- Jan 7, 2002
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General Motors Corp., hoping to clear dealer lots of growing numbers of unsold models, is trying yet another tactic to drum up sales.
GM will announce Wednesday that it will offer all buyers the same discount that employees get, giving consumers nationwide thousands of dollars off the price of every 2005 car or truck except the Chevrolet Corvette, a person familiar with the plan said Friday. The employee discount varies by model.
The new program, to be unveiled publicly the same day that GM is expected to report another weak month of U.S. auto sales, could help trim high inventories of cars and trucks. That particularly means full-size pickups and sport utility vehicles, sales of which have suffered due to record high gasoline prices, dealers said.
Weakening sales for GM's aging truck lineup, including its most profitable models, were a major reason why GM posted a $1.1 billion loss in the first quarter, its worst result since 1992.
Dealers contacted by the Free Press said they would welcome the program.
"If that's what they're doing, I think that's great," Lynn Thompson, co-owner of Thompson Pontiac-GMC-Cadillac-Saab in Springfield, Mo., told the Free Press in a telephone interview. "I'm not selling as many as I need to," he said about GM's large SUVs.
A GM official declined to comment.
With gasoline prices hovering at around $2 a gallon and GM's truck lineup several years older than competitors' models, many of GM's most profitable vehicles sit unsold at dealerships. Dealers have enough supply of the Cadillac Escalade SUV, once one of its hottest models, to last 139 days at the current selling rate, according to Ward's Automotive Reports. GM's preferred rate would be about a 70 to 80 day supply.
The days' supply is even higher for some other models, such as the Pontiac Montana SV6 minivan, the Chevrolet Avalanche pickup truck and the GMC Yukon XL SUV.
"GM still has to clear excess inventories, particularly of their trucks. The new incentives suggest that sales were soft in May," said David Healy, an automotive analyst with Burnham Securities, which manages mutual funds and large individual investors.
One reason GM may be anxious to move out the older trucks is to make room for a new generation of large pickups and SUVs, code-named GMT-900, expected to hit dealerships early next year.
http://www.freep.com/money/autonews/gm28e_20050528.htm
GM will announce Wednesday that it will offer all buyers the same discount that employees get, giving consumers nationwide thousands of dollars off the price of every 2005 car or truck except the Chevrolet Corvette, a person familiar with the plan said Friday. The employee discount varies by model.
The new program, to be unveiled publicly the same day that GM is expected to report another weak month of U.S. auto sales, could help trim high inventories of cars and trucks. That particularly means full-size pickups and sport utility vehicles, sales of which have suffered due to record high gasoline prices, dealers said.
Weakening sales for GM's aging truck lineup, including its most profitable models, were a major reason why GM posted a $1.1 billion loss in the first quarter, its worst result since 1992.
Dealers contacted by the Free Press said they would welcome the program.
"If that's what they're doing, I think that's great," Lynn Thompson, co-owner of Thompson Pontiac-GMC-Cadillac-Saab in Springfield, Mo., told the Free Press in a telephone interview. "I'm not selling as many as I need to," he said about GM's large SUVs.
A GM official declined to comment.
With gasoline prices hovering at around $2 a gallon and GM's truck lineup several years older than competitors' models, many of GM's most profitable vehicles sit unsold at dealerships. Dealers have enough supply of the Cadillac Escalade SUV, once one of its hottest models, to last 139 days at the current selling rate, according to Ward's Automotive Reports. GM's preferred rate would be about a 70 to 80 day supply.
The days' supply is even higher for some other models, such as the Pontiac Montana SV6 minivan, the Chevrolet Avalanche pickup truck and the GMC Yukon XL SUV.
"GM still has to clear excess inventories, particularly of their trucks. The new incentives suggest that sales were soft in May," said David Healy, an automotive analyst with Burnham Securities, which manages mutual funds and large individual investors.
One reason GM may be anxious to move out the older trucks is to make room for a new generation of large pickups and SUVs, code-named GMT-900, expected to hit dealerships early next year.
http://www.freep.com/money/autonews/gm28e_20050528.htm
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