Grist: Desperate sprawl developer gives away cars with houses

[marmar]

Desperate sprawl developer gives away cars with houses

by Sarah Goodyear
26 Apr 2011 10:12 AM


My head nearly exploded at the breakfast table on Saturday morning.

I was reading a piece in The New York Times about an Illinois developer who has finally found a way to unload the new houses he has built some 50 miles from downtown Chicago, in a place he has seen fit to dub a "Village of Yesteryear."

When drastic price cuts weren't enough to entice buyers, he decided to throw in $17,000 cash toward the purchase of a car with every house. (That money can only be spent at the local General Motors dealer, of course -- because, let's go U.S.A.!)

So this is what it has come to. Developers are now giving away vehicles to entice people to live in distant suburbs with life-draining commutes just when gas is hitting $5 a gallon. And a few consumers are biting -- one is quoted as saying, "My money was in the bank, collecting very little interest, so I thought I might as well take a little gamble." .............(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.grist.org/sprawl/2011-04-26-desperate-sprawl-developer-gives-away-cars-with-houses