General Motors $100 Bait and Switch Cadillac Promo

[Cliffy]

The purpose of the promotion wasn't to give a $100 to people that would have test-driven Cadillacs anyway. The purpose was to get people who wouldn't think about buying GM or Cadillac, get them in the car, and let them experience it.

MichiganMan was the target audience they wanted. Imagine if they could convert him into a lifelong Cadillac buyer based off of a test drive where he falls in love with the quality, luxury, etc...


For me, I always buy used. I've got a 2007 Saturn Ion and a 2009 Chrysler Town and Country.

I'll never buy new or lease ever again. You save so much money buying used.

No, Michigaman was not the target audience because he never had any intention on buying a Cadillac. Dealers are scumbags but so are people who ruin promotions by going in there and wasting everyone's time.

[Honky Tonk]

It also says "While supplies last". They didn't last. If he thinks this is a "bait and switch" ala Best Buy or Circuit City's practice of advertising items and then never getting them in stock or getting 1 of the advertised items, he needs to contact the Attorney General, not to GM. They popped both of the above mentioned companies for bait and switch; but you need to be able to prove it was a dishonest practice. Did others who attempted to do a test drive for the $100 get to do it or were there never any cards? That makes all the difference. They advertised an either/or finite number of gifts; either until the end of April or until supplies ran out.

The scenario MichiganMan described was not "bait & switch". The true definition of "bait & switch" goes something like "New 2014 Apple I-pads, $159.99!" When you get there, first thing in the a.m., the salesman says, "I'm sorry, we're out of I-Pads, but we have 2009, refurbished Acers, I can let you have for the same price, it's a MUCH better machine". Again, you have to prove they NEVER had the I-Pads, and no one bought one @ $159.99. GM knows all this, and despite people's feelings about them, they don't do business in that manner. I'm sure they thought this out, ran it by legal, and if someone does decide to contact the Attorney General, they can come up with verification that "X" amount of people received the $100 cards.

[jimmyr]

Wasting a merchant's time with no interest in his services is a sin.

Just because you obviously do not value your time doesn't mean you should go hassle people trying to make a living. Then you have the nerve to complain about this in a public forum. Very deluded and selfish mindset. A walk around DIA would have been a better use of your afternoon.

[softailrider]

The purpose of the promotion wasn't to give a $100 to people that would have test-driven Cadillacs anyway. The purpose was to get people who wouldn't think about buying GM or Cadillac, get them in the car, and let them experience it.

MichiganMan was the target audience they wanted. Imagine if they could convert him into a lifelong Cadillac buyer based off of a test drive where he falls in love with the quality, luxury, etc...


For me, I always buy used. I've got a 2007 Saturn Ion and a 2009 Chrysler Town and Country.

I'll never buy new or lease ever again. You save so much money buying used.

I really think it depends on the car. If you drive an Accord or Camry I don't think you save enough to benefit by buying used. They discount the hell out of new vehicles and the resale value is very high.

[313WX]

Wasting a merchant's time with no interest in his services is a sin.

Citation...?

[jimmyr]

Citation...?

I wish I could help you. An older Jewish man told me that some time ago. My exact wording may be off. Old Testament? Maybe someone will recognize it. Sorry I can't be more help.

[CLAUDE G]

I read the fine print on this and the only reason why I didn't go and do a test drive is because I don't own a non GM Vehicle.

I saw nothing about the supplies being limited.

The sales person was probably tired of people coming in and wasting his time for the gift card, so they sized him up and lied. Probably would have been better to do the test drive first and then claim the gift card after.

I used to sell Dish network and every once and a while they would run the 30 day satisfaction guarantee. The ones that would specifically ask for the trial, and we felt or would flat out say they would have no intentions on keeping it, we would find an excuse not to sell to them. Why waste our time

[gumby]

What part of "while supplies last" is so hard to comprehend. I am all for calling out a company for lying but this just sounds like whining for the sake of whining.

[Scottathew]

So many worries, like the fact they are worth 5,000$ less as you drive them out of the showroom.

I would argue they're worth $5,000 less even as they sit in the showroom and some people are just willing to overpay!

[noise]

Sorry, no sale. Read the fine print, "get $100 to test drive a car". He didn't walk in to the dealership demanding $100 because he wanted to test drive a car. This was an offer made by GM. The only issue I have is if they're out, they're out. No where I could see it was indefinite.

BS. Any honest adult understands the spirit of the promotion and knows it's for people who may actually be interested in a purchase.

Yes, you could have gone there and got your free $100 with no intention of ever purchasing, per the rules. That doesn't make you less of a dishonest moocher.

[softailrider]

BS. Any honest adult understands the spirit of the promotion and knows it's for people who may actually be interested in a purchase.

Yes, you could have gone there and got your free $100 with no intention of ever purchasing, per the rules. That doesn't make you less of a dishonest moocher.

By your rationale, they should have changed the rules to eliminate the "moocher" types who they knew where going to show up for the $100.00. I'm sure they knew half the people that showed up couldn't afford a 10 year old Cadillac.

[Hermod]

Wasting a merchant's time with no interest in his services is a sin.

Just because you obviously do not value your time doesn't mean you should go hassle people trying to make a living. Then you have the nerve to complain about this in a public forum. Very deluded and selfish mindset. A walk around DIA would have been a better use of your afternoon.

Yet telephone merchants and door-to-door salesmen have no problem at all trying to waste my time. The companies that I have to deal with on a day-to-day basis also waste my valuable time by putting me on hold, sticking me in an endless chain of menus, and running me to a voicemail box that is on permanent "ignore". Forgive me if my heart doesn't bleed for poor downtrodden salesmen.

[canuck]

I would argue they're worth $5,000 less even as they sit in the showroom and some people are just willing to overpay!

Yes probably, and in Canuckistan, they tack on an extra 4 or 5 grand to the price tag since we also enjoy paying more for everything than U.S.er's.

[aj3647]

The purpose of the promotion wasn't to give a $100 to people that would have test-driven Cadillacs anyway. The purpose was to get people who wouldn't think about buying GM or Cadillac, get them in the car, and let them experience it.

MichiganMan was the target audience they wanted. Imagine if they could convert him into a lifelong Cadillac buyer based off of a test drive where he falls in love with the quality, luxury, etc...

The types of people who are motivated to go out of their way to go to a car dealership and test drive a car just to get a free gift card probably aren't the kind of people who can afford high-end Cadillacs.

How in the hell is MichiganMan their target demographic? He's ALREADY driving a brand new car that he admits he is perfectly happy with! He's got a 2013 Ford Edge. What's he going to do, fall so madly in love with a Cadillac after a 10 min test drive that he's going to dump both his lifelong diehard brand loyalty to Ford AND his brand freaking new car to drop 45K on a Cadillac? Not...likely. He clearly was going in to get free money and nothing else.

[noise]

By your rationale, they should have changed the rules to eliminate the "moocher" types who they knew where going to show up for the $100.00. I'm sure they knew half the people that showed up couldn't afford a 10 year old Cadillac.

By my rationale, nothing should have changed except the entitled OP and his supporters.

[hotwheels]

They eliminate the moochers by prescreening.

I wouldn't be surprised at all if they did in fact have gift cards available. The OP was just too obvious in his intentions.

[detmsp]

This is the orginal promotion posted on the GENERAL MOTORS website. They are doing whatever to save their reputation lately... notice the billion commercials and news stories?

General Motors is hoping to attract more conquest buyers to the Cadillac brand with a promotion that pays drivers $100 to take a test drive. The nationwide campaign began in March and runs until the end of the month.
Bill Peffer, U.S. vice president for Cadillac sales and service, told The Detroit News thousands of people have come in to take a new Cadillac for a spin and receive their $100.
“This is our way of way of trying to reach out and get people,” he said. “The way to conquest in that super competitive market is to get people’s seats in seats.”
To be eligible for the payout, which comes in the form of a $100 pre-paid Visa card, motorists must be 21 or older, have a valid driver’s license and proof of insurance and own a 2004 or newer non-GM vehicle. Additionally, if consumers opt to buy a new Cadillac and they don’t own or lease a GM vehicle, they will receive an extra $1,500 incentive toward the vehicle.
Last year Cadillac posted U.S. sales gains of nearly 22 percent, but sales have slid 7.3-percent year-over-year in the first quarter of 2014. The brand is looking for the promotion to help get more customers in showrooms, particularly those that have not driven or owned a Cadillac before.
Giving away $100 for a test drive may seem costly and a little risky, but industry analysts say it is a relatively affordable promotion.
“It’s actually a pretty inexpensive marketing campaign,” said Larry Dominique, president of ALG, an automotive consulting firm.
The first shipments of the 2015 Escalade left GM’s assembly plant in Arlington, Texas last week. Peffer said they have thousands of unfulfilled orders for the SUV. Ads for the redesigned and overhauled SUV will begin to air next month.
“As a brand that’s growing, we know we have to do a job of maintaining our loyal owner base,” Peffer told Detroit News. “But, frankly, we have to [[win buyers who currently drive other brands) at a higher rate in order to achieve our sales goals. This car will help us do that.”



— Sam McEachern
Sam is GM Authority's staff writer providing coverage of General Motors news.



Read more: http://gmauthority.com/blog/2014/04/...#ixzz2zuR3eBtx

Actually that is not the general motors website. And the person who wrote it is not a general motors employee. So if that article misrepresented the deal, maybe you should redirect your anger at that website and not GM.

[Scottathew]

How in the hell is MichiganMan their target demographic? He's ALREADY driving a brand new car that he admits he is perfectly happy with! He's got a 2013 Ford Edge. What's he going to do, fall so madly in love with a Cadillac after a 10 min test drive that he's going to dump both his lifelong diehard brand loyalty to Ford AND his brand freaking new car to drop 45K on a Cadillac? Not...likely. He clearly was going in to get free money and nothing else.

Maybe not this time, maybe not this year, but a couple years down the line maybe he'll give Cadillac more consideration.

The purpose of marketing isn't to convert into a sale every time. They're building reputation, getting folks thinking about their cars, and hell, even getting people in them to test drive them.

[aj3647]

Maybe not this time, maybe not this year, but a couple years down the line maybe he'll give Cadillac more consideration.

The purpose of marketing isn't to convert into a sale every time. They're building reputation, getting folks thinking about their cars, and hell, even getting people in them to test drive them.

That salesman wanted to make a sale right then and there. It does him no good if MichMan comes back 5 years later and buys a Caddy from some other salesman or maybe even some other dealership.

The purpose of marketing is to drive sales. Not five years down the road, but now. Do you think GM is going to wait five years to evaluate the success of this campaign, or do you think they'll look at this month's sales numbers and make that determination? The whole point is to get people in the door so they can by subjected to the high-pressure sales tactics of dealership salesmen. And the salesmen, for their part, are going to size you up the second you walk in and they aren't going to waste their time on someone who is clearly not there to buy a car.

[Meddle]

You know, the kicker is that GM just might send him one in the mail. Not that he rightfully deserves it, but because they've been taking quite a few PR hits in the press lately.

[313WX]

You know, the kicker is that GM just might send him one in the mail. Not that he rightfully deserves it, but because they've been taking quite a few PR hits in the press lately.

That's true...

[Honky Tonk]

You know, the kicker is that GM just might send him one in the mail. Not that he rightfully deserves it, but because they've been taking quite a few PR hits in the press lately.

You're fuckin' eh right Michiganman deserves the $100. If GM had NO intentions of living up to their advertisement, "Test drive a new Cadillac and receive $100", then they shouldn't have advertised it. That's defined as false advertisement, not "bait and switch". For those on this forum that can read, and have no comprehension issues, here is the advertisement again, dated "4-22-2014". Again, READ the first line, by Bill Peffer, U.S. vice president for Cadillac, "until the end of the month", which by my calendar is 4-30-14. [[YES! there IS an end date) http://gmauthority.com/blog/2014/04/...#ixzz2zuR3eBtx Nowhere does it say "only if you buy a Cadillac, or if we run out, or if the sales staff deems you "unqualified for the promotion". Someone is lying here. Either Michiganman, [[he does not meet GM's stipulated qualifications), GM or Bill Peffer, [[no intention of handing out $100 promos to "test drivers"), the Detroit News, [[interview never happened, or took a wide editorial license), Les Stanford, or the salesperson who deemed themselves judge and jury by deciding who should get what.

[noise]

Despite the fact that he doesn't "deserve" anything, he never even test drove the vehicle. Maybe you need to read the promotion again.

And read it directly from GM, not an unaffiliated GM news aggregator.

[canuck]

You're fuckin' eh right Michiganman deserves the $100. If GM had NO intentions of living up to their advertisement, "Test drive a new Cadillac and receive $100", then they shouldn't have advertised it. That's defined as false advertisement, not "bait and switch". For those on this forum that can read, and have no comprehension issues, here is the advertisement again, dated "4-22-2014". Again, READ the first line, by Bill Peffer, U.S. vice president for Cadillac, "until the end of the month", which by my calendar is 4-30-14. [[YES! there IS an end date) http://gmauthority.com/blog/2014/04/...#ixzz2zuR3eBtx Nowhere does it say "only if you buy a Cadillac, or if we run out, or if the sales staff deems you "unqualified for the promotion". Someone is lying here. Either Michiganman, [[he does not meet GM's stipulated qualifications), GM or Bill Peffer, [[no intention of handing out $100 promos to "test drivers"), the Detroit News, [[interview never happened, or took a wide editorial license), Les Stanford, or the salesperson who deemed themselves judge and jury by deciding who should get what.

That is it.

And this is only indicative of a wider circle of lawyerly truisms and half lies like mileage test results and vehicle pricing. Ugh!

[Scottathew]

Despite the fact that he doesn't "deserve" anything, he never even test drove the vehicle. Maybe you need to read the promotion again.

And read it directly from GM, not an unaffiliated GM news aggregator.

Yes, he never test drove the vehicle because they said up-front that they were not going to honor their promotion.

I think the promotion is stupid, but they're setting themselves up for failure when they make such a bold move, but then you find out it's only talk.

It's the purpose of the advertisement, to get people who don't even consider Cadillac into the driver's seat of one. MichiganMan fits that bill.