The City of Palmdale has brought back a stimulus program that rewards buyers of new cars and motorcycles with gift cards. A similar program in 2009 resulted in $18 million in sales at the Palmdale Auto Mall and was a needed economic boost, city officials said. The city has allocated $200,000 for the gift cards, money that comes out of the community redevelopment agency fund. The gift cards can only be used at the Antelope Valley Mall. “We continually look for ways to support our businesses in the City of Palmdale,” said City Manager Steve Williams. “Because it is so important for residents to ‘Shop Palmdale,’ we realized that now was the right time to bring back a highly successful program.” To participate in the program, the buyer of a new vehicle or motorcycle needs to bring a copy of the sales agreement to the city’s economic development department. A new auto purchase brings a $300 gift card and a motorcycle purchase brings a $100 gift card for the mall. The program won a Silver Award in the Sales Promotion and Events category for shopping centers that are between 750,000 and 999,000 square feet in size category at the 2010 United States Shopping Center MAXI awards held earlier this year. Mark R. Madler