Never mind the TV commercials, do people really give cars as gifts?

It used to be that annual replays of the Rankin-Bass Christmas specials on TV heralded the return of the holiday season. In recent years, though, the clearest indication on the tube that Christmastime's approaching is when you start seeing those ubiquitous Lexus commercials. You know the ones: They usually feature a happy couple, one of whom has (somehow) surreptitiously acquired and smuggled a new car or SUV into the driveway as The Big Gift, replete with giant bow. In our house, this usually prompts editorial commentary like, "Come on. Who does that?" As it happens, there are probably a lot more cars given as gifts than you might have thought.

Thousands of cars given as gifts annually

Curious as to whether these TV commercials are in any way reflective of real life, we reached out to the National Automobile Dealers Association. Turns out, they don't keep stats on this kind of thing -- but they kindly directed us to the prople at CNW Marketing Research, who keep tabs on exactly this kind of stuff. The numbers are surprising.

Based on intender surveys it conducted in November, CNW estimates that this holiday season, 14,994 new car purchases will be vehicles that will be given as gifts.  (That's out of an estimated 980,000 new car sales overall during the holiday season.) It doesn't end with just new cars. Out of an estimated 2,950,000 used vehicle sales during the 2010 holiday season, CNW projects that 41,890 of them will also be someone's big present. Combined, CNW predicts that 56,884 new and used vehicles will be given as gifts over the holidays this year -- a 1.45% share of the projected total holiday-season car sales.

That's an increase over the 52,727 total cars given as gifts over the holidays last year (which was a precipitous drop-off from the 2008 total of 72,462). As surprising as these numbers are, they're actually quite low when compared against earlier years, when car sales were better in general. As recently as 2006, generous car buyers presented 111,035 cars as gifts. The high-water mark for automotive gift giving dating back to 1996 came in 2005, when 138,269 cars got the Big Bow treatment.

Suddenly, those ads seem a little less ridiculous. (Okay, the new one that has Kias driving out of giant Christmas stockings is still pretty loony.)

Speaking of those big bows...

Some car dealers actually keep them on hand, as USA Today's Sharon Silke Carty notes in a recent article she wrote about people who give cars as gifts. (It's an interesting piece -- definitely worth a read.) There's no shortage of places where you can purchase car-sized bows online, either. You can buy from the same places dealerships do. For instance, the aptly-named CarBowStore.com is run by a marketing firm that specializes in auto dealer supplies. On its website, you can oder magnetic bows in different styles and sizes. Prices vary (there's a discount if you buy in bulk), but figure on paying $25 to $40 for a bow, plus shipping. Some other vendors have more expensive bows, but it's hard to tell if they're substantially better than the lower-priced ones you'll come across. As with any other product, your best bet is to shop around, a Google search will bombard you with sites offering car-sized bows.

Research the implications of giving a car as a gift

One final consideration if you're planning to give a car as a gift -- whether you're buying one to present to someone or simply giving away an existing vehicle -- is your state's regulations pertaining to giving autos as gifts. Since rules may vary from state to state, checking with your local DMV for instructions on how to correctly handle the transfer is a must, and you'll also want to acquaint yourself with the tax laws pertaining to gifts like this, as there may be implications on that end for the gift-giver, recipient, or both. Preparedness can help prevent a nice gesture from becoming an unexpected and unwanted headache for all parties involved.