Leaves Are Falling and So Are New Model Year Pricing Traditions, According to CarsDirect.Com October Best Bargains

LOS ANGELES--Oct. 1, 20033, 2003--CarsDirect.com, the leading Internet car-shopping service, today announced its October 2003 Best Bargains selections. While autumn and the new model season have historically been the time when manufacturers could forego aggressive incentives, that tradition has fallen prey to continued competitive pressures. In fact, as CarsDirect.com's October 2003 Best Bargains point out, manufacturer rebates and incentives on 2004 models are unusually high for this early in the model year.

"Despite the fact that sales forecasts have just been raised for the year and consumers are not shying away from spending, manufacturers aren't pulling back on the cash they've been putting in consumer wallets," said CarsDirect.com pricing strategist Joe Cashen. "Quite the contrary. Many 2004 models, including newly redesigned and award-winning vehicles such as the Mazda6, already have large cash-back rebates or low-interest financing available." Even Toyota, an automaker that typically offers fewer rebates and incentives than others, is sweetening the deal on popular 2004 models like the Corolla and Matrix, and providing low-interest financing and customer rebates on the Camry in certain regions.

Each month, CarsDirect.com's team of pricing experts qualifies Best Bargain vehicles from a list of over 120,000 price configurations. Best Bargain choices include popular new cars, trucks, and sport utility vehicles that currently offer the most attractive combination of national and regional manufacturer rebates and incentives, those that offer a historic low price point, or vehicles with prices that include other special programs.

CarsDirect.com Best Bargains for October 2003

New car shoppers eager to get behind the wheel of a 2004 model can take advantage of these CarsDirect.com Best Bargains:

                                 Cars

1.  2004 Lincoln LS
    - Manufacturer rebates up to $2,500
2.  2004 Pontiac Grand Prix
    - Manufacturer rebates up to $2,000
3.  2004 Mazda Mazda6
    - Manufacturer rebates up to $1,000

                                 SUVs

1.  2004 Ford Explorer
    - Manufacturer rebates up to $2,000
2.  2004 Saturn VUE
    - Manufacturer rebates up to $1,500
3.  2004 Cadillac Escalade EXT
    - Manufacturer rebates up to $1,000

                          Trucks and Minivans

1.  2004 Chevrolet Silverado 1500
    - Manufacturer rebates up to $2,000
2.  2004 Mercury Monterey
    - Manufacturer rebates up to $2,000
3.  2004 Kia Sedona
    - Manufacturer rebates up to $1,000