partly to relatively lower fuel prices, Smart plans to offer U.S. ForTwo buyers incentives for the first time, starting with 4.2% financing for loans of up to 60 months. Next they'll try free fuzzy dice. [AutoNews]

Chrysler's New Incentive Plan: Employee Pricing Plus Plus

Ray Wert — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 19:00:00 EST

Chrysler plans to offer customers a new incentive plan they're calling "Employee Pricing Plus Plus." No, seriously, that's what it's called. The oddly-named plan offers rebates as high as $6,000 in addition to employee pricing.

Thanks to a 30%+ decline in U.S. sales for 2008, Chrysler will offer customers employee pricing and boost rebates as high as $6,000 on 2008 model year vehicles and $3,500 on 2009 model vehicles. Additionally, they'll be offering interest-free financing as on option for as long as 48 months. Full press release below.

Employee Pricing, Cash, Zero Percent FinancingHere's more than one offer we hope customers can't refuse. We call it Employee Pricing Plus Plus.

-New vehicle customers receive employee price on all 2008 and 2009 Chrysler, Jeep® and Dodge vehicles
-Customers also receive discounts of up to $3,500 on 2009 model year vehicles and $6,000 on 2008 model year vehicles
-Zero percent financing is available for up to 48 months
-$1,000 consumer bonus cash is available on most models when financed at Chrysler Financial or local credit union
-New program is effective beginning on Jan. 26, 2009

Chrysler LLC announced today that it will offer the new "Employee Pricing Plus Plus" program to all customers toward the purchase or lease of a new 2008 or 2009 Chrysler, Jeep® or Dodge vehicle. In addition to the employee price, customers will be eligible for cash discounts of up to $3,500 for 2009 model year vehicles and up to $6,000 on 2008 model year vehicles. Chrysler Financial is also offering zero percent financing to qualified customers for up to 48 months. Other finance terms and rates are also available.

"Chrysler is offering America the same pricing our employees receive through the new 'Employee Pricing Plus Plus' program with great savings off the Manufacturers Suggested Retail Price, plus cash discounts of up to $3,500 on 2009 models, plus zero percent financing through Chrysler Financial," said Steven Landry, Executive Vice President – North American Sales, Marketing, Mopar Parts and Service. "With affordable financing available and some of the best pricing we have offered in recent months, this really is a great time to visit a Chrysler, Jeep or Dodge dealer."

The "Employee Pricing Plus Plus" incentive program is available to all customers beginning on Mon., Jan. 26. Dodge Sprinter is not included in this program.

GM Offering Dealers $250 For Every Customer They Don't Send To GMAC

Andrew Stoy — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 15:00:00 EDT

Automotive News reports that GM is offering dealers up to $250 in bonus money for every loan they sell to a lender other than GMAC. This latest move follows Monday's report on GMAC tightening lending restrictions, and "is an encouragement for dealerships to seek out other sources of funding," says Mike Mullaney of Hudson Pontiac-Buick-GMC in Poughkeepsie, N.Y. The program pays salespersons $100, sales managers $100 and an "employee of choice" (most likely the finance manager) another $50 for non-GMAC transactions.

An end date isn't specified, but the incentive applies to all 2008 and 2009 Chevrolet, Pontiac, Buick, GMC, Cadillac, Saturn and Hummer vehicles. If you buy a new GM vehicle with an outside lender, make sure you negotiate for some of that spiff off your your purchase price. [Automotive News, Sub. Req.]

2009 Dodge Journey Rockets To First...In Incentives

Ray Wert — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 09:15:00 EDT

Chrysler is number one in a very key stat. Unfortunately, it's a terrible one. Yup, the newly-revealed 2009 Dodge Journey has become the first 2009 model from any automaker to see any form of sales incentives. How bad is it that the new egg-mobile crossover-utility- minivan already has a $1000 cash rebate slapped on the hood? More importantly, what does this signal for the rest of the quasi-minivan market? [via Automotive News]

Get A Shelby GT500 On The Cheap! Ford Offering 0% Financing Incentive On All Mustangs, Shelby Or Not!

Ray Wert — Mon, 02 Jul 2007 15:15:00 EDT

Wow, talk about your not-so-boldly moving sales, eh? According to a tipster to the blog all about ze Auto Ford's latest boldly moving incentive plan includes the usually happy-for-sales Ford Mustang. But we're not just talking about your plain-old-V6-auto-tranny pony car. Nope, you'll be able to buy yourself a brand-spanking new Shelby GT500 on a 36-month financing plan for ~~a mere three drachmas~~ just the price of the car. That's right — 0% APR for the 2007 model — or at least as long as you take delivery before July 9th. Sounds to us like someone's trying to clear out a heap of '07's still in inventory. But whatever — what a deal! – Ray Wert

2007 Mustang [Ford Direct via Autoblog]

Grab A Sorta-Used 2006 Chrysler, Dodge Or Jeep For Used Prices

Ray Wert — Wed, 20 Jun 2007 09:15:00 EDT

Head on over to a Chrysler/Dodge/Jeep dealership today to get your hands on a semi-used 2006 model. Yes, you heard us correctly — a "semi-used" vehicle. Apparently all of those over-built 2006 model year cars are still causing the 'merican side of the German-American hybrid (for the next little while anyway) to seek strange solutions to the problem. Here's how the Detroit News explains the newest solution:

Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep dealers can use new vehicles as loaners for test-drives or for customers who need a car while theirs is in service....

...In the past, dealers have had to use a vehicle as a loaner for three months before selling it as used. Slicing that requirement to one day allowed Chrysler to count the vehicles as retail sales while dealers were able to move the outdated cars and trucks out of their new car lots, where they might dampen interest in newer models.

That's good — just put them out back in the used lot where no one can see them, because that'll solve the problem, won't it? – Ray Wert

Chrysler puts '06 vehicles in used lots [Detroit News]

Chrylser, Chrysler, Pants On Fire!

Ray Wert — Fri, 01 Dec 2006 08:17:14 EST

Sales incentives are a risky game for US automakers these days — they help you to get rid of stock on the lots quickly, but they do it at the risk of cannibalizing profits, future sales and resale value of your products. And apparently, according to Joe "Would I Lie To You" Eberhardt's interview with Reuters earlier this week, the 'merican side of the German-American hybrid wasn't going to be providing any additional sales incentives for the month of December. So, if that's the case, then the "Premiere Event" postcard I got in the mail — the one that's pictured above and which the Freep's Katie Merx brings up in her article referenced in the morning shift — must be a figment of my imagination. It's the only way to explain why I'm offered an "additional $1000.00 bonus cash" off the price of a 2007 Dodge Caliber, Dodge Nitro SXT or a Dodge Ram Quad Cab. Because if that ain't an incentive program, I don't know what the hell it is. Oh but wait, there's more — after the initial article appeared online yesterday, Merx reported a Chrysler spokesman as saying when Eberhardt originally said no "new incentives" in December, he really meant that they wouldn't launch any innovative or new types of incentives. Oh yeah, well — it is a direct mail piece, right — we guess that's not new or innovative — but wait, we're not done yet, there's more...

...Josee Valcourt's article in the Detroit News this morning features a quote from Chrysler spokesman Kevin McCormick on the direct mail piece, mailed to over three million current Chrysler owners. Kevin claims that "it is the largest mailing that we've done at one time."

So let's get this all straight — according to Eberhardt it's not an incentive, because it's not an "innovative or new type" of incentive. It's not an "innovative or new type" of incentive but it is the "largest mailing we've done at one time." So are Eberhardt and his sales and marketing team next going to tell us what the meaning of the word "is" is? – Ray Wert

Chrysler Group dealers to offer cash incentive [Freep]