According to Bloomberg …
Losing ground to Toyota and needing to clear out end-of-model-year vehicles, GM will offer no-haggle pricing on 2012 Chevrolet cars and trucks plus a money-back guarantee on all new Chevys .
The new promotions, which GM calls its Chevy Confidence program, address two things car shoppers dread: haggling and commitment.
“Americans aren’t great at haggling and we are expected to do so on the two biggest purchases we face: real estate and autos.”
“This Chevrolet Confidence program alleviates the issue of haggling and eliminates ‘buyer’s remorse.’”
The no-haggle program pledges to offer 2012 vehicles at the “best possible prices” in addition to current incentives.
The no-haggle sales price, called Total Confidence Pricing … harkens back to previous sales programs offered by GM.
The company’s Saturn included no-haggle buying before the brand ended as part of GM’s bankruptcy reorganization in 2009.
Such programs are “marginally effective,” according to Dennis Virag, president of Automotive Consulting Group. “There will be some buyers, but I don’t think it’s going to attract a large number of new customers for Chevy.”
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GM is trying to boost Chevy as the brand faces greater pressure from Toyota.
U.S. sales of Chevrolet, GM’s largest brand, rose 6.3 percent to 961,662 cars and light trucks in the first half, a slower pace than the industrywide increase of 15 percent; Toyota’s namesake brand gained 29 percent to 937,964.
Ken’s Note: Toyota faced what President Obama would call “headwinds” the past couple of years with a tsunami knocking out production for a few months, and Obama’s Secretary of Transportation calling Toyotas unsafe to drive … a hysterical charge that was never proven.
GM CEO Dan Akerson is pushing the company to boost operating margins and strengthen Cadillac and Chevrolet as global brands.
Anybody see a trend?
The Homa Files 