They're finally giving them away

The yesterday I had lunch with a friend and we were lamenting the demise of the economy over a fine bottle of Australian shiraz, when my companion remarked on the number of unsold cars on the dealers’ lots. “They can’t give them away”, he said.

Well, that was yesterday and it is a fast moving economic crisis.

Wouldn’t you know it, they are now giving them away. Here is a story from today’s Toronto Sun about a GM car dealership in Peterborough, Ontario.

If you buy a new van at Storey Pontiac Buick GMC by March 31, you'll get a new car for free.

"We're trying to create some excitement," says owner Rick Storey.
"And in a challenging market, the ultimate winner is always the consumer."

The promotion at the Peterborough dealership started Tuesday and five vans have already been sold, he said yesterday.

It's first-come, first-served. Storey said there were 37 vans in inventory as of yesterday afternoon -- choose any one ranging in price from $26,000 to $33,000 and the dealership will throw in a 2009 Pontiac G3 Wave, worth about $15,000.

Meanwhile, prices on the vans are all clearly indicated, he says, and prices have not been marked up.

"There are no gimmicks," Storey says.

If you don't need two brand new vehicles in your driveway, Storey says, then the dealership can still offer you discounts on the vans.

NOTE: Pontiac advertises the Wave as a fuel-efficient car that "leaves a sad trail of brokenhearted gas pumps wherever it goes."