As "Hot Rod" Rick Munarriz pointed out on Monday, there's a bit of a spark in Detroit this week as manufacturers gather for the 2004 North American International Auto Show. With the economy thawing out and some interesting new models hitting the showrooms, carmakers are as optimistic as they've been in years.
Today, Ford
The only piece out of place here is GM's announcement that it will offer 0% financing or rebates on most of its new vehicles through March 31. If there truly is optimism at the world's largest automaker, it's hard to see why it would yet again start chipping away at profit margins. Why not bite the bullet and drop the incentives? If sales do start to wane, there's always time to restart the program.
So far, Ford and DaimlerChrysler have yet to follow suit this time around. As for Japanese competitors Honda