GTO removed from Employee Discounts for Everyone! dumb move on a pricey bland vehicle!

[Analog]

Ford, Chrysler follow GM's discount lead

Automakers offer employee pricing incentives

July 6, 2005

BY JAMIE BUTTERS
FREE PRESS BUSINESS WRITER

The success of General Motors Corp's. popular employee-pricing program, which boosted sales by 47% in June, is forcing rivals Ford Motor Co. and the Chrysler Group to match that offer.


Ford did so Tuesday and Chrysler plans to officially do it today. GM said Tuesday it was extending its program, which allows consumers to buy most 2005 vehicles at the same low price employees pay, until Aug. 1.

Newly excluded, however, is the sporty Pontiac GTO.

http://www.freep.com/money/autonews/deal-art6e_20050706.htm

 

[LtPage1]

Z06?

 

[SouthPaW1227]

The fact that people are paying above invoice at all on a GM vehicle is laughable.

A smart consumer won't pay over invoice, and CERTAINLY won't pay what employees pay. This is the best marketing I've seen in years.

 

[NFS4]

Originally posted by: SouthPaW1227
The fact that people are paying above invoice at all on a GM vehicle is laughable.

A smart consumer won't pay over invoice, and CERTAINLY won't pay what employees pay. This is the best marketing I've seen in years.

Good marketing, good to boosting sales...but does nothing to improve profits for a company that has been suffering for years.

 

Originally posted by: NFS4

Originally posted by: SouthPaW1227
The fact that people are paying above invoice at all on a GM vehicle is laughable.

A smart consumer won't pay over invoice, and CERTAINLY won't pay what employees pay. This is the best marketing I've seen in years.

Good marketing, good to boosting sales...but does nothing to improve profits for a company that has been suffering for years.

At this point, I think GM should only be concerned with reducing its bloated inventory, not on making a profit.

 

[Analog]

Originally posted by: NFS4

Originally posted by: SouthPaW1227
The fact that people are paying above invoice at all on a GM vehicle is laughable.

A smart consumer won't pay over invoice, and CERTAINLY won't pay what employees pay. This is the best marketing I've seen in years.

Good marketing, good to boosting sales...but does nothing to improve profits for a company that has been suffering for years.

No kidding, this is going to kill re-sale values. Also, when everyone that buys a GM car that wanted one, what will happen to future sales???

 

[PricklyPete]

I'm not a huge GM fan, but I did like the one GM truck I had (Yukon) and would not shy away from buying one if it was what I was looking for (when I bought my Tacoma...the Chevy Colorado/GMC Canyon were way under par in my opinion).

Anyway, I hope GM is able to pull out of this so that they can focus on making better cars (which I think they have started too...Pontiac Solstice/Sky Equinox, GTO, Corvette, G6, etc.)

 

[SouthPaW1227]

^^ VERY good point. Re-sale goes down, and this market will quickly dry up. If everyone buys an 05, 06 sales should struggle in return.

However they hafta move their bloated inventory somehow. It's a great short-term solution, but I don't think it'll help in the long-term.

I'm just gonna stick w/ my guns and buy outside of the major companies. Land Rover/BMW/M-B for me

 

[MasterAndCommander]

Don't worry about the GTO...you'll be able to pick it up under the employee price in a few months .
I've heard quite a few people were able to get new '04's in the 25k range last year

 

[vegetation]

It's not going to help GM at all. Investors see through these sales as a sign of weakness. It's no strategy at all, long or short term.

 

[SouthPaW1227]

Sales always helps. It'll move inventory if nothing else.

 

[vi edit]

Originally posted by: MasterAndCommander
Don't worry about the GTO...you'll be able to pick it up under the employee price in a few months .
I've heard quite a few people were able to get new '04's in the 25k range last year

That's because GM were a bunch of knuckleheads about how they went about announcing the new LS2 that was going to be in the '05's.

Would you buy a car knowing a full year+ in advance that the same exact car was going to be available for the same price with a much more powerful engine and revised styling?

A lot of people waited for the refresh to come out.

 

[mi xiao]

Originally posted by: SouthPaW1227
The fact that people are paying above invoice at all on a GM vehicle is laughable.

A smart consumer won't pay over invoice, and CERTAINLY won't pay what employees pay. This is the best marketing I've seen in years.

...you forgot to add a smart consumer won't buy a GM

 

[MasterAndCommander]

Originally posted by: vi_edit

Originally posted by: MasterAndCommander
Don't worry about the GTO...you'll be able to pick it up under the employee price in a few months .
I've heard quite a few people were able to get new '04's in the 25k range last year

That's because GM were a bunch of knuckleheads about how they went about announcing the new LS2 that was going to be in the '05's.

Would you buy a car knowing a full year+ in advance that the same exact car was going to be available for the same price with a much more powerful engine and revised styling?

A lot of people waited for the refresh to come out.

True, and the '05's GTO's are selling a bit better than the '04's, but from my understanding they are not flying out the door like the '05 Mustangs are - I think there may be some good deals on them at the end of the year. My local Pontiac dealer still has 6...even when the GM Employee pricing applied to them