"If you can buy a car and get a check, why not buy a truck and get a barbecue grill, power drill or hedge trimmer, plus a check?
Once again Ford Motor has set out to prove that offering merchandise and cash rather than cash incentives or discount financing alone can help attract customers.
In February, Ford offered a Dell computer and printer valued at $500 plus a $2,000 cash incentive to those who purchased a 2005 Focus. Sales rose 10 percent vs. the same month a year earlier when the offer was $3,000 and no computer.
Ford has teamed with Home Depot in a national sales promotion that runs through Aug. 1.
Those who buy or lease a new 2005 Ford Ranger, F-150 or F-Series Super Duty pickup get a Home Depot gift card worth $500 or a Home Depot home improvement package worth up to $870, plus cash incentives of $1,500 to $3,000, depending on the truck.
It's what Ford spokesman Dave Reuter calls "an inventive incentive."
Buyers have a choice of an outdoor living package with a Weber grill, cover and tools; power package with Ridgid drill, circular saw, sander, flashlight, charger and carrying case; garage storage package with Husky cabinets; outdoor maintenance package with Husky power washer, Toro trimmer, edger, pruner and blower; or the $500 Home Depot gift card.
"Given that "do-it-yourselfers' are 43 percent more likely to purchase a pickup truck than the average person, this relationship is a natural," said Doug Scott, general marketing manager for Ford trucks.
Automakers would like to end cash incentives because they drain profits. It would be far less costly to attract folks into showrooms offering them grills and hedge trimmers than it would $3,000 in cash. But, as Scott admits, "Incentives are a reality of the market, especially when you sell in volume."
If you can't end incentives, you can at least lower them and throw in merchandise such as computers or hedge trimmers to attract buyers. In doing that Ford is sacrificing less potential profit by offering $1,500 plus a grill rather than $3,000 and no grill.
Scott, who says consumers have tired of incentives, said the merchandise promotion "offers an alternative other than just adding another $500 in cash and helps us leverage our advertising dollars.
"Consumers see merchandise promotions as added value, more relevant and something to talk about other than just the amount of the cash incentive and cuts through all the (incentive) clutter with a different message," he said.
GM is offering its vehicles for sale at employee prices, plus cash rebates, through July 4. GM vehicles will have the regular manufacturer's suggested list price sticker and the sales price representing the employee price plus any rebates.
A 2005 Buick LaCrosse, for example, with an MSRP of $23,495 will be priced at $19,444, while a GMC Envoy SUV with an MSRP of $29,210 will be priced at $23,219."
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