It makes sense. Consumers looking to buy from one German brand are quite likely to cross-shop with another German brand. Also it helps that the C-Class at least exterior-wise is a big leap forward compared to the previous C-Class.

 

http://www.autoobserver.com/2008/03/...ales.html#more

So according to Edmunds, higher incentives explain the increase for Pilot sales last month. I had suspected that was the case.

 

Agreed. I've seen a couple of new C-class recently and I think they look GREAT. Love the proportions, short overhang and many other details.

While I'm gabbing about car looks I've seen a couple of new CTS and man love it too.

 

The incentives would not be total explanation of higher sales for it, they may make people on the fence decide to go ahead and get one but the desire was there all along.

The 4,000, 6,000, 8,000 cash back deals from Lexus for January/February can be viewed as incentives and did not result in higher sales, other automakers the same with their various deals.

Edmunds can be mistaken, look at post in last months sales where Edmunds implied February was just wonderful and then we see it was not for many automakers while great for others.

 

Either people wanted to buy a Pilot or not. If people were on the fence but did not buy a Pilot, then they didn't buy a Pilot. That is the end result. Incentives definitely did help sales. Let's not forget Pilot sales for the past few months have been declining while other Pilot competitors have been seeing rising sales.

4,000-8,000 cash back for Lexus models? Please show proof of this. Lexus incentives (as usual) were among the lowest in the industry. If in fact there was 4000-8000 cash back on Lexus models, believe me sales would have been higher.

 

Show proof? While I know you did not mean to be rude....Believe me if I post something to the best of my knowledge it is the truth and you can take it to the bank.

The LS is 8k cash back though I have not seen it's TV ad (though have been told they run an LS ad) where I have seen TV ads since January to the present for 4k, 6k, 8k, cash back on ES, GS, SC respectively and the online "print" for LS is herewith. The TV ads have been running daily for more than a month. These have been running for several dealers. Why the sales are not higher as a result I do not know though current loss of sales over last year is somehwat improved as a result of them it seems.

http://www.lexusoforlando.com/AboutSpecials

 

Lexus of Orlando has 3K off the the IS 350 as well. I know, I JUST BOUGHT ONE!!

 

Question is, are these deals going on locally at Lexus of Orlando, or are these cash back deals a nationwide offer? Local deals are nothing new, and are totally different from nationwide (corporate-wide) offers.

Lexus.com lists no special offers or cash-back deals nationwide.

 

Wow, $6000 off on a GS350 and $8000 off on a LS is quite nice.

 

It is NOT just Orlando offering the cash back, there are 3 total dealers I've seen TV ads for--2 on regular channels and caught 1 more recently on cable news channel, checking the website was a fluke but there it was because you had asked for proof, other dealers may be giving the incentives in a different way. Don't know why Lexus.com doesn't have it, but it is going on.

 

Yes it is quite nice...8k is one HECK of an incentive on LS but then so is dropping ES to 29,9 and change and/or 4k back from sticker.

For those in the market

 

No cash back deals around here. I checked the web sites of two dealers near me where I shopped, and under the "Specials" pick was "Attractive Lease Deals Available" and that was it. It sounds like it might be more dealer specific than a Toyota/Lexus program.

 

If it was a nationwide deal, then Lexus.com would definitely show it. At this point, it sounds like local deals that only a few dealers are offering. Doesn't sound like everyone is offering them.

That's my guess as well.

 

Quite often deals are regional - there can be some base support, but the actual deal tends to be regional.

 

Actually, now that I think about it, it doesn't seem surprising. 10% off MSRP on Lexuses aren't that hard if you just haggle a bit. These are around 12% off MSRP, so not that surprising.

It seems to me that it is hard to haggle with Lexus on lease deals, but pretty easy on purchase deals, whereas the opposite is true with BMW.