Chevy Sales Down In January: GM Proudly Boasts "Increase"

[Gorehamj]

John Goreham
Contributing Writer, GM-Trucks.com
2/2/2016

Chevy's sales in January 2016 were down 3.6% compared to January 2015. Yet, GM's sales communications headline is "Chevrolet Continues as the Industry’s Fastest Growing Brand, Leading GM Retail Sales Increase." Apparently sales news can never be bad at GM. GM's overall sales for the month were up 0.5%.

 

We reached out to GM for clarification. GM's spokesperson pointed out that although sales overall were down, retail sales were up. GM's daily sales rate was also higher. That counts up the days of sales in a given month and then compares that to the prior year's sales days. 2015 had two more sales days. Still, boasting about declining overall sales is hard to report with a straight face.

 

The bright spots for GM in January were:

- Malibu was up 24% to 14,746 units. (About one-third the sales rate of segment leaders)

- Cadillac's SRX was up 37% to 4,778 (Segment leader sells at double that rate)

- Silverado was up 5% to an impressive 37,863

- Buick was up 45% and is now almost twice as large as Cadillac

 

The bad news included:

-Cadillac's ATS and CTS sales continue to drop like a rock to about 1,000 units each, both down a whopping 40%

-Every Cadillac model was down except SRX

- Buick was up 45% and is now almost twice as large as Cadillac (Yes, repeated on purpose)

[Frugal1]

Sales are down because the consumer has been shakin down by the auto industry.

 

Record profits are not good when it leads to a bankrupted consumer followed by record losses.

 

New vehicles, trucks especially, are completely overpriced and if it weren't for 6,7,8,10 year payment plans, and subprime lending, the sales wouldn't of been made to begin with.

 

The real question is, in what fairy tale world does GM see this not leading to a catastrophic ending?

 

What happens when these vehicles fail and the owners still owe several thousands of dollars on them?

 

Obviously noone at any of the automakers is planning for sustainability in the US market.

 

In case GM hasn't been paying attention, wages are down, debt is up, and the majority of the country cannot come up with $1,000 in 30 days.

 

Maybe it's just me, but I will not spend as much on a new vehicle as it would cost to build a garage, stock it with tools, and buy a used vehicle for.

 

You people are nuts, and that's why this country is going to hell in a hand basket, going from one financial crisis to the next.

 

The GM workers will feast today, but rest assured, with its flawed business model, will suffer a famine tomorrow.