Autos: Payoff

• Share

American Motors' scheme to reward its customers when sales are good seemed to be paying off last week. During the first part of December, in a slipping auto market, sales were only 1.7% above the 1959 rate. After President George Romney announced at midmonth that a $25 U.S. Savings Bond would go to car buyers during a four-month period for every 10% increase in sales over the preceding year, sales shot up, finished 15.9% over December 1959. Last week American Motors began sending out $25 bonds to 34,971 car buyers. Among the recipients: General Motors Corp., which had purchased one Rambler, presumably for testing purposes. To G.M. also went something else from Romney—an apology. When he announced his rebate offer, he criticized G.M. and Ford for expanding overseas, thereby cutting jobs in the U.S. G.M. angrily told Romney he was all wrong, that U.S. jobs had not suffered. Last week Romney ungrudgingly conceded that he had indeed made a "seriously inaccurate assertion."