GM and GMAC Part Ways. Now What?

Robert Farago
by Robert Farago

TTAC’s Ken Elias reckons the next step for GMAC is C11. Meanwhile, Automotive News [AN, sub] reports that GM is set to launch its “Finance that Fits” ad campaign, hoping to shovel new loan-seeking customers to, well, anyone, really. “GMAC is still a very important partner,” declaimed Jim Bunnell, executive director of GM’s channel support group, told AN. “Over time, a large chunk of the business went to GMAC. But if you look at the last 60 days — in August and September — well over 80 percent of all the business went to outside banks and credit unions.” Hang on; it’s not as bad as it sounds. “Bunnell said GMAC’s share of GM dealer finance business was typically about 20 percent or slightly higher at that time of year. He could not provide a comparable figure for August and September of 2007.” So, uh, maybe it is. One thing’s for sure: touting easy money in the middle of an economic meltdown is bad juju. Which is why GM’s hedging its bets: “The multimedia campaign promotes GM’s cash-back deals up to $6,000 on every 2008 vehicle left in stock.” Anyway, the U.S. new car market is dead in the water. J.D. Power reckons annual sales will drop below 12m units, as predicted here, which is two million less units than GM had predicted at the start of the crisis.

Robert Farago
Robert Farago

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  • ScottGSO ScottGSO on Oct 16, 2008

    You had to love this quote from the WSJ: Mr. McDonald, who read off a list of obscure credit unions participating in the program, in addition to better-known banks and lenders, acknowledged that buyers may not be doing business "with the lender you're used to."

  • KixStart KixStart on Oct 16, 2008

    I don't see where getting a bank to loan me money for a car is a problem... The local bank will happily lend me money at a decent rate for all kinds of things, like new or used cars. I see GM's problem as finding lenders willing to lend 130% of the MSRP of a new car so as to do a zero-down transaction involving a trade on which the prospective buyer is seriously upside-down.

  • Rtz Rtz on Oct 16, 2008

    I don't know why they waste money on ads like these considering 99% of the people out there don't even know what "GMAC" is or stands for or how it could ever have anything to do with them. A major source of irrelevance. If I started a website such as gmsucks.com or 100reasonstonotbuygm.com; could GM try and get me for slander or libel? Although it wouldn't be considering it would all be true and they really don't have the money to pursue it. How about a GM horror stories website? Have it setup by vehicle model and year and everyone in the world who has ever owned a GM product can tell about all the problems they had with it. My Dad had a 1977 C10 truck during the `80's and I sure remember working on that thing a lot. Too much. When I was in high school, all the girls drove early to mid `90's Grand Am's and Grand Prix's and all that jazz. I remember them always having problems with those cars and always breaking down or in the shop and them talking about how it was always needing work done on the brakes, etc. I guarantee you everyone of those girls today is driving a Civic, Accord, or Camry. Some guy at work has a brand new Chevy truck. It's already got some rattle under it from the exhaust system. Driving down the street hearing it clinking and clanking. I'm thinking "this is a brand new vehicle too!" The problem with these car manufacturers is that they are risk adverse. They build something and hope it sells. If it doesn't, they continue to build it for 10 years. Why not change it up dramatically every year or six months? Boring and expensive vehicles and they sit back and hope they sell themselves. Got to have desirability. Without that, you ain't got nothing.

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