NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- General Motors Corp. plans a sweeping new vehicle-pricing strategy, its broadest effort yet to lower car and truck sticker prices and wean customers off rebates, the Detroit News's online edition reported. The plan, to be outlined Tuesday at the North American International Auto Show, aims to jump-start GM's U.S. sales, the paper said. With the plan, GM risks losing deal-hungry consumers, but GM executives say that for the long term, the auto maker must emphasize the value and quality of its cars and trucks, the paper reported.

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/news...727-856819149&

I wonder how long this will last after Value pricing went, what, 30 days?

 

Yeah, lets see if it can be done.

Maybe if they start with the new 900's and work it down to the rest of the line-ups, it will work.

 

whats the difference between discounts or making sticker prices lower?



once prices go up sales are going to drop again.

 

Over the long term, discounts hurt public perception. If the only time people will consider a GM car is with a hefty, heavily advertised discount then the perception becomes that they aren't worth buying without a discount. They need to set prices at a level that customers are willing to pay without offering hefty rebates to make the perception that you're getting your money's worth, not just a "great deal."

But you're correct that weaning people off is going to be hard. We've had so many discounts, incentives, sales, special offers, low APRs, and "events" since 2001 that now folks who are considering a GM car think "well, I'd like to have that TrailBlazer, but I'll wait 'til the next time they're giving 'em away before I buy."

 

whats sad is GM was asked back in 01 to help our economy by offering good deals now its hurting them.


it was said awhile back by alot of people rebates and incentives ect were going to have a long term negative effect.


i admit i waited until 0% was offered back in march to buy a new vehicle otherwise i was going to wait until the end of the yr. for a rebate.


GM has contributed alot to this country now its time to start giving back.

 

I've thought they should do this all along... stick to realistic sticker prices without rebates - only use rebates, and small ones at that, at the end of a model's life cycle when everyone wants the new body style - to give people an incentive to go with the old one.

While they're at it they also need to be increasing the standard warranty terms.

 

i dont know if all buicks have this but i saw one with a 4/50 warranty.

lucerne i think it was.

thats not bad.

 

That's better, but I'm thinking 6/70k at a minimum if they want to generate a BUZZ, 10/100k if they really want to get people started.

In fact advertise it as a "we put our warranties where our mouth is - we say we have the highest quality cars, trucks, and SUVs, and we're confident enough to put it in writing for all new GM customers!"

Seriously... I don't understand why they wouldn't do that. It would be so damn effective at getting people to give them another chance, hyping up their current lineup, and making the competition look bad...

 

Here's the problem most customers with any brain have with lowered pricing vs current incentives...

If you lower the MSRP by $1300, that's great, but when you were just offering a $4000 rebate on that same vehicle.... it doesn't take the proverbial rocket scientist to figure out that the deal is no where near as good.

If they want to get rid of the rebates (or the majority of them), then you gotta lower the MSRP by what the rebates have been, or at least somewhat close to them... especially on the models that are getting long in tooth.

I mean, seriously..... why the hell would anyone go buy a vehicle for $2000-3000 more than they would have a day ago or month ago? I certainly wouldn't.

 

i always though 3/36 was weak and if you wanted more youd have to pay.


a 5/50 should be std. on low end models and a 7/70 for higher end.

 

GM Plans to Lower Prices on Most Vehicles
Tuesday January 10, 11:06 am ET
By Dee-Ann Durbin, AP Auto Writer
General Motors Plans to Lower Prices on Most Vehicles in Effort to Boost Sliding Market Share

DETROIT (AP) -- General Motors Corp., the world's biggest automaker, said Tuesday that it will lower the prices on 57 of its 76 models in North America in an effort to boost its sliding market share and wean buyers off expensive incentives.

Mark LaNeve, GM's vice president of sales and marketing, told reporters that the program will lower the manufacturer's suggested retail price by as much as $2,500 on some vehicles, but the average decrease will be $1,300.

"We want it to be crystal clear that with or without incentives you're getting a great price," said LaNeve, who planned to announce the deal later Tuesday at the North American International Auto Show.

GM will lower prices on all Chevrolet, Buick and GMC vehicles and most Pontiac vehicles starting Wednesday, LaNeve said. Saab, Saturn and Hummer will be excluded because GM feels they are already priced appropriately, he said.

LaNeve said GM believes it will make money despite the markdowns because it has new products coming to market, and it will be spending less per vehicle on incentives, which have sometimes topped $4,000 per vehicle.

"Bottom line, we think this is the right thing to do for our business," LaNeve said. GM's sales dropped 5 percent in 2005 despite popular employee-pricing discounts last summer.

GM shares fell 26 cents, or 1.2 percent, to $22.15 in morning trading on the New York Stock Exchange.

http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/060110/gm_pricing.html?.v=2

 

Exactly.

 

Apparently this story is everywhere. I saw it on the front page of CNN.com too.

 

The warranties need to be upped, I agree. 4/50k should be standard at least. Not standing behind your product for a longer term is not a way to improve image.

 

Well, they are just going to have to STICK WITH IT. I would imagine sales will drop off at the start because people won't believe they'll stick with it. But they will come after that. New models will help them. I really did think the Value Pricing was brought in at a TERRIBLE TIME. Too many old models you could get with a 4k rebate. With the 900's just out and all the 06 models, this is the perfect time to do it. So just stick with it GM.