SANTA MONICA, Calif. -

As OEMs gear up for summer clearance events, trying to get all the 2012 models off dealer lots, new ads and incentive programs are debuting each week. And just this past week, Chrysler debuted a new ad for its Dodge Dart, while General Motors launched a new “Chevy Confidence” incentive program. Just how did these resonate with car shoppers?

Edmunds.com said that according to its site traffic, they found two “very different stories.”

First up, consideration on Edmunds.com for the Dodge Dart spike a significant 84 percent, week-over-week. This climb followed the Dodge Dart debut ad during last week’s MLB All-Star Game, the site reported.

The theme of the  first TV spot for Chrysler’s new Dodge Dart: game-changing.

“The ad opens with the words ‘how to change cars forever’ and shows the marathon time and effort — sketching, clay modeling, testing, tweaking at the racetrack — spent on reinventing the car,” Michelle Krebs, senior analyst at Edmunds.com, wrote when the premise for the ad was revealed  in early July.

The Dart is the first “offspring of the Fiat-Chrysler marriage,” the site also stressed.

Analysis ‘Chevy Confidence’ Program

On the other hand, after the launch of its new incentives program, consideration for Chevrolet vehicles on Edmunds.com actually fell to its lowest level of the year (8.5 percent of all brand visits to Edmunds.com, compared to 8.7 percent the previous week and a high of 10.1 percent the week of Feb. 5.)

“In just one week after their big marketing plays, it looks like Dodge and Chevrolet are heading in opposite directions,” says Edmunds.com senior analyst Jessica Caldwell.

“July’s sales results will tell the full story, but for now it’s particularly surprising that the incentive push has not sparked more interest in Chevy on our site. Dodge, meanwhile, appears to be the latest big hit in a string of successful advertising plays by Chrysler, dating back to the debut of its Eminem ad two Super Bowls ago,” she continued.

And when the program debuted last week, Auto Remarketing reported, GM made what it’s calling a “bold new guarantee” for the Chevrolet lineup, telling buyers “if you don’t love it, return it.”

Participating U.S. franchised dealers will offer the Chevy Confidence program, which includes:

—Love It or Return It: This vehicle return program covers every new 2012 or 2013 model-year vehicle purchase. Customers can return vehicles bought during the program with less than 4,000 miles driven and no damage, 30 to 60 days from the purchase date.

“It’s simple — if you don’t love it, return it,” OEM officials reiterated.

—Total Confidence Pricing: All 2012 model-year Chevrolets will be offered at special preferred prices in addition to all current vehicle-specific incentives.

At the time of the release, Jesse Toprak, vice president of market intelligence for TrueCar.com, expressed his enthusiasm for the program, noting, “The buyback program is an indication of how confident Chevrolet is in its new product lineup. It is a way to get people into showrooms and experience firsthand the significant investments the dealer body has made in the recent years.

"It is a smart and cost effective program that will work towards diminishing the perception gap of the Chevrolet brand particularly in coastal metropolitan areas where consumers have a stronger preference towards the import brands," he continued.

But it remains to be seen if the incentives program will increase shopper interest.