GM Launches New Toe Tag Sale

Robert Farago
by Robert Farago

To be fair, every automaker and their mother is running some kind of year-end sale in the U.S. market; offering incentives, cash-back, discounts and finance deals to delay the deleterious effects of the downturn in new car sales. But GM's "Red Tag" sale is kind of special, in that it offers all of these deals in different amounts to different brands depending on the model and/or the model year. The passive construction workers at the Wall Street Journal describes it thus: "Dealers will use red tags on selected vehicles to advertise a lower price than what typically is asked. The discounted price includes a so-called factory-to-dealer incentive of as much as $1,000 on certain 2008 models, and is combined with other low-interest or cash-rebate offers that in rare cases are also available. On the remaining stock of 2007 models, GM is offering cash rebates or no-interest loans spanning five years in most cases… Chevrolet, Pontiac, Buick, GMC and Saturn products are covered under the program. GM's Saab and Cadillac brands are holding separate campaigns that revolve around the holidays." Why so much confusion? "GM generally has backed away from offering broad and sweeping incentive campaigns that make it appear the company's entire portfolio is on clearance." Even though it pretty much is.

Robert Farago
Robert Farago

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  • Donal Donal on Nov 19, 2007

    Local News was really pushing GM this morning, showing the LA Auto show, Bob Lutz smiling, etc. Everything looked shiny, new and for sale. There was no mention of this story, though, and I don't see it in most of the MSM outlets, even the ones discussing the official pronouncements from OPEC attendees: 'Kill the cable, kill the cable,' shouted the security guard as he burst through the double doors into the media room at the Intercontinental Hotel in Riyadh, followed by Saudi police. It was too late. A private meeting of Opec leaders, gathered this weekend in Riyadh for the cartel's third meeting in its 47-year history, had just been broadcast to the world's media for more than half an hour after a technician had mistakenly plugged the TV feed into the wrong socket. The facade of unity that the cartel so carefully cultivates to a world spooked by soaring oil prices was shattered. http://observer.guardian.co.uk/world/story/0,,2212899,00.html

  • Bunter1 Bunter1 on Nov 19, 2007

    Oh, but I thought everything was rosey in GM land, and the turnaround was gathering momentum? Or has the dumping to fleet, oops, "commercial" customers in recent months lost steam and the continued lack of interest buy the consumer started to show again?

  • Mikeg Mikeg on Nov 19, 2007

    Great financing deals eh, I wish there was more GM product (specifically small fun cars) that I was interested in...

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