Bad Boys Get Coal. Good Girls Get Cars.
Originally published at www.aiada.org
December 29, 2004
On the first day of Christmas, my true love gave to me: a Firemist Red Metallic Mercedes SLK350. Though for
most of us it’s only a fantasy, Santa Claus will come down the chimney with a new car for thousands of lucky
boys and girls this month. While the rest of us tear the wrapping paper off yet another blue sweater, the grown-
ups who’ve been very good this year will be led out to the garage or driveway to see their newest toys tied up
with a big red bow.
The trend has grown popular enough to inspire online businesses like King Size Bows (www.kingsizebows.
com) which sells not only giant red bows, but white, silver, yellow and black, and other combinations. Bows
start at $48, although generous Santas who purchase an entire fleet of vehicles may purchase 20 or more
bows for $42 each.
Red is the top pick for Christmas cars as well, although silver and other options are almost as popular. “We
can get whatever they want,” says John Fulcomber, a sales consultant for Huey’s Honda in St. Louis,
Missouri. “I just had a customer who wanted to get a red S2000 to surprise his wife. But for $33,465, he
thought he’d better make sure she wanted it first.”
What woman wouldn’t? The little convertible has won accolades from Car and Driver, Edmunds.com, and a
host of racing enthusiasts. Fulcomber, who hopes his customer gets the nod from his wife, plans to drive it to
their home and hide it in the garage on Christmas Eve.
When cars are given as gifts, men are usually behind the surprise—and women are almost always the
recipients. Long Island sales consultant Liza DiMelfi says “It’s either husbands to wives, or fathers to
daughters.” She recently worked with a client who wanted to surprise his wife with an Audi A6, a $42,000
vehicle. “He had the whole thing planned. Even her boss was in on it. But on the day we were supposed to
deliver the car, his wife called in sick.”
Not easily daunted, the client picked up the car, parked it in the driveway, and then asked his wife if she was
well enough to help him bring in a package. She was, and DiMelfi got an overjoyed phone call from the client
moments later, with his wife shouting with pleasure in the background. “It was great,” DiMelfi said. “It’s
wonderful to be part of that kind of joy.”
“The car came last Christmas,” said Elizabeth Gardener of Riverside, Illinoins. “About a month earlier I had
lost my mom, and a couple of weeks before that our family summer had burned down. My 1995 Corolla was
at the point where you either do major maintenance or get a new car. The new car (a dark green 2004 Subaru
Forester) sure perked up my mood. It still does a year later.”
Gardener’s husband, father and eight year old daughter managed to keep the secret, although she admits it
seemed strange that the two men had to rush off to fix his grandfather’s computer on Christmas morning.
“There was a little box under the tree with the key in it, and there it was, hiding in our neighbor's driveway.”
Although she had test-driven the car before the holidays, Gardener never expected her husband to surprise
her with it. “He kept stalling about buying it, and I thought we were going to wait until after Christmas. I was
afraid all the green ones would be gone and I’d have to settle for silver, though I was prepared to be a good
sport about it.”
Besides the fact that it came from her husband’s heart, what does she like best about the Forester? “It fits me
well, it has lots of little pockets and compartments to stash things and I can flip down the back seat and
schlep a lot of stuff. The headroom and seat height are such that I can get my infirm dad comfortably in and
out of the passenger seat without bashing his head on the door frame. And it has a lovely tight turning radius
so it's easy to park. The AWD is also an excellent thing for snow.”
Not all communities are embracing the concept of cars as holiday gifts, despite the heavy marketing push
from Lexus, Jaguar, BMW and Mercedes. “It’s not really done here,” explains Fred Steinhaus, Internet
Manager for Schaumburg Toyota, about 40 miles northwest of Chicago. “It used to be bigger several years
ago, but now customers are more price conscious and less gift conscious.” His dealership has had just one
Christmas shopper this year, although he acknowledges that some customers may purchase a vehicle
without telling the dealership it is a gift.
“It can be pretty hard to pull off,” admits DiMelfi. “We recently sold a New Beetle convertible to a father for his
daughter, and we had to get her here without her figuring it out. We had the car out back, with a big bow on it.
She was absolutely hysterical when she figured out it was hers.”
Overall, auto sales tend to increase in December, although that may be explained by end-of-year sales events
and attempts to maximize tax deductions. Compared to December 2002’s sales figures, GM reported a 22%
increase in small car sales in December 2003. However, mid-size, large, and luxury sales dropped 1.6%,
38.5%, and 10.1%, respectively.
Only a few manufacturers fared much better. Saab reported a 27.8% increase; Honda/Acura went up 53.1%,
and Mazda increased sales 127.8%. Sales of the Jaguar XJ series doubled. And while sales of its other
vehicles remained steady or increased slightly, Mercedes won the hearts of soccer moms everywhere, selling
734 of its new E Class wagon—a 555% increase over December 2002 figures. Ferrari sales went up 43.2%--
with 106 cars sold in December 2003 as compared to December 2002’s 74. Rolls Royce jumped 191%--
selling 35 super premium vehicles in 2003.
The Cadillac Escalade ESV showed up under a number of Christmas trees in 2003. Sales of the $60,000+
SUV rocketed from 36 in December 2002 to 1581 in December 2003. “All I got was socks and perfume,”
complains one Pennsylvania woman who thought her husband was going to surprise her with the keys. “He
kept the truck for himself.”
