To convince the skeptics, top executives personally offered greater sales and service support and even more generous discounts.
General admission to the annex is $26.50, compared with $22 at the main museum in Cleveland, which also offers more generous discounts for children and those over 65 than the annex does.
George Pipas, chief sales analyst at Ford, said he also expected incentives to climb in November and December, and signaled that Ford's F-150 pickup could be in store for more generous discounts.
The company announced on Wednesday that it was increasing its rebates and eliminating most low-rate auto loans as part of a new sales-incentive campaign intended to match the more generous discounts offered by its main rivals, G.M. and Ford.
To be sure, Jaguar, which is owned by Ford, just introduced a new version of the XJ for the 2004 model year, and it is customary for car companies to offer more generous discounts on retired versions to clear them off showroom lots.
Though the Mercedes-Benz operations are generally thriving, the Chrysler business has been hammered by competition in the United States, and the company has only been able to maintain sales growth by giving customers ever-more generous discounts and thereby sacrificing profitability.
Pfizer, the world's biggest drugmaker and producer of such favorites as Viagra and Zoloft, said it will offer a card allowing low-income Medicare patients to pay only $15 for each prescription filled with the drugmaker's medicines, a plan more generous than discount cards from other drug firms.
But other analysts say that a more generous monetary policy and a lower discount rate are justified by weakness in the economy.
The discounts are even more generous at the Staten Island crossings, where commuters have the fewest mass transit alternatives.
"The Young Person's Bus Pass will ensure that young people looking to access education or training can do so in an affordable way, and I hope that bus companies will top up that discount to something even more generous".
Advertised prices for rooms start at $100 or more, but you may find they offer a generous discount.
