It’s deal season

By John Eckberg

‘I wanted to get back to buying American…help keep Americans employed.’

American carmakers and local dealers are counting on a dose of 0-percent financing and a dash of old-fashioned patriotism to woo buyers into showrooms this weekend and counter slowing sales that typically mark the start of summer.

The strategy is clearly working with some consumers.

“I wanted to get back to buying American,” said Harold Kahle, a 60-year-old Mason resident who bought a silver 2006 Malibu Max from the Joseph Auto Group and estimated that he saved $4,000 off the list price.

“I’ve been buying cars from the Joseph family for 40 years and have had Hondas and Toyotas in the past, but this time I wanted to help out our economy – help keep Amercians employed.”

Over the past several years, U.S. automakers have made a habit of offering huge discounts and other incentives from July through October to clear out old stock and make room for new models.

Perhaps not coincidentally, General Motors and Ford kicked off the zero-percent financing party this year on Independence Day, tapping the “buy-American” sensibilities of those car buyers who also have learned that summer is the season of big discounts.

Maryanne Cardonne of Hyde Park surfed the Web to research her Buick Enclave and bought it sight unseen from the Joseph Auto Group after communicating with Buick workers in a chat room dedicated to the vehicle.

After those sessions, buying a foreign car was not an option, she said.

“Those workers were so excited about what they’re doing – how this car is made right here and will compete with a Lexus. Once we chatted with the guys building it at the plant, there was no question we would buy a Buick,” Cardonne said.

Also, she said, her new Buick cost about $20,000 less than another car she was considering, the Audi Q7.

Some Buick, Chevrolet, Pontiac and GMC models have zero-percent financing for up to 60 months.

Ford is offering $2,007 in cash back for many trucks and SUVs.

The Chrysler Group, a division of DaimlerChrysler and the smallest of the Big Three Detroit automakers, is expected to announce zero-percent financing today as well as other incentives. Edmunds.com reports that DaimlerChrysler’s Chrysler Group offers the industry’s highest incentives at $3,962 per vehicle.

But while U.S. carmakers have returned to fire-sales tactics to boost showroom traffic, most foreign car companies, including Toyota with its North American manufacturing headquarters in Erlanger, have seen record sales without offering the same eye-popping discounts.

Nationally, Toyota sold 6 percent more cars in June 2007 than in June 2006. Honda was up 7.3 percent for the same time period, while General Motors fell 24 percent, Ford fell 8 percent and Chrysler was down 2 percent, according to Inside Media, a Newtown-based media research, planning and buying agency.

At the local level, from June 2006 to June 2007 Ford sales rose 10.4 in metropolitan Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky. GM fell about 19 percent, and Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep was down 9 percent.

Some experts say that while zero-percent programs and other incentives may boost sales for U.S. automakers, they also risk damaging their brand by implying U.S. cars aren’t worth buying unless they’re on sale.

But Robert C. Reichert, president of the Kenwood Dealer Group Inc., said most buyers still focus on value – not necessarily price or country of origin. The Kenwood Dealer Group has 12 domestic and import franchises based at Kings Auto Mall in Deerfield Township.

Besides, he said, many, if not most so-called “imports” are made in America by and for Americans.

“If you get in certain areas of the country, Detroit obviously, because of the employment relationship, you won’t see many of those import cars,” Reichert said. “On the East and West coasts, they dominate the market.”

Bryan Smith is the general sales manager at Mike Castrucci Ford, Lincoln and Mercury – formerly Champion Ford – in Alexandria.

In June 2006, Champion Ford sold 24 new Fords. This June, the Castrucci group sold 84 Fords – a more than threefold increase.

Part of it was increased advertising, Smith said.

It helps to have a dealership in a high-growth area like Northern Kentucky, but a big part of it, too, was that Ford, Lincoln and Mercury as brands have better appeal to consumers because they are American through and through, he said.

“You see the American flag flying in those trucks, and people mean it,” Smith said. “We’re starting to see with Ford and Lincoln Mercury more import buyers coming our way. Part of it is patriotic, but Ford is also stepping up warranties and putting a better product out there.”

Janie Klare, 41, of Anderson Township, traded in a white 2003 Mitsubishi Montero SUV for a 2007 Lincoln MKZ at Castrucci.

Buying a vehicle with American roots was “the top priority.”

She researched the buy and test drove at least two foreign-brand cars, but decided that this time it was important to spend money on a car made by Americans for a company located in America.

“I hope a lot of people ask the same question: What’s best for American companies?” she said.