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Buick Has Big Discounts to Thank for Red-Hot Car in Truck Market

Buick Has Big Discounts to Thank for Red-Hot Car in Truck Market

(Bloomberg) -- Here’s something that defies logic in a nation of truck lovers: Sales of the Buick LaCrosse sedan more than doubled in January.

There’s a catch -- a $14,000 one. Auto-pricing website Autotrader says General Motors Co. had so many incentives on the LaCrosse that, when piled together, buyers could get a five-digit discount. Those deals weren’t available everywhere though, since they required stitching together every penny of possible money, from dealer incentives to regional offers, said Autotrader analyst Michelle Krebs.

Buick Has Big Discounts to Thank for Red-Hot Car in Truck Market

LaCrosse discounts were big, but not that sizable for most buyers, according to Jim Cain, a GM spokesman. The average incentive was $8,240 and would more likely max out at $10,000, he said.

Even that would be about one-third off a car that starts around $30,000. The major discounting helps explain why LaCrosse sales surged 130 percent last month to about 3,000 at a time when consumers have largely abandoned large cars in favor of sport utility vehicles.

To contact the reporter on this story: David Welch in Southfield at dwelch12@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Craig Trudell at ctrudell1@bloomberg.net, Anne Riley Moffat

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