GM’S NEW
INCENTIVES: EASY AS 1-2-3
While GM’s zero-percent financing is
gone, the clever marketing ideas aren’t. GM’s new round of incentives, dubbed
“1-2-3,” offers rebates of $1,000, $2,000 or $3,000 or financing rates of
between 1.9 and 3.9 percent on 2002 models. Most GM vehicles are included, but
Saturn, Saab, Hummer and all 2003 models aren’t. Ford and DaimlerChrysler
haven’t responded, but Ford’s current zero-percent incentives run out
today.
FORD HAS NEW
INCENTIVES
With sales down
another 8 percent in April, Ford is maintaining most of its sales incentives and
rebates to rival those of General Motors. Ford says it will keep rebates of $500
to $3000 on vehicles from the Escape to the Windstar minivan — but zero-percent
financing is no longer on the menu. The best rate on some Ford vehicles is now
0.9 percent, coupled to a $1000 rebate. Ford Thunderbirds and SVT-modified
vehicles aren’t included; the current offers end July 1.
GM,
DC Do Well in April by Joseph Szczesny
(5/1/2002)
CHRYSLER STILL
OFFERS ZERO PERCENT
Meanwhile, the Chrysler Group will be
the only American-branded make to maintain zero-percent financing. Chrysler will
now offer either a $2500 rebate or zero-percent financing on most of its
minivans, the Dodge Durango and Jeep Grand Cherokee, according to Reuters. The
new offers last until the end of May.
HAWAII TO CAP
GAS PRICES
Hawaii’s legislature has approved a
cap on gas prices, pending approval of the state’s governor, says the Honolulu
Advertiser. Analysts say it’s the
state’s gas taxes that give it the highest prices in the country; consumers are
said to be angered over the prices, which averaged about $1.67 this week
according to the AAA — about twenty cents more at the retail level than the West
Coast. According to the complex plan, the price cap would be refigured each
week, based on average wholesale gas prices on the West Coast plus destination
fees for Oahu and outlying islands. The cap, which begins July 1, 2004, passed
both houses of the state legislature and still awaits Governor Ben Cayetano’s
signature.
2002 Oldsmobile Bravada
AW:
BUICK GETTING BRAVADA
We’ve told you about the Buick version of the Oldsmobile Bravada that’s
coming in the fall. Now, AutoWeek
reports that the vehicle will be the only short-wheelbase member of the
Bravada/TrailBlazer/Envoy family to get GM’s 285-hp, 5.3-liter V-8 engine. The
big motor will be available on extended-wheelbase Envoys and TrailBlazers, too.
The Buick version, rumored to be called the Rainier, will only come in five-seat
form, while the extended-wheelbase utes can be had with third-row seating for
seven.
2002 Nissan Altima
NISSAN REPLACING ALTIMA SENSORS
Automotive News says that Nissan will replace airbag crash sensors
in 127,000 copies of the 2002 Altima because the vehicle didn’t score as well as
they’d hoped in a test by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS). The
Altima did pass the IIHS and federal crash tests, which means the action is not
an official recall. The IIHS, the News reports, will issue its final
numbers on the Altima in May.
AAA: GOOD
ROADS BEFORE RED-LIGHT CAMS
The AAA says red-light cameras are
having an effect on traffic safety — but the organization says that before
spending for the Big Brother ticket machines, jurisdictions should apply all
other road-engineering countermeasures. At the AAA’s annual meeting, the group
argued that re-timing lights, improving lanes and signage and re-evaluating
sight lines could have a great impact on red-light running and crash reductions.
"Although some local jurisdictions are looking at red-light cameras as the quick
fix, it is not always the most effective means of reducing crashes at
intersections," the vice president of AAA Public Affairs, Susan Pikrallidas,
said in a statement.
2002 Toyota Camry SE
CAMRY IS “MOST
WASHABLE”
Top Ten Best All Star vehicle awards
be damned — Toyota’s Camry is now the Most Washable Car on the face of the
planet, according to The International Carwash Association (ICA). The trade
group you never knew existed picked five nominees for qualities like smooth
surfaces, secure radio antennas and such, and chose the Camry as the ultimate
washable car. Contestants were ranked after being sent through an automatic
scrubber, a test only slightly less challenging than the Miss America
question-and-answer round.
THIS WEEK’S
AUTO FACT
Not just for
sunshine states: Motorcycles aren't just popular in states with warm climates.
In fact, four of the top ten states for cycle ownership are in the Midwest:
Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin and Illinois.
Source: Experian Automotive. For more information about
the company, set your browser to
www.automotive.experian.com.
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