It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas
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ILLUSTRATION COPYRIGHT © ALMOOND/iSTOCK/THINKSTOCK Look a Lot Like Christmas Like aLot Look AT DEALERSHIPS AT LOVED ONE, A NECKTIE OREVEN X ONE,ANECKTIE A$1,000 IPHONE LOVED It’s Beginning to Beginning to It’s JUST MIGHT NOT CUT IT WITH SOME PEOPLE... SOMEPEOPLE... WITH IT CUT NOT MIGHT JUST THE BIG STORY THE BIGSTORY WHEN CONSIDERING A HOLIDAY GIFT FOR A GIFT FOR AHOLIDAY CONSIDERING WHEN BY TOM BEAMAN TOM BY / DECEMBER 2017 DECEMBER THE BIG STORY purred by automak- ers’ December sales promotions, a bullishh economy and old- fashioned generosity,y, Sreal vehicles are appearing, if nott under the tree, then at least in driveways on Christmas morning.g. Even if such an extravagant gift may seem out of reach, it doesn’t hurt to ask. “We get millions of letters to Santa every year, with many asking for cars, vans, motor- In 2011, accordingd to Us Weeklykl , cycles…you name it,” says Darleen comedian and rapper Nick Cannon Reid-DeMeo, a spokesperson for gave his then-wife, Mariah Carey, the U.S. Postal Service. a black Rolls-Royce Phantom For some, a Santa intervention reportedly worth $400,000 for was not required. Christmas. Hotel heiress Paris Hilton The Hammacher-Schlemmer bought herself a bubble-gum- catalogue is the go-to source for pink Bentley Continental GT extravagant automotive holiday for Christmas in 2008. “I’ve just gifts. The Chicago-based com- always wanted a pink car,” she pany started in New York as a told E! News. “I think when you’re hardware store in 1848, selling a little girl and you have the mortise gauges and plumb bobs. Barbie Corvette, you’re always In what might have been the first like, ‘Oh, I wish I had a car like automotive parts department, in this one day.’” 1902 the company added a repair WWARDSARDSAAUTOUTO 2 | DECEMBER 2017 THE BIG STORY kit for blown gaskets and flat tires While Hammacher-Schlemmer’s that plagued horseless carriages. 2017 catalogue contains rela- Today it boasts a circulation of tively mundane items like foot 50 million with mailings every massagers and toaster ovens, it two weeks from October through also features a $59,000 Morgan December. Three-Wheeler roadster and a “Probably what we’re most SkyRunner flying all-terrain vehi- famous for when it comes to cle, just $139,000. A Batmobile automobiles were the 24 London replica built on a Lincoln chassis taxicabs we imported in 1964; we with a BluePrint 383 small-block sold them for $1,895 each,” says GM crate engine can be yours for Stephen Farrell, Hammacher- only 200,000 “bat-dollars.” Since “Most of what Schlemmer’s merchandising direc- Hammacher-Schlemmer is not a we’re selling are tor. “Another item in the catalogue licensed motor vehicle dealer, the quirky, gadgety cars,” says is the Ural-T sidecar motorcycle actual sales go through a third- Hammacher- that was used in World War II. party. Hammacher gets a spiff. Schlemmer’s These higher-end products are fre- Farrell calls his customers defi- Stephen Farrell. “If they want quently bought in the fourth quar- nitely upscale. “We’ve had shahs a luxury car ter or early third quarter.” with oil money from the Middle they can go to a dealer or a collector.” Hammacher-Schlemmer’s 2017 catalogue includes a $59,000 Morgan Three-Wheeler roadster. WWARDSARDSAAUTOUTO 3 | DECEMBER 2017 THE BIG STORY A Batmobile replica built on a Lincoln chassis with a BluePrint 383 small-block GM crate engine costs 200,000 “bat-dollars.” East come in and say, ‘I’ll take deals – and the perfect gift. two,’ and ship them to Saudi “We will sell an average of 35 or Arabia,” he says. “Billionaires 40 units a month from January from around the world walk into to November, then we’ve been our flagship store in New York, pushing 60 a month in December and it’s not uncommon for them for the past decade,” says Ryan to make an unusual purchase Jama, Lexus sales manager at the and have their assistant figure Alderson Auto Group in Lubbock, out how to get it to where they’re TX. “I would say half of those 60 going. units in December are Christmas “Most of what we’re selling are presents.” quirky, gadgety cars. If they want The dealership “hides” about 10 a luxury car they can go to a deal- cars every December. “The cus- er or a collector.” tomer will come in pay for it and then we’ll hide it for them in one BACK IN THE REAL WORLD of our storage units for them to Meanwhile, back in the real pick up Christmas Eve or the day world, automakers and dealers after Christmas,” Jama says. are gearing up for the annual year- He recalls a hospital administra- end sales push, hoping to capture tor who bought three cars for his holiday buyers looking for the best family in December 2016. WWARDSARDSAAUTOUTO 4 | DECEMBER 2017 THE BIG STORY For Christmas, a customer of the Alderson Auto Group in Texas bought these RX 350s for himself, his wife and daughter. “He picked out his car, a ’16 RX the front of the line. He took his 350 on a new lease,” Jama says. wife and daughter to the other “While he was here, he decided to two cars and said, ‘By the way, lease another RX 350 for his wife. you guys are picking up these two We were working the deal on his today.’ There was a little elation wife’s car and out of the blue he and celebration on the showroom says, ‘My daughter’s graduat- floor.” ing college in June and I’m just Jama says Alderson’s other going to get her an NX 200 for three franchises – Cadillac, BMW Christmas as well.’ and Mercedes-Benz – also see “We had them lined up in the about half of their December showroom with red bows on sales given as Christmas gifts. each one. He brought the wife Of course, any such purchase and daughter in with him and he requires adult decision-making. went in to do his paperwork. He There are things to keep in came out to his car, which was in mind, says Dave Ramsey, per- WWARDSARDSAAUTOUTO 5 | DECEMBER 2017 THE BIG STORY Young woman with her Christmas gift at Alderson Auto Group’s Lexus store. sonal finance coach and host of pects of going deep into debt to the nationally syndicated Dave give such a present. Ramsey Show. “A gift should be a blessing not “First, who is the car for?” he a curse and that’s what debt is – a says. “And is it a wise purchase curse,” he says. “Who goes around for them? In other words, it would giving curses for Christmas?” be stupid to buy a $30,000 car for your teenager. Secondly, if it’s a HOW DEALERS DON’T surprise, make sure you know the BLOW THE SURPRISE recipient would welcome that. Autotrader Executive Editor My wife likes surprises. I don’t. So Brian Moody recommends ways to I would not be thrilled with this bring dealers into the loop to pre- purchase.” vent letting the cat out of the bag Vehicle gift-giving usually is and blow the surprise element. done by affluent people with a lot “When you’re at the dealership, of disposable income. For others, let them know right away that Ramsey warns about the pros- it’s a gift,” he says. “Tell them not WWARDSARDSAAUTOUTO 7 | DECEMBER 2017 THE BIG STORY Lexus December to Remember Commercial: “Whispers.” to call you on your home phone. “Lexus does a great job of If you go to the dealership with advertising and getting the word your spouse, tell the staff ahead out,” he says. “We see quite a bit of time to act like you’re just of uptick in our walk-in traffic shopping. If you’re buying a used and our Internet traffic. It’s a nice car, make sure it’s inspected and way for our sales team to end on mechanically proper to begin a big month, going into the not- with. Make sure it’s a gift that so-great months of January and keeps on giving and not just for February.” that day.” Miller recalls a longtime cus- December is a most important tomer who always put his fam- month for Germain Lexus of ily’s automotive needs first and Easton, says Josh Miller, general wouldn’t give up his ’94 LS 400 manager of the Columbus, OH, with 200,000 miles (260,000 km) dealership. on the clock. WWARDSARDSAAUTOUTO 8 | DECEMBER 2017 THE BIG STORY “The last two “I kept telling him maybe it’s ‘What are you doing here?’ His Decembers – time to start looking at a new LS wife took him outside, and he 2015 and 2016 – were our best- or ES but he said he was going was almost like a little kid. He ever selling to take care of his wife and kids was beside himself, the kids were months in the first,” Miller says. “His wife told all hugging him. It was a really history of the brand,” says me he was getting ready to cool experience.” Brian Bolain of retire, and she really wanted to One way to know if a market- Lexus. do something nice for him. We ing campaign has been ingrained worked the back channel of the in the culture is when it is paro- deal without him knowing about died, like Lexus’s “December to it and I delivered a new ES 350 Remember” promotion, now in with a big red bow to their family its 18th year, that features a white Christmas party at the Columbus car topped with a giant red bow Country Club.