If you harbored any doubts that Toyota is attacking the soft underbelly of its chief American rival, General Motors, this should eliminate them. Toyota Financial Services (TFS), one of only two AAA-rated auto credit companies, is launching the Toyota Rewards Visa®. Like GM’s card, ToMoCo’s Visa creates rewards points that can be redeemed when purchasing a vehicle from a Toyota delaership. Unlike GM’s card, ToMoCo’s plastic points are also redeemable towards service, parts and accessories. Card holders get five points for every $1 spent at Toyota dealerships, and a buck a point for everything else. There’s no limit to the amount of points a card holder can amass. Points are redeemed at one percent (e.g. $2500 worth of groceries equals $25 down at your Toyota dealer). There’s no annual fee, and a zero percent APR for the first six months. After that? Seems that depends on you. Well, your credit rating.
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1% back…not that great. There are better cards out there.
Allowing redemptions for service and parts is a nice touch, but even the crappier new GM Cards have better earnings allowances than 1% everywhere (I believe the new ones are 3%). I have had a GM Card since 1998. It gets me 5% on the first $10,000 I spend anywhere, so I got $3,500 off my new Cadillac CTS in August. Now that’s a deal…1% cards kind of suck, in my opinion.
I’d take it a step further and honor GM Card earnings 50 cents on the dollar.
Toyota’s new slogan:
“Beating General Motors at Their Own Game, Because We Can”
Does anyone else feel like Toyota is becoming the GM of the late-90s? 0% APR on 11 models and a credit card with points for additional savings!! Don’t mind our recent quality issues – there’s nothing to see here folks…
I wonder if Toyota is going for #1 seller this month. I bet they could do it. Toyota dealers are out-performing the industry around here, but not by that much yet – inventories are still growing – but Toyota should have some fleet movements this month too that may help push them over the top. I have GM pegged at 196,000 units in October (that’s 37% down), so if Toyota can keep their sales flat through discounting and fleet movements, they’ll get the title.
Wait… that sounds really familiar.
Toyota still has enthusiasts?
The GM and Toyota comparison is fairly apt; difference being that GMs tactics were to stave off self-destruction. Toyota’s facing a genuine economic downturn not of its own making. And really, I keep hearing about the quality issues but
http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/08/04/business/recall.php?page=1
would seem to indicate that they are actually moved to fix the problem in a big way. Anyone know if their recall rate has gone up or down in the past few years?
There’s nothing wrong with promoting your vehicles with specials; its when its the only way to get people to buy that it becomes a problem.
Toyota mgmt has recognized that sales and production are out of whack and have pushed the big red button to move the metal. Because this will have a negative affect on resale and isn’t a permanent fix, I’m hoping the 0% sale is temporary and next year’s production will get cut to match the new market their in.
If Toyota mgmt sticks with toe tag sales and gimmicks to sell cars, they’ll deserve all the GM-like bashing. If they pull production and stop the incentives they’ll not only be in a lot better shape but will have done the right thing this year and next. That’s hard to fathom GM doing any year.
yes but do the points expire ?
The GM points die after a few years, which pissed my dad off when he went to pick up what he affectionately refers to as his Jew canoe (CTS-4, he’s a short, fat, bald, old Jewish guy)
What if Toyota is now pissed that Detroit has bailout money heading it’s way, and they’re finally saying no more Mr. Niceguy to American automakers ?. The final nail in the coffin for Detroit ?.
I wouldn’t consider this an attack on General Motors as much as a tweaked emulation of what General Motors was doing about a decade or so ago. I say “tweaked” because I highly doubt Toyota will ever allow itself to fall into the same hole that General Motors has.
… A similar hole in the future maybe, but not the same one.