If GM does kill off leasing in the US (which I thought they did) it would kill Suburban (probably already dead), Corvette, and all Cadillac sales.

Chrysler doesn’t really have any luxury vehicles that fit this bill after killing off the Viper. The challenger is too new and shiny to suffer because of this, but if the funk doesn’t clear up soon, Chrysler’s day are numbered regardless what miracle cars they come up with.

Of course small businesses also like to lease because they often don’t have the money to buy things and they aren’t sure their business is going to survive.

It also kills Cadillac, Saab and the over $40k truck market. Nobody -literally -is going to take on the risk, unpleasantness and upfront 12% tax hit of financing a Cadillac CTS/STS or Saab 9.3/9.5 for 7 years in order to acheive the same 36mo lease payment they can get across the street on a 330i, E350, G35, C300 etc. Same goes for the Tahoe/Yukon/Escalade and all of Chrysler’s products. Ditto Ford, if they are out.

I expect Toyota Canada to come to market with daily 1.9% lease ads in print, radio and TV, based on reduced residuals. They can do anything they want since they have more liquidity than most countries!

Meanwhile, just in case you thought that LaNeve’s comments meant anything, here’s an official “explanation” from Automotive News:

GM spokesman Pete Ternes said the automaker is deciding whether the [leasing] adjustments and exceptions will be similar to the changes in finance options GM typically makes each month, or something more significant.

“It’s a part of the business,” Ternes said. “We are always analyzing our markets and what we need to do to help sales.”

Ternes said he didn’t know whether GM would change terms for pickup and SUV financing.

“We know that the cost of incentivizing is getting higher, so that may come into play,” he said.

Meaning that the prices of new cars should have fallen a similar amount. (Not completely as carmakers have been slow to drop prices when they are so unprofitable to start with).

So the prices of used cars have fallen along with new car pricing, meaning that leases signed a few years ago are WAY underwater.

I’ll be giving the truck back at the end of the lease, three years hence….unless you make it worth my while…..

hint, hint, hint.

Whether Honda gets out of the lease business will not necessarily be dependent on its immediate financial situation but the makeup of its lease portfolio. If it is heavy on Odyssey, Pilot, Ridgeline and even CR-V they may decide to cut and run as all of these vehciles are losing resale value these days.

As for Acura, it is a luxury make and every luxury make is concerned about their lease exposure right now.

Why is it tough to envision the import manufacturers having a hard time?

It’s tough to imagine that Honda Canada, which sells three of the top-selling cars in the country (CRV, Civic, Fit) and several others that sell fairly well (CSX, Accord), and sells them at a profit, would be in the same kind of crunch as GM.

It’s a little bit disingenuous for Mr. La Neve to place Honda’s effort (which is a cost-control option for a few ill-selling models) on par with GM’s (which is the result of the bleeding gut wound that is their lack of available credit).

Did this guy go out and burn a fatty during EN101!?

Why is it tough to envision the import manufacturers having a hard time?

The Ridgeline is not a truck and not a car.

‘I realize these times are very confusing and daunting so I wanted to set the record straight. Leasing is an important part of our business and will definitely remain so, maybe. All options are on the table and everything can change without a moments warning. Hope this clears things up, good luck!’

What is the purpose of sending such a letter? It offers no new information and makes no promises? I would interperet this to mean, “leasing is already over”.

Ending incentivized leasing on turkeys like the Ridgeline and Pilot, sure, but to end it on the Civic (or any Acura) would be madness.