It is undoubtedly a tough time in a tough economy for everyone. The auto industry is especially getting the brunt of the experience. For many reasons, consumers aren’t buying cars, while dealers struggle to stay in business. This situation has brought about some crazy deals at local dealerships.

Take the case of a Seattle dealer: buy a big truck and get a small car for one dollar! Or Hyundai offering take-car-back deals and, more recently, 3-month free payments if a buyer loses income. I’m sure you may have seen Hyundai ads on TV recently. For CNN’s take on the phenomenon, check out this news clip courtesy of CNN.

A quick check with gasbuddy.com reveals lowest gas prices are in the high $1.60 to low $1.70 range for a number of states in the country on March 10, 2009.  So hybrid or not, the reality is cars need to move out of dealer showrooms into consumers’ hands, and car sellers are getting creative with deals.

Another dealer in Chicago ran a similar deal as reported on November 8, 2008 by Fox News.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YGSFDT3UqP4

The great thing is, despite the naysayers, the Seattle dealer still made “a dozen sales” since its promotion started a week ago. And the Chicago dealer owner thought it’s a way to help build consumer confidence. You know time is bad when the commentator says “For Hyundai there are signs that the program is working. its sales hasn’t been as bad as competitors.”

You don’t hear this very often, certainly not a popular thing to say in normal times, but my hat’s off to the car sales people for doing what they can in helping consumer confidence. They’re doing exactly what good survivors do in tough times.

What do you think? Are these programs desperate measures and signs of an impending collapse, or are they part of a recovery effort that each and everyone of us needs to kick start to get us out of this slump? Share your opinions and comments below.

Buy a Truck and Get a Car for a Buck: Car Deals Show Sign of Time is a post from: CleanCarTalk