• Brandweek, Monday, July 3, 2006 12 PM

Automakers are bringing back incentives, against their better judgment, to clear out inventory and make room in showrooms for new models. The moves are coming from all three of the major American carmakers, and are expected to reflect the same deals offered last summer. "It looks right now as if things will stay about the same as last year," said Jesse Toprak, auto analyst at Edmunds.com. GM begins zero-financing today--applicable mostly to larger sedans and SUVs--which will run through Tuesday. Many dealers will keep their doors open until midnight in order to cater to consumers who will have time off over the July 4th holiday weekend. Almost all makes are covered by the incentives, except for some premium and strong-selling makes, including the Hummer H1, the Corvette, and Pontiac's G6 convertible. After sizable incentives last summer, automakers vowed to embrace value pricing, providing the lowest price available without incentives. The annual incentives serve two purposes: To reduce stock of current-year models and to get customers into showrooms to see some of the new model-year arrivals.

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