Wilfred Griffin could not believe his luck.

Ready to trade in his aging 1994 Dodge Spirit for a slightly newer but still used car, he wandered into a Moncton, N.B., Saturn dealer and walked out with a 2005 Ion. For free.

"To win a car is unbelievable," says Griffin, 66, a retired truck driver for Canadian National Railway who had never owned a new car before taking delivery of his Ion four-door coupe in early December.

Griffin is one of 150 Canadians who will score a new ride thanks to the latest and perhaps splashiest -- though definitely not the last -- sales promotion from the auto industry.

In Griffin's case, he pressed the GM Hot Button inside one of the shiny cars in the Saturn showroom. Three minutes later, bingo: new car, GST and PST included.

General Motors of Canada marketing vice-president Marc Comeau says the Hot Button promotion is "the largest-ever GM year-end event" and "the largest vehicle giveaway in Canadian history."

Not only is GM Canada handing out free cars, but people can win up to $10,000 toward the purchase of most new 2005 and 2004 GM vehicles. Anyone who punches the button gets at least $500 off a new GM vehicle.

Paul Timoteo, president of Armada Data Corp. which runs an on-line pricing and dealer referral service that for less than $40 also sells dealer invoice prices to consumers, says there has been no slowdown in the kinds of manufacturer and dealer giveaways new-car shopper can find.

"The zero per cent [financing] is no big deal, not when you can borrow money for 2.0 or 2.5 per cent," he says. "What most manufacturers are doing is offering all these other big cash incentives."

Or, as in Griffin's case, the whole car itself. For nothing.

Timoteo's website, http://www.carcostcanada.com, provides consumers with access to dealer invoice pricing on up to five vehicles for $39.95 and gives referrals to dealers who agree to provide the best possible price. He argues that one factor enabling manufacturers not just to hold the lid on pricing but also offer deep discounts is the rise in the Canadian dollar.

Most car companies selling vehicles in Canada are either based in the United States or use the U.S. dollar as their benchmark currency for business planning. With the dollar now trading in the low 80-cent (U.S.) range compared to the 63-to-65 cents of the previous few years, many auto distributors in Canada find themselves enjoying substantial savings based on favourable exchange rates.

That is, when they purchase their vehicles wholesale with the stronger Canadian dollar, they are benefiting to the tune of thousands of dollars per unit because the U.S. dollar in which their pricing is set is so weak.

"The cars are costing [distributors] 20 to 25 per cent less than a year ago with the exchange rate," Timoteo says. "Even with no price increases, they are getting 20 per cent more now, or $6,000 on the average $30,000 car. That's a ton of dough.

"Are they offering incentives $6,000 higher than they did last year? No. Are they just going to lower MSRPs [manufacturer suggested retail prices] across the board? Not a chance. So, is there room for incentives to grow even higher? Yes."

To be fair, Timoteo also notes that when the Canadian dollar was in the doldrums, the car manufacturers did not raise their prices by 20 to 25 per cent. "They can't run prices up and down on currency changes."

On the other hand, the stronger Canadian dollar does give the manufacturers, and consequently their dealers, more pricing flexibility to entice shoppers into showrooms and strike a bargain. And there are a whole host of other factors driving up incentives. If you want a new car, this is a very good time to give yourself a Christmas present.

Dennis DesRosiers of DesRosiers Automotive Consultants points out that at the end of each year, many manufacturers stomp on the gas of major marketing efforts designed to get their year-end sales numbers up.

Dealers, he says, are often offered huge factory incentives or "spiffs" to move certain models. If the dealer achieves a certain sales target, there are extra factory incentives handed out.

Dealers, of course, factor this handout into their local sales efforts. Consumers who shop wisely can profit.

There is no question smart car shoppers are in the driver's seat this time of year. A brutally competitive new vehicle market, both in Canada and the United States, is pushing manufacturers and their dealers to extraordinary lengths.

Indeed, auto industry sales in Canada were down 4.3 per cent through November, on a year-over-year bases. Of the largest auto makers, Ford in particular is anxious to stop a nasty slide in market share.

Through November, Ford of Canada saw its share of the Canadian market collapse to 13.9 per cent, from 15.2 per cent a year ago. Meanwhile, Volkswagen has seen its share drop 0.4 per cent, and Honda 0.5 per cent and Hyundai 0.3 per cent.

Those auto makers and most others are anxious about clearing out whatever remaining 2004 models are left on their dealers' lots, as well as pushing slow-moving 2005s. And the luxury brands are not immune to offering these clear-out deals.

If you plan on car shopping, DesRosiers has several cautions. First, be aware that in Canada the average transaction price for a new vehicle is 21 to 23 per cent higher than the average MSRP. "That is quite a sticker shock for most consumers," he says.

The car offered in an advertisement for say, $25,000, he says, may look completely affordable until a host of additional items drives up the final price to more than $30,000.

"They [consumers] can afford the vehicle; they can't afford the taxes they have to pay to get the vehicle," he says. "GST, PST, tire tax, air conditioner tax, energy efficiency tax in some provinces, luxury tax in some provinces, licensing fees, taxes on taxes. . . . Add insurance premiums which jumped over 25 per cent on their own last year and you can get a better understanding why the Canadian market is down."

Timoteo, whose website is loaded with buyer advice, suggests shoppers must have the most up-to-date and authoritative pricing information possible.

"Anybody who walks into a dealer without their information is in trouble," he says, conceding that his company has been profiting from providing this very type of data to consumers for more than a decade.