GM Sales Down 52.9 Percent

Edward Niedermeyer
by Edward Niedermeyer

All the bad news is available at GM’s media page. All of GM’s brands were down by at least 50 percent, except for Pontiac which squeaked out a 40 percent drop. Buick sold fewer cars this month than it sold LaCrosses in February of ’08. CTS was the only Cadillac that sold over 1k units this month, and at 3,259, it sold at over double the rate of all other Caddys combined. The Malibu has finally outsold the Impala, as ‘bu sales dropped 3.7 percent to the ’pala’s 67.7 percent. Pontiac sold only 80 G3 Aveo clones, although solid (down 4.8 percent) Vibe sales kept the division’s average at a 39.2 percent drop. Saab sold fewer than 500 vehicles, and the canceled Astra is the only bright spot in the Saturn lineup. Astra sales have increased since it was canceled in December.

Edward Niedermeyer
Edward Niedermeyer

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  • Mtypex Mtypex on Mar 04, 2009

    GM always cancels their nicest models. Witness the end of the Oldsmobile Intrigue and Aurora. When they get them right, they die. GM hates success.

  • 200k-min 200k-min on Mar 04, 2009
    Why should US auto sales be any different. Check your closet. No clothes are made in the US. Around your house…..all electronics are made in the Orient..... What it boils down to is the greed of US manufactures and us, the consumer, to save the almighty buck, have sold out our country. We deserve everything that’s going to happen to us. jester, I tend to agree with you on most of what you said. Wal-Mart isn't successful for selling quality merchandise, they are a success for selling cheap junk. The American lower-middle class is a massive spending block. That said, I tend to prefer to buy quality products and buy them once. Example, I recently needed a new frying pan. Rather than buy a $9.99 made in China craptastic thing from Wal-Mart I went and bought a nearly $100 dollar Made in USA All-Clad pan. I should never need another one in my life. When I was shopping for a vehicle years ago I cross shopped the Malibu, (old) Taurus, Camry, Accord, Altima, etc. Eventually settled on the Accord because it was on the high end for overall quality. For that I paid several thousand more than an equivalent Ford or Chevy. Over 200k miles later I think that extra $$$ has paid me back ten fold. The American consumer ditching Detroit metal for transplants is a sign that they do care about quality. Wal-Mart might be able to get away with fooling the consumer on cheap frying pans, but GM doesn't have the same leverage on what for most people is their second largest purchase behind their homes.
  • Richard Chen Richard Chen on Mar 04, 2009

    @86er: I guess some things haven't changed with GM not widening the EU-based vehicles for the US market. I recall sitting in the back seat of a Saturn L-series at an auto show back in 2001, along with the Mrs. and a friend. None of us are particularly large people, yet it was a tight squeeze. Perhaps the new LaCrosse addresses this issue. Of course, the proverbial American car had long before morphed into the Explorer and its SUV counterparts.

  • BenFarmer BenFarmer on Mar 04, 2009

    In economic terms we've been doing the equivalent of busting up the antique furniture, selling it for firewood and using the proceeds to buy cheap plastic replacement furniture. Only thing is, we've sold off pretty much everything that actually produces stuff outside the auto and aerospace/defense industries. The auto industry will almost certainly fold this year--suppliers will go even if Ford and GM are theoretically still around. And who is going to pay for all of those cool airplanes and other military items when the tax base is shot? And who is going to lend us money to buy all of that foreign made stuff when it is obvious that we'll never be able to pay it back? I'm not saying we should bail out the car companies in their current form. I'm saying don't lose the ability for US companies to build cars in the future. Eventually we're going to have to either revive manufacturing in this country or accept a much lower standard of living. Right now China, Japan, etc are sending us stuff in exchange for dollars. They already have so many dollars they have no clue what to do with them. They're keeping on accepting them because if they stop the export-oriented industries they've built up tank. But as the value of their dollar denominated investments tank it gets harder and harder to justify sending us stuff in exchange for paper. It will end at some point and a that point we'll need to be able to build stuff on our own.

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