Carmakers are desperate for your business! GM wants you in its dealerships so badly that over the next month the company will allow you to test drive a vehicle overnight and if you decide to buy from another dealership, you get $250. How crazy is that! The company believes that people will think the car is already theirs if they keep it overnight, and they’ll want to buy it. Apparently, it works. GM has done 700,000 of these 24-hour test drives and has sold 240,000 vehicles, according to the Detroit News. That is more than one in three people, which is great. Read more about it here. Auto incentives are getting bigger, with the average incentive about $3,000. Some of the American brands are giving away $4,000 in incentives. Asian brands don’t have to give us as many deals to convince us to buy. But there are so many brands on the market these days that automakers have to do something to set themselves apart. There are more than three dozen brands on the market today. So, how do you know which kind to buy? Approach buying a car like you would buying a stock or bond. Research what the dealer cost is and comparison shop online at carsdirect.com. Also check the car buying guide that Consumer Reports puts out every April.