Chrysler Announces 0% Financing For New Dodge Ram
Pickup Trucks, Anyone?
What if you built a new vehicle and nobody wanted it? All right, that is a bit of an exaggeration, but if you redesigned a popular fleet of pickup trucks and the market shifted before it came out, what would you do?
Chrysler LLC is not about to kill off its Dodge Ram, but when the next generation of this truck debuts this Fall, the automaker will be forced to immediately incentivize it in order to sell it. According to AutoNews, Chrysler is planning to offer 0% financing for 72 months an unusual move that smacks of desperation.
Then again, what choice does Chrysler have?
Offer Incentives Or Lose Business
The financing offer is likely to benefit everyone who needs this type of truck the most: chiefly blue collar workers who haul ladders, heavy equipment, and supplies wherever they go and must have a vehicle the size and strength of a pickup truck. For some businesses, this offer will be a boon as they can effectively finance their vehicles with next to nothing down and pay absolutely no interest on it. Gas prices will still be an issue, but if you are a consumer who has called upon a contractor over the past year or two, you’ve probably noticed a surcharge for that — how else will your electrician recoup his gas costs?
Ford Will Likely Follow Chrysler’s Lead
Expect Ford to follow suit by offering a similar incentive when its redesigned F-150 debuts this Fall. Like Chrysler, Ford is seeing a once popular model hit the skids and will be forced to make whatever offers they have attractive to buyers. Most contractors will buy a new truck no matter what the gas prices are, so if you’re waiting to buy, a 2009 Dodge Ram or a 2009 Ford F-150 could be the right vehicle to add to your fleet later this year.
By the way, Chrysler’s $2.99 Gas Offer isn’t working. Customers seem to prefer discounts over the promise of paying a fixed price for gasoline.
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[...] Possible? Maybe a Chrysler bankruptcy isn’t too far-fetched after all.addinfo*** Chrysler Announces 0% Financing For New Dodge Ram Upon introduction the 2009 Dodge Ram will offer zero percent financing in a bid to [...]
$2.99 a gallon sounds good to me, as long as for some strange reason prices don’t return to their normal levels, wouldn’t that be a kick in the butt.
You got a good point, Best Trucks. I’m not fully convinced that $4 per gallon for gasoline is permanent. What if the market suddenly dropped? Prices could be halved almost overnight. As far as the Dodge Ram goes, I would take the rebate and let them keep the $2.99 special.
An interesting view of the automotive industry. Where do you see the future of the industry, will it ever recover or will there be major casulties?
I believe that the industry will recover with several companies disappearing or efffectively merged out of existence. Chrysler will either be taken over by Fiat or closed down. If the latter, someone will buy Jeep. GM will toss several brands and be a much smaller company. Ford should do okay. Several smaller Asian brands may die including Daewoo and Proton. Look for Volkswagen to continue to grow in size with a possible BMW-Daimler merger or stronger alliance also taking place.