GM and Ford Offer New York Auto Show Attendees $50 for Visiting a Dealership

NEW YORK, April 15 /PRNewswire/ — GM and Ford are offering incentives to get New York International Auto Show-goers to visit area dealerships. The $50 comes in the form of a gift card, but requires that the recipient go to a dealership and test drive a vehicle.

The marketing of new cars and trucks always starts with getting the car-buying public’s attention and then getting them to consider your models. The gift card gambit being rolled out at the New York International Auto Show (NYIAS) appears to be the next tactic to achieve the most basic goal; getting the customers’ attention.

Detroit automakers have long contended that if the public would take a close look at their products, rather than just accept the conventional wisdom of the superiority of foreign makes, they would see that Detroit makes very competitive automobiles in this country. Paying high-potential car shoppers at a huge auto show like New York’s $50 to travel to a dealership and actually drive the vehicle may pay some dividends. Time will tell.

“Auto shows provide a perfect opportunity for buyers to see, touch and feel the latest new cars under one roof,” said Mark Schienberg, president of the Greater New York Automobile Dealers Association, the organization that owns and produces the New York Auto Show.

“Programs like the $50 gift card offered by GM and Ford help continue conversations between auto show visitors and new car dealers. This is a great way to get engage customers and gets them behind the wheel of some amazing new vehicles,” concluded Schienberg.

Ford gift cards can be spent anywhere. The GM gift card is only good for purchases on restaurants.com.

The $50 offer is available to New York International Auto Show visitors, which runs at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in Manhattan, until Sunday, April 19. For more information, visit www.autoshowNY.com.

SOURCE New York International Auto Show; DealersEdge