Happy Honda Days, Eh?

by Matthew C. Keegan

I love this time of year! The seasonal music, the lights, manger scenes, and the silly ads on television. No, I am not talking about ads pitching products to put in your stocking or to set under your Christmas tree. Instead, what I like is all the car ads cleverly designed to get you to leave the mall and hit dealer showrooms. There is a lot more then meets the eye when a car ad makes its appearance during the holiday season. It isnt all ho, ho, ho either! Read on and I will tell you what it is all about.

Happy Honda Days! Yes, playing on the "Happy Holidays" theme the group of five or six "carolers" singing Honda songs are doing what they can do to get you to buy a new Honda. So, why this pitch and why this time of year? For two reasons: consumers are buying Christmas presents, so purchasing a new car is nowhere near the top of anyones priorities, and Toyota. Toyota?! Yes, that is right. Toyota and Honda are once again battling for the top spot for the best selling car in America. Long ceded by American automakers who sell more trucks than cars, the Honda Accord and Toyota Camry are the two top selling cars. Guess what? December 31st marks the final day that cars sold can be tabulated as 2005 sales. Honda wants you in their showrooms and they want you to buy. Move over, Toyota!

Dont think for a moment that Honda is the only manufacturer with a big year end sales drive in place. Virtually all manufacturers are in a race to get you to buy a new car now. Each is hoping that you arent too busy to watch a little bit of television, listen to the radio, scour the newspaper, or search the internet in hopes that an ad promoting their product will find its way before your eyes. You cant shop all the time, right? Right?

To help you out, the following are some of the current campaigns already under way and the brand they are touting:

*December to Remember; Lexus

*Toyotathon; Toyota

*Miles of Freedom Plan; Dodge

*Keep It Simple; Ford, Lincoln, Mercury

*Red Tag Sale; GM

*A to Z Year End Event; Nissan

*The Cadillac Seasons Best Sales Event; Cadillac

*Winter Event; Mercedes

There is no telling what other sales events are being planned. By the time the new year rolls in, you are likely to be as sick of them as you will be of all the tinsel, the egg nog, and your 47th viewing of "A Christmas Story."

Happy holidays to you and yours; Happy Honda Days if you are choose to purchase a new car during this already overstressed time of the year!

Matt Keegan is a contributing writer for the Race Pages, a supplier of quality Honda exhaust and Honda radiator at discount prices.