WHOEVER SAID LOYALTY

can't be bought didn't work in the auto industry.

Faced with increasing competition in a shrinking market, auto makers are now offering so-called loyalty and conquest discounts. These deals are designed to reward car owners for either sticking with a particular brand or defecting from a competitor's (hence the word "conquest").

"With the tightening of the credit market, people just don't have the discretionary income to buy a new car," says Jonathan Linkov, managing editor for Consumer Reports' automotive division. "Incentives are auto makers' best shot at staying at a plateau."

As a result, loyalty and conquest deals are more plentiful and more rewarding than in years past. In late 2007, for example, General Motors offered $1,000 in loyalty cash to current Saab owners (Saab is a GM brand) who purchased a 2008 model. Now the amount being offered to faithful Saab owners is twice that. Sweetening the pot even further, these incentives can usually be combined with other rewards such as dealer incentives, says Laurie Harbour-Felax, a managing director for Stout Risius Ross, an auto market researcher.

To best take advantage of these deals, keep an eye on announcements and launches for new models, advises Tom Libby, senior director of industry analysis for J.D. Power and Associates' Power Information Network, the division that analyzes automotive sales data. That's when conquest and loyalty incentives are prone to spring up. Let's say, hypothetically, that Ford is preparing to launch a new four-door truck. GM might make a play for customers it perceives as likely to buy, sending a direct mailing for conquest cash on its own truck models instead. Ford would then retaliate with a loyalty incentive.

Since conquest deals are usually launched as a sneak attack against a particular competitor, they only stay in play for a matter of weeks and are almost always specific to a particular model, says Libby. Loyalty cash, on the other hand, usually includes various brand models, and stays on the incentives lists for months at a time. Volvo, for example, extends loyalty cash whether your current vehicle is one of its recent lines or a 1974 "classic." Offers also tend to be more flexible, allowing anyone in the household to get the cash, even if they don't directly own the vehicle that qualifies for the loyalty deal.

Loyalty and conquest discounts are more commonly found for domestic models, says Linkov. "[U.S. auto makers] are really feeling the pinch," he points out. The weakening U.S. economy that has led U.S. manufacturers to shut down plants and lay off workers has provided foreign auto makers with a competitive edge. In what came close to being a landmark upheaval for the industry last year, Toyota was 3,500 cars shy of outselling GM, nearly toppling the U.S. auto maker's 76-year reign as king of sales world-wide.

To find most conquest and loyalty offers, use auto pricing web sites like Kelley Blue Book, Edmunds.com and Consumer Reports, all of which search for current incentives by zip code. Other offers are mailed directly to relevant customers and may not be advertised to the general public. To make sure you don't miss one of the more covert deals, always ask dealers if there are current incentives to reward your brand loyalty (or lack thereof).

Here are some of the current offers:

Conquest Cash

Loyalty Cash