Wednesday is half-price day at the Twin Cities Auto Show

In a recent article about deals at the Twin Cities Auto Show, I omitted the best discount on admission. On Wednesday, March 13 only, ticket prices fall to $5, regularly $10. No other discounts can be applied, such as the extra $2 off for bringing non-perishable food or the coupon printed from the auto show website.

Attendees can even take away $100 from the show if they sign up for a test drive with the Ford/Lincoln and Chevy sales people at the show. Ask one of Ford's or Chevy's reps about the test drive offer and he or she will direct you to the person with a tablet who will take down your name, address, phone, email address and the estimated time you plan to buy. Don't worry if you aren't planning to buy for more than a year--it doesn't invalidate the offer. The Chevy rep will then hand you a card with an authorization code.

Once you sign up, you will receive a confirmation in an email. Chevy's email indicates which dealership you can go to for the test drive, but the auto show reps say that you can go to any authorized dealer you want. Be sure to take the card with the authorization code to your test drive.

Ford doesn't provide a code number at the auto show, but within a couple of days it sends an email containing an e-certificate number. Print the email to take with you to the test drive. After the test drive, the dealer will fill in a few blanks and then hand it back to the consumer to complete the information online.

The reward is a $50 MasterCard gift card from Ford that in supposed to arrive within 4-8 weeks. Chevrolet offers a $50 gift card from Target, Amazon, Lowe's, Best Buy or Dick's Sporting Goods. The recipient chooses the retailer at the show. Chevy said its cards take 2-4 weeks for processing.

A colleague said the whole process to make $50 or $100 reminded him of the freebies for enduring a time share presentation. If you have no interest in any vehicles from Ford or Chevy, that may be true. Otherwise, it's fairly easy profit.