Dec 12, 2008 7:36 pm US/Eastern
Local CEO: Buy American And You Shall Be Rewarded!
Mount Vernon Businessman Offers Employees Serious Cash Incentives To Buy U.S.-Made Cars And Trucks
$500 To Buy Or Lease 'Big 3' Car; $1,000 If It Gets 30 MPG
By CAROLYN COSTELLO, CBS 2 HD News
MOUNT VERNON, N.Y. (CBS) ―
A Mount Vernon business owner is starting a grassroots effort to help the sagging auto industry. He's offering all of his employees "a cash incentive" if they go out and buy or lease an American-made car.
He's hoping other business owners will follow suit.
Larry Roman believes in an expression he often heard growing up: "As goes GM so goes the country."
"I believe that if General Motors goes into bankruptcy, I think our country is gonna go into bankruptcy," Roman said.
As the CEO of WDF Inc., a successful construction company in Mt. Vernon with 750 union employees, Roman wants to help the country's auto industry, its millions of workers and the American economy survive.
"I'm not gonna say this is gonna work, but if I don't try who else is gonna try?" Roman said.
Roman is offering any of his employees $500 if they buy or lease a new "Big 3" car in the next three months. He'll give them $1,000 if that American-made car gets more than 30 miles to the gallon.
So far, one employee has taken the offer.
"I thought it was a wonderful thing and since I'm in the market anyway to buy a car I thought it was a no brainer," WDF employee Peter Badini said.
And many local dealers of American-made cars, who've heard about WDF's incentive program, have already contacted the company, jumping on any chance to sell a car in this troubled economy.
"All of the dealers that are hanging in there now ... we're all fighting for our lives ... I think you'd find any dealer would work as hard as they can to make something like this work," said Dwight McGurk, president of Smith-Cairns Ford in Yonkers.
McGurk hopes any business generated by WDF's incentive offer will come his way, but he'll have to fight for it. Another dealer on Long Island has already sent an email to the company, offering the best deals in town.
Meanwhile, Roman hopes other business owners will follow his lead so there is more business to go around.
WDF says several additional employees have expressed interest in the incentive program.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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