[Greg Reid]

I found this especially interesting from the above link- Spamming before the advent of the internet.

How were these cars used?

One of my favorite ways that these little cars were used by dealerships in sales promotions went as follows. The dealership would load a junior car into the back of a pickup truck and take it down to the local school at recess time or after school let out. When the kids gathered around they were given coupons for one free test drive if they came down to the dealership with their parents that night. The kids would go home and put the pressure on Mom and Dad to let them drive that little car. To avoid the harassment and tears many parents would give in and go to the dealership with their kids. While they waited in line with the kids the parents were a captive audience for the dealership salesmen (like shooting fish in a barrel). They were told about the new features of the models on the showroom floor and given the opportunity to take a test drive of their own. When the kid was done with the test drive they were often told that the car they just drove would be given away and if they wanted to win it they needed to fill out the coupon and deposit it in the box. After everyone was gone the next day the salesmen would go through the coupons and get the names addresses and phone numbers of the parents and sometimes the year make and model of the car they currently owned. These contacts would be put to good use in sales calls. Any car salesman can tell you that the hardest part of selling a car is getting the customer in the showroom these little cars did that job.