Gm Sales Down 41% For November

[pm26]

Once again, GM screwed up. Instead of aggressively discounting thier new vehicles to move them, they resorted to athe Red Tag sale gimmick, which obviously backfired. In November, the prices of most GM new vehicles, excluding full size pickups, actually increased by about $ 1,500 over October prices, because the rebates have been slashed and replaced with the Red Tag gimmick. Do they really think that people are that stupid?

When gas prices were at $ 4/gallon three months ago, they were discounting their HHR cars by at least $ 3k. Now with gas at $ 1.75/gallon they are discounting them $ 1,500 at best. Somebody else sees something wrong here?

[Zembonez]

GM really didn't do wrong. People have just come to expect unreasonable discounts on everything. There HAS to be an end somewhere. I think part of the problem is the rebate "hangover" effect. People who are going to buy are enticed into buying early and once the rebates end, sales drop in volume. It happens every time rebates are used. People have become used to ridiculous discounts on vehicles and that has to stop if ANY manufacturer expects to survive this mess.

 

Car sales sucked for ALL makes last month according to Automotive News reports. With all of the gloom and doom being reported daily on the news and the stock market in the toilet, most rational people aren't thinking this is a great time to buy a new vehicle... and those are the people with good enough credit to actually buy a car.

 

Gone are the days when you could walk in and buy a vehicle (or a house) with little or no credit or verifiable employment. I say thank goodness. People need to be forced to hold up their end of the bargain if we want to ever get past all of this bail out bullshit.

[59ih340]

There are 2 problems 1)why for 100yrs.did no one need their A$$ heated? Then all of a sudden every vehicle has heated seats power this,adjustable that... until the cost is way more than a working guy can afford.2)Legacy costs(don't need to add more on that topic)

[Zembonez]

Why delete Pete?

 

I thought you were onto a pretty good topic of discussion.

 

EDIT: Aha. I see what happened.

[RyanbabZ71]

I have them beat. My 401K ROR is down 41.5% for the year. Its sad when I look at it and over 1/3rd of it is gone Can I get a bailout?

[Zembonez]

Can I get a bailout?

Why the hell not? Nobody else is playing by any sort of established rules! I have a wounded 401K as well. It is on life support right now.

[TN_Z71]

GM really didn't do wrong. People have just come to expect unreasonable discounts on everything. There HAS to be an end somewhere. I think part of the problem is the rebate "hangover" effect. People who are going to buy are enticed into buying early and once the rebates end, sales drop in volume. It happens every time rebates are used. People have become used to ridiculous discounts on vehicles and that has to stop if ANY manufacturer expects to survive this mess.

 

Car sales sucked for ALL makes last month according to Automotive News reports. With all of the gloom and doom being reported daily on the news and the stock market in the toilet, most rational people aren't thinking this is a great time to buy a new vehicle... and those are the people with good enough credit to actually buy a car.

 

Gone are the days when you could walk in and buy a vehicle (or a house) with little or no credit or verifiable employment. I say thank goodness. People need to be forced to hold up their end of the bargain if we want to ever get past all of this bail out bullshit.

 

+1000

[pm26]

GM really didn't do wrong. People have just come to expect unreasonable discounts on everything. There HAS to be an end somewhere. I think part of the problem is the rebate "hangover" effect. People who are going to buy are enticed into buying early and once the rebates end, sales drop in volume. It happens every time rebates are used. People have become used to ridiculous discounts on vehicles and that has to stop if ANY manufacturer expects to survive this mess.

 

Car sales sucked for ALL makes last month according to Automotive News reports. With all of the gloom and doom being reported daily on the news and the stock market in the toilet, most rational people aren't thinking this is a great time to buy a new vehicle... and those are the people with good enough credit to actually buy a car.

 

Gone are the days when you could walk in and buy a vehicle (or a house) with little or no credit or verifiable employment. I say thank goodness. People need to be forced to hold up their end of the bargain if we want to ever get past all of this bail out bullshit.

 

I do not completely agree with this. HHRs are built in Mexico. The manufacturing cost of this vehicle to GM is far lower than that of a comparable car here in the US. Not only has GM increased the prices on these HHRs by about $ 1000 for the base 2009 model, but they slashed the rebates to the point where these vehicles are no longer competitive.

 

Chrysler is offering its PT cruiser, which is a comparable car, for under $ 13k (after all incentives) for a basic car with A/C and manual transmission. GM wants about $ 16k (after all incentives) for a similar HHR. Both vehicles are built in Mexico and they are both designed by the same guy.

[BlackSilver]

OK, let me see if I got this right.

 

GM is losing money on every car they sell.

 

So they should lower the price, lose more money on every car they sell.

 

That way they'll make it up because of high volume.

[Zembonez]

I do not completely agree with this. HHRs are built in Mexico. The manufacturing cost of this vehicle to GM is far lower than that of a comparable car here in the US. Not only has GM increased the prices on these HHRs by about $ 1000 for the base 2009 model, but they slashed the rebates to the point where these vehicles are no longer competitive.

 

Chrysler is offering its PT cruiser, which is a comparable car, for under $ 12k (after all incentives) for a basic car with A/C and manual transmission. GM wants about $ 15k (after all incentives) for a similar HHR. Both vehicles are built in Mexico and they are both designed by the same guy.

I also don't completely disagree with you. You are right about these two vehicles Pete... and you may well be right about their rebates. There is however a point at which cost of manufacturing just doesn't allow for more discounts. Losing money on each vehicle doesn't keep the company afloat for that much longer than not selling them at all.

 

All I am saying is that we have created a "buyer" that is driven by the offer of bigger and bigger discounts and this is not sustainable (in any business). It's not just cars either... every retailer now trumpets the latest "discount" they are offering. Most of us aren't smart enough to realize that product prices are just inflated so that they can then offer a discount... and still make their money. We have become a mass of uneducated "on sale only" buyers.

 

A lot of this crap has to stop somewhere. I say price your items where you need to be to make money and let the buyers decide which one is the best buy for them.

[Zembonez]

OK, let me see if I got this right.

 

GM is losing money on every car they sell.

 

So they should lower the price, lose more money on every car they sell.

 

That way they'll make it up because of high volume.

 

You'd make a fine candidate for GM CEO. That's their business plan in a nutshell.

[SLESierra]

Hey I agree the rebates have to stop somewhere - Dang Chrysler for starting this gimmick to begin with in the late 80s. These should of died in the 80s all it does is kill your trade and pump up what you need to borrow.

[redvett]

When people don't have JOBS they cant buy vehicles. This isn't just a GM problem Ford,Chrysler,Toyota & Honda all posted 30% & up sales losses.

This country has 9% & up unemployment along with banks not loaning money for car & house loans.

Just wait until next summer when unemployment is at 12-13%. Times are tough haven't you heard.

[Bowtie2Sierra]

GM really didn't do wrong. People have just come to expect unreasonable discounts on everything. There HAS to be an end somewhere. I think part of the problem is the rebate "hangover" effect. People who are going to buy are enticed into buying early and once the rebates end, sales drop in volume. It happens every time rebates are used. People have become used to ridiculous discounts on vehicles and that has to stop if ANY manufacturer expects to survive this mess.

 

Car sales sucked for ALL makes last month according to Automotive News reports. With all of the gloom and doom being reported daily on the news and the stock market in the toilet, most rational people aren't thinking this is a great time to buy a new vehicle... and those are the people with good enough credit to actually buy a car.

 

Gone are the days when you could walk in and buy a vehicle (or a house) with little or no credit or verifiable employment. I say thank goodness. People need to be forced to hold up their end of the bargain if we want to ever get past all of this bail out bullshit.

 

+1 Very well said.

 

Any educated buyer can walk in and get several thousand off sticker for a new truck on any given day. While the discounts are higher in the short term, discounts have been common for many years. Therefore, these trucks are only worth what the market is willing to pay. The MSRP on my truck was around $39.5k but that isn't the worth of my truck and really never was. I bought it for about $29.5K and that is a very common deal right now. Many people's first impression is that I got a hell of a deal since I got close to $10k off sticker. That's not how I look at it...I think I paid market value for the truck making it a fair price but not a great deal by any means. These aren't $40k trucks, they are $30k trucks with inflated sticker prices. It's all relative.

 

GM is playing the rebate game like any other auto manufacturer right now. They didn't create this market by themselves.

[dietz4ibanez]

When will it ever end???