Lavish new ways to sell cars

Ed Garsten over at the Detroit News takes a deeper look into the trend of alternative sales pitches by manufacturers. A few weeks back we posted a story about the Black Eyed Peas playing a concert to serve as an introduction of the new Hummer H3. It turns out not only were the Peas paid in Hummer H2s but the crowd was entirely made up of Hummer owners invited to a free concert and dinner. This is just one example of a new way automakers are trying to build brand loyalty and bring in new buyers. Jeep and Lexus are also featured for their own events. There’s no data on how well it works but the Hummer owners seemed happy with the freebies.