About the tv commercials this time of year: have you ever received or given a CAR as a

[Atticus]

Christmas present? Do you even KNOW someone who has?

To whom are these ads directed?

[onenote]

1. No. And yes.

[spanone]

2. In 1998 I bought my wife a Jeep Cherokee for Christmas.

[Ohiogal]

3. No and No.

We spend $100 on each other then donate the same to charity.

[lagomorph777]

43. A giant expensive surprise like that would not result in smiles at my house.

I don't know what kind of marriages TV people have, but they are apparently quite different from those on this side of the screen.

[Rorey]

52. Good point

Buying big ticket items that involve the family finances shouldn't be a surprise, IMO. Owning a brand new vehicle is definitely not at the top of my list of priorities.

[brooklynite]

4. It's really not possible...

Cars require State registration and you can't register one in someone's name without their knowledge. What you're really doing is buying one for yourself and then transferring the title later.

[LanternWaste]

15. What then is the relevant and resultant difference in regards to it being a gift?

[Hassin Bin Sober]

54. Nonsense.

Wives sign for their husbands. Husbands sign for their wives. Parents sign for their kids. I used to manage the business department of a large dealer group. It’s done all the time.

The dealer can hold up title paperwork to add or change a name or send it through as-is depending on the circumstances. For instance, we would never finance a car without all the signatures. But a cash deal? Meh.

That said, I can count on one hand the times cars were purchased as surprise type gifts.

I once drove a car to Schenectady New York for a Doctor buying a Buick Park Avenue for his parents as a surprise . We couldn’t find anyone to transport it on short notice so I said fuck it and drove it out there with my dad. My dad was retired from American Airlines so we flew back on his privileges. We had a blast - and got paid by the Doc.

[regnaD kciN]

5. Yes

In 1980, my parents gave my wife and I (both in our early 20s) a car to replace our old Corvair that, after a long and noble life, was literally rusting out. They didn’t actually give us a car in the driveway with a bow on it; they just pledged up to $5,000 for the purchase of one we’d decide on, which turned out to be a Toyota Tercel.

With current new car prices starting in the $20-$30K range, and the ones that show up in ads with a big red bow on top being closer to $40-$50K range, I really can’t imagine anyone outside the 1% being able to do so any more.

[Initech]

48. I often wonder who these commercials are for.

And my favorite right now is Honda where they just flat out say "Hey remember how much joy you got when you got that car for your present last year? Do it again!". Hey, you still owe $32,000 on that loan you took out, so why not make it $64,000? Someone's got to pay for these cars!

I also love the Hyundai commercials where they're like "find your perfect present at your local Hyundai store today!". Uh no, your dealers are not stores.

[malaise]

6. No

The funniest car gift ever was A man sending a spanking new red Jaguar to his wife's office on Valentine's Day on a tow truck complete with a bow. It was quite the circus.
Of course every rational person suspected that he was having a major affair and this was just for show.
They were correct - after all the TV and newspaper coverage, the wife discovered that he was having an affair with a woman 25 years his junior. She filed for divorce - kept the car and took the house.

[RT Atlanta]

7. I really dislike those commercials

They just scream of 'white monied privilege' to me (and I'm a white dude). Rarely is there anything resembling folks other than whites.
Like you note, who in the hell has the $$ to give a freakin' car for X-mas?

The most egregious of those commercials is the one that from GMC where there is a 30ish yrs old white couple, made to look like they live in this fancy contemporary house (which would easily cost in the high hundreds of k to low millions in parts of ATL) where the guy purchases a GMC truck and SUV for he and his spouse (which I presume would add up to another $50-70k worth of vehicles). Isnt everything just lovely....

VOMIT.....

[ProfessorGAC]

19. See Below RT

I mentioned that same commercial. On top of that, she takes the truck he bought for himself and then at the end says "Well, i like red."

They're so spoiled that they had to debate over which brand new car was for one vs. the other.

Entitled to the max.

[RT Atlanta]

38. LOL

Professor - that damn commercially really strikes a nerve doesn't it?!?

Cheers!

[gibraltar72]

8. I bought my wife a Cadillac for Valentines day.

Parked it sideways in driveway with a red bow on the door before she came home from work.

[Greybnk48]

9. I HATE those commercials! Have for years!

It always shows young married couples, with perfect white kids, ending up outside of their multi-million dollar home. What a slap in the face to most other people.

We're not bad off financially, but these ads are such a sham they're like fingernails on a blackboard for me. I was just raving about the new Mercedes SUV ad last night with the smug 30 something white couple, 2 perfect daughters, and the wife asking why he put miles on her new SUV as she's parked outside of their multi-million dollar mountain home, probably just for getaways.

I hate how they must make other people feel.

[Midnightwalk]

10. My parents bought me one years ago

Color was great and it was FAST

I'm pretty sure it was a Lamborghini but I'm not sure. It was a long time ago.

[link:http://matchbox.wikia.com/wiki/File:6920_Lamborghini_Marzal_R.JPG|]

seriously though I wouldn't give anything that expensive as a present. I think the ads don't necessarily target people shopping for presents. If they get people thinking of getting a new car they worked. Jewelry ads may not care if you buy a huge diamond for xmas so long as they get you thinking about buying jewelry.

[lunasun]

36. I had a friend who would give new cars to everyone @ the holidays !

I bought you a new car he would tell all -matchbox of course

[WhiskeyGrinder]

11. Ads are selling an aspirational lifestyle, not realistic? THE HELL YOU SAY.

[TeamPooka]

12. I sold cars for a couple years during the 80s and sold many cars for Christmas delivery

intended as gifts. Usually for wives, daughters, or sons.

[highplainsdem]

17. I'd guess at least some of those "gift" cars were planned car purchases anyway, just timed

to turn them into a gift and make them seem more special.

[TeamPooka]

27. Most of them were Dads trying to surprise family members

[highplainsdem]

13. I've never given one for Christmas, but did give one as a birthday present many years ago.

Couldn't afford to do it now.

[JHB]

14. Only if you count Hot Wheels and Hess trucks.

[jcgoldie]

16. Asked my wife last night, who the hell can afford 2 brand new pickup trucks for x-mas?

"I like red."

[ProfessorGAC]

21. Third One!

That's three of us that mentioned that annoying commercial.

[utopian]

29. That one sends me running for the remote as well

It's more than annoying. I find it sickening.

[Historic NY]

53. Well they are offering 20% discounts on them....

some places even better. I know people that would jump to change, just for the color, yup, color. His answer its turned out to be 70 dollars cheaper than his current one. (that he still owed 3 yrs on.)

I worked with a guy the same thing he changed them faster than you would buy underwear. Such a deal he'd say. I'd reminder him that there is tax of 8 3/4 percent, tags, and refinancing fees. So such a deal really isn't, in their minds it is.

[ProfessorGAC]

18. I'm With You

The new GMC commercial where the guy says he got both of them something for black friday and it's two cars!

Of course, the kitchen they're in at the beginning is big enough to land a plane in, and the front entry way looks like the entrance to a Niemann-Marcus.

So that might answer the question.

Notice that MANY of them are for high end vehicles. I don't see these ads for the starter models.

Lexus, Mercedes, BMW, GMC, Inifinty, etc. I haven't seen one for Kia or Hyundai.

[mercuryblues]

20. Not for Xmas

but yes and yes.

We bought one for our daughter her junior year in collage. She got a full ride scholarship and saved us at least 60-80,000 in tuition. So we bought her a Cobalt when her car was getting ready to blow the transmission.

The reveal was epic. Even better than what they advertise in these commercials.


A few years ago my husband was looking for a new truck and the salesman was not budging an inch. Which pissed us off, we had bought several cars from him. I whispered to my husband, My birthday is in a few days, let's go and by me a new car. He said let's go. I wasn't about to tell him I was joking, I was getting a new car. The morning of my birthday it was in the driveway with a huge bow on it.

[OnDoutside]

22. Cars aren't just for Christmas....

[Olafjoy]

23. Nope

I really like the GIANT bows on the cars in the ads. I would be happy with a giant bow 👍🏻

[Chipper Chat]

24. Mazda....

Feel ahliiiiiiiiiiiiiife
(Puke)

[Aristus]

25. My grandparents bought my mother a car.

It was just after my parents had separated, and my dad had skipped town with the entire bank account. My mother and we kids were doing everything we could to keep our heads above water. (My dad didn't bother to pay the mortgage with the money he left with, natch...) I was working three jobs, delivering papers in the mornings before school, McDonald's after school, and caddying golf on the weekends.

My grandparents, who had a comfortable retirement but were not spectacularly well-off, bought my mother a bare-bones, standard Ford Escort so we could at least get around.

It didn't show up in the driveway with a big bow on it like in the commercials. But it was still a much-appreciated gift.

[Marrah_Goodman]

26. That and the jewelry commercials are foreign to me

I just don't live in that world. I am not surrounded by anyone who does.

[regnaD kciN]

30. Yes!

The notion that Christmas is the perfect time to get engaged really puzzles me. There’s even a store in town that’s running a “From Merry to Marry” ad campaign.

[Marrah_Goodman]

34. and I really hate that they equate jewelry for love

Like... if no one is buying you expensive jewelry then you are obviously not really loved. I hate Christmas commercials and am glad I gave up cable tv.

[Zing Zing Zingbah]

28. Never for Christmas and never brand new.

My dad gave me his old car when I was teenager and then I gave him one my old cars a few years ago. I have another old vehicle to give to my son when he gets a license.

[bearsfootball516]

31. Not as a Christmas gift, but as a gift, yes.

My father in law bought my mother in law a new car as s surprise gift when she gave birth to their first child.

[MrsCoffee]

32. Nope.

[luvs2sing]

33. I haven't, but..

a couple years ago, a friend gave his two adopted sons a (gently used) car for a Christmas. The whole story behind his adoption of these two high-risk teenagers is heart melting, and the gift was perfect. There wasn’t a dry eye to be found. ❤️

[Thomas Hurt]

35. I received a used beater Jeep for my birthday, not Xmas.

Drove it through most of college. I would never have learned any mechanic skills if I had owned a new shiny car.

[jalan48]

37. No, but the ads make me want to look at new cars.

[exboyfil]

42. And the MSRP sticker makes me want to stop

I was looking at our bulletin board at work at 5+ year old cars going for $15K. A coworker asked me if I saw anything interesting. I said I pray my 2002 Cavalier and 2009 HHR keep on running.

Never received a car. Never gave a car. Did not have a car in college. Worked 8 months before I bought my first car (I waked to work). Neither kid got cars from me. My oldest didn't have a car while she was off to college, and my youngest drove one of our two cars back and forth to college and work (the college and hospital are next to each other). I tell my youngest to defer the car purchase for as long as possible. My oldest bought a 2000 Corolla from her aunt.

I plan to go down to one car when I retire, and, if it was just me, I would go without a car after I retire.

[jalan48]

55. That's the smart way to do it. I didn't own my first car until I was 31. The back floorboards

of that car were rusted out so you could see the road underneath as you sat there. I'm with you on having one car. I hope my Prius makes it that long.

[Runningdawg]

39. Does a motorcycle count?

Last year for Christmas my BIL gave my husband a 3 month old Honda Shadow 750 because his wife gave him a new Harley.

[GusBob]

40. Yes, yes and yes

It's a great gift in my opinion as it is the least expected.

ETA: it also is the most functional and longest lasting. Now that I think about all the gifts are still being used by the recepients, in one case 7 years ago

[pretzel4gore]

41. Platforms for oil/gas consumption.. ..

You (we) have been had. By 1960, 90% of autos would've been electric powered (using compressed air dynamo battaries) and many hundreds of billions/tonnes of carbon still in situ, where god put the oil. Technically, we would have ended poverty and built colonies in the moon etc by now, but ....
Otoh, who's complaining? We've had a good go, and the future can spend the hundred trillions $ s to clean up our shit (if they wanna) and the war on drugs etc is necessary to morals etc
Merry xmas

[SoCalNative]

44. I haven't

but my next door neighbors did one year.

[fescuerescue]

45. I have given a car as a gift

But not at Christmas.

The ads, btw are not really about giving cars as gifts. That's just the surface appearance and they make for cute commercials.

The ads are about keeping the car/product fresh in everyones minds, so that when they do go to buy a car, it's top of mind, has nice things associated with it and you'll consider it.

The manufacturers don't give a rip if its a gift. They just want to sell you a car, the next time you are in the market for a car. Hence the ads are directed at ALL car buyers.

[Hassin Bin Sober]

51. Yep. You saved me a whole bunch of typing.

I ran the business department of a large dealer group. This is the dead time of year. Especially closer to Christmas when the snow is pilling up on the windows the salespeople are staring out.

And hey, why not, maybe someone will get the bug up their ass and splurge on themselves.

[dembotoz]

46. used car yes and yes

sometimes a clunker gives its last clunk

and a family member steps up and helps out

much more needed gift than a sweater

[Codeine]

47. I got one as a gift once.

1/35 scale Corvette, complete with a tube of brain-melting model glue and some paints. Being 11 was great.

[zipplewrath]

49. Yes

It's more common for birthdays, but I've known people who "gave" cars to children on Christmas.

[Initech]

50. No and no.

Those ads are ridiculous though and they get more ridiculous every year. They're symbols of excess.

[MuseRider]

56. Nope and not likely to.

Actually, could not afford it and would never do that, it is way overboard for the holiday.

I find many if not most of the advertising these days, all during the year, are targeting people with more money than most of us.

There was one I saw last week. This is your brother-in-law, then it goes on to say many things about the guy but it ends by saying something like, "The only way you could like him more is if you made more money than he did." It was for E Trade I think and I get how that applies but that is just so very tacky but it probably reflects many of their targeted audience. Found it. https://www.ispot.tv/ad/wHqf/etrade-you-like-your-brother-in-law