Chrysler calling 2006 models "used" to unload them

When even deep discounts aren't getting the job done, sometimes you've got to bend the rules. Normally, a Chrysler dealer must use a car as a loaner for three months before designating it a used car. Still wondering what to do with a "glut" of 2006 vehicles in June of 2007, Chrysler has told dealers if they use a car as a loaner for just one day, they can consider it a used car and move it off the new car lot. Dealers also get an additional $2,000 discount as an incentive to use the program.

Instead of making fewer cars in 2006, Chrysler built more than dealers wanted and simply parked them around Detroit. Incentives helped move some, but the incentive program was to end May 31 of this year and dealers still had more 2006 cars sitting on lots than they wanted. Chrysler decided it wanted to finish strongly, so it eased the loaner requirements, a move dealers had been asking for. Chrysler still counts the cars as retail sales (even though they're just being moved to the used car lot), but the cars won't distract buyers who are looking at Chrysler's 2007 product. At one dealer in New Mexico, a 2006 Dodge Ram went from $33,000 to $26,000 in one day. An '06 Durango could be reduced by $11,500 after one day. Could be time to run a daily patrol around your local Chrysler dealership...

[Source: Detroit News]