German car dealer turns to Groupon to sell Ford Fiestas

Groupons (discount coupons for group purchases) are typically reserved for Swedish massages and half-off sushi dinners, but one German car dealer is using the discount site to help sell Ford Fiestas.

AK Autoport Koeln GmbH, a dealer in Cologne, recently offered a Groupon voucher for 99 euros ($130) that entitled the buyer to 5,450 euros ($7,175) off the price of a Ford Fiesta. For those keeping track, that's more than 33% off the price of a top-spec Fiesta Titanium.

The reason for this is a 13 percent decline in Germany's car sales during the first three months of 2013, compared to a modest 2 percent drop for the entire 2012 calendar year.