According to a report from Reuters, General Motors is preparing for try-the-competition test drives in Chicago, L.A., Philadelphia, and Miami.
The project, called "Test Drive Studio", goes something like this: when consumers walk into a participating dealership, they'll be offered test drives in the mid-size Malibu and the Equinox and Traverse crossovers.
After that, GM puts its (and the US taxpayers') money where its mouth is: they'll offer people the chance to go out in comparable Fords, Toyotas, and Hondas.
Not only will the program offer consumers a chance to make a more direct comparison, but it will save them time in the process. "You come in and drive any of these competitive products at your leisure...You don't have to go running around town to go to a bunch of dealerships," says General Motors' Steve Tihanyi, a director of marketing.
Tihanyi explains that the final goal is to draw the attention of people online by using pop-ups (do pop-ups still work?) on Edmunds and Kelley Blue Book. Not sure about that, but having these Studios in high-traffic shopping centers would be just fine.
Just make sure the dealers don't harass people. Like that Ford dealership I hit up recently and had a guy in the rain knocking on my window for a sale. Wake up man, I'm not getting out of my car to stand in the rain to talk to a salesman. LET IT GO.
- By Phil Alex
Via: Reuters
