Big 3 to deepen discounts

Detroit's automakers, stung by nearly two straight years of slumping U.S. auto sales, are set to cough up richer, more inventive deals this year as they try to woo weary consumers back into showrooms.

As much as the Big Three want to avoid profit-eating discounts, executives at the companies say incentives — used well and tactically — will be a critical part of surviving 2008.

The automakers aren't looking to return to their notorious practices, when they propped up sales by piling cash on the hoods of cars and trucks nobody wanted in a bid to maintain market share.

But they also know they're in for bruising competition in a weak market against healthier foreign-based competitors. The companies will work to win over car buyers with everything from traditional discounts and finely targeted incentive programs to free entertainment systems.

"We have no intention of becoming a leader in incentives, and we don't have in mind some kind of big blowout program like we've had in the past," Troy Clarke, president of General Motors Corp.'s North American operations, said this month during the Chicago Auto Show. "But it's probably a prudent decision to say, "I will be more active with incentives at the beginning of the year and try to figure out how sensitive the market is." Detroit News