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Channel Stuffing At GM Hits Record: 574,000 Cars In Dealer Inventory, Despite No Interest Loans, Highest Car Discounts
Earlier today GM announced disappointing sales numbers, with March car sales rising only 9.6% compared to expectations of 20%. Indeed, this number tends to be quite volatile: ultimately it is a function of how easy it is to get loans for purchases and, more specifically, the impact various incentives offered by its captive financing units. Why it was very disappointing is that as we reported a month ago, GM is once again back to its old gimmick of offering no interest loans, and rising discounts to the highest amount among US carmakers: "General Motors Co. is offering buyers interest-free financing on some 2011 models after the company increased discounts and incentives to lead all major automakers’ U.S. sales gains last month." As of yesterday desperate car buyers who can't rub two dimes together, can drive to the local unemployment office in the luxury of their brand new Chevy Imapala, or alternatively pick a just as worthless Chevy Malibu, HHR WAgon, Traverse SUV, as well as a Silverado, Colorado and Avalanche pickups, which are now offered at either 72 or 60 months of interest-free loans. "The 60-month deal also applies to the Buick Enclave and GMC Acadia SUVs and Sierra pickups." That pretty much covers the entire line up. And that's not all: "GM raised discounts 12 percent from a year earlier to an estimated $3,732 per vehicle last month, the most among major automakers and 45 percent more than the average, according to researcher Autodata Corp."
But what is most disturbing is that as the chart demonstrates, GM has now taken its indirect channel stuffing art to the level of a science, with what we believe is a record 574,000 cars held in dealer inventory. No surprise then that GM's Johnson sees no effect from Japan production on car production: after all the company will needs years just to clear existing inventory, and guess what that means for prices and for the viable competition, primarily in the face of Ford...
Chart says it all.
Source: GM
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I wouldn't take a GM car if you paid me for its lot value.
I would take one IF you gave it to me......
http://www.scrapindex.com/auto/usa/automotive_scrap/index.html
I would then I'd turn around sell it and put a down payment on a new BMW.
With what you got selling it, I'd call it one months payment instead of a down payment.
GM Car or Goverment Cheese? Hmmmmmmm.........
Nor would I. However, many people are being paid to drive a GM bailoutmobile. Where I live, every cop, sheriff, constable, homeland security agent, meter maid, district attorney, building inspector, fire inspector, health inspector, water official, sewer tester, and dog catcher is driving around in a brand new GM, courtesy of the tax payer.
Did I mention we pay for their $3.59/gal gasoline, too? So who cares about fuel efficiency? A fleet of 14 mpg Tahoes, anyone? Why the fuck not?
http://www.gmfleet.com/police/?seo=goo_|_2010_Police_|_Fleet_Law_Enforcement_|_Police_|_gm_cop_car
I wonder if the Chevrolet Express Prisoner Transport (CEPT) comes in any colors besides black?
How else do you expect them to keep up the $15 Billion a year War on Drugs?
I would.
Think of all the cool things you could do with it, like making a new and improved Carhenge, or destruction derby, or smashing them into tiny blocks and building a giant lego tower out of them!
The possibilities are endless!
That would mean I would have to look at it.
I would take the engine out and put a BBQ under the Hood
Yeah, well, take a look at chevrolet UK to realise how lucky you are over the pond.
Talk about lipstick on a pig.lol
I've also been seeing a lot of giveaways of Gov Motor products. Cabelas is giving away 50 trucks, a local casino is also constantly giving away GM trucks.
I work for the gov't and even I wouldn't buy a Governtment Motors vehicle!
Looks like government motors is back on the way to chapter 11.
Bankruptcy is passe.. bailouts are the thing.
Haven't we seen this movie before? I can't exactly place it, but it feels like a bad rerun to me.
/sarc
The Second Dip has started and it will be worse than the first.
We are repeating the First Great Depression.
Must disagree. In the thirties people were desperate for work. Now they're desperate for 99 weeks free money and SNAP cards.
True but, as long as we linger like a ship without a sail the 99 weekers will fall by the wayside.
Bingo... they're all going to be handed a shovel very soon...
They can always go on lifetime welfare. The welfare to work program passed in 1998 was repealed by Obamacare.
Kind of like they can retire too and have a lifetime income stream? lol... you can do anything until the money runs out or someone important enough calls bullshit. I strongly suspect governmental handouts in the future will come with plenty of strings attached, including infrastructure repair... e.g. work that requires a shovel. The concept of sitting at home AND collecting money is going to be..... a thing of the past.
Curious what others here think will happen the price of petrol when we hit this double dip? I don't see it going sub $2 in my lifetime. Methinks it might behave quite the opposite as it did a few years ago
Propane.
It runs deep -- these days.
One of my poor-for-life relatives needs more debt like he needs a hole in his head, but the GM siren song of 0% financing is luring him ever closer to the rocks.
Can't wait for these bailout queens to implode...
Let them collapse, don't pick up the pieces for them damnit!
They will not be allowed to implode, or collapse, comrades.
My guess is that some Pentagon contractor will buy them all and use them to further mobilize all of the rebels in the Glorious Revolution.
Then shoot them. On pay-per-view.
.
is ben buying tractors? DE is rippin
I heard there was a big shakeup at Kubota.
Sombody is. CAT gapped up this morning... again
On the news they may be fleeing the Peoples Democratic Republic of Illinois.
He's just trying to get Quinn to give him some tax breaks. Sounds bullish...lol
If we're driving down one of the major boulevards, I sometimes like to freak out my kids by asking them out of the blue if we should stop by & buy a new Corvette.
In fact, I state categorically that we could drive away with a new 'Vette in around 5-10 minutes. They know we have the economic means, but also know we're pretty conservative, so it doesn't compute.
The point I'm making, as I patiently explain, is that the entire economy is based on some schmuck signing on the bottom line. That's all it is - no jobs, no wealth, no production, just mindless, unsupportable consumption.
"Mindless unsupportable consumption" is right. Many are getting to the point where they realize you don't need a new car every year anymore.
I've been driving the same truck since '98. The previous owner drove it since it was new in '89. I still get better mileage than most of the newer cars that are not all trunk and glass.
The problem is that once a sufficiently large portion of the population is corrupt and stupid, the functional rules flip over to bizarroworld rules, and people like you and me still following the previous intelligent rules are essentially bagholders for the idiot mob following the new "rules."
You need to ask yourself whether you want to stand stoically on moral principles that few still adhere to. This is a very troubling question and I do not think there is an easy answer if one thinks about it.
The easy (and only) answer is YES. However, I have very few friends.
Taking out a 0% loan over 72 months from Ally Financial (GMAC) with no real prospect of paying it back is no different than GM taking taxpayer dollars at 0% with no real prospect of paying it back.
Quick question: Getting a 9th credit card from TBTF bank to rollover the balance one can't pay anyway on the other maxed out 8 cards from TBTF bank; who is to blame?
Why not burn baby burn (the oil) while the getting is good? Absent some great leap forward in energy production, 50 years from now will look like 150 years ago.....
" 50 years from now will look like 150 years ago....."
Maybe not such a bad view.
Except it will be a lot dirtier and nastier, and the only places you will be able to mine metals will be dumps aka landfills. Really bright future.
Have you read Kunstler's The Long Emergency, World Made By Hand, and The Witch of Hebron?
And the cherry on top is that some people still believe the schmuck is going to pay off the junk he signed for! Can you believe that??
Better to convert worthless fiatscos to some type of hard asset now, while you still can. Even if it is a pile of dung on four wheels.
A Horse or Mule should be what you should buy. They don't run on gasoline which you can't afford.
Bullish! Very bullish!
and you CAN eat Bulls!
if you build it they will come....or at least you will get a nice bonus at the expense of the country..again
CORRECTION
If you build it the teleprOmpter-in-chief will lie to sell it.
http://content.usatoday.com/communities/driveon/post/2011/03/obama-government-buying-only-alternative-fuel-vehicles-boost-incentives-find-more-oil-/1
Or give some to Libyan rebels. Although, officially, no tires will be on the ground there. (Bow)
Or better yet, the defense Dept should buy all of the GM inventory and drop them suckers on Ghaddaffi, bet its a boat load cheaper than those fancy missles.
Some govt hack can then spin the claim this as a fiscal prudent austerity.
All these figures and facts mean NOTHING in a world where there is no honest accounting or loses are declared, and a world where central banks cover all private losses and passes them on to tax payers and future generations.
It all means nothing! This system is designed to do one thing and that is enslave you, and it works perfectly! You spend all your time and energy on an entity, when you should be spending it doing things you enjoy and people you love...
... is it time to fight yet?
At least they seem to be out of the business of killing people or locking them up in insane asylums for speaking the truth. They are following the plan to a tee, remove all aspect of selfhood and spirituality and you can transform a species into perfect subserviant batteries... Until you figure out a way to dispose of them and create/clone a better new improved version of servant.
All the newly employed will be grabbing those up soon.........
well there will be less Toyotas and Hondas so here's GMs chance!!!
The Enclave is a decent looking vehicle, but it's still like 40k, right? I mean cmon now. The college grads who get jobs are buying Kias.
GM sources a lot of parts from China, and many manufacturers in China have been disrupted by the earthquake in Japan. I don't think anyone can predict how this will tun out for auto makers. All I know is modern assembly lines need specific parts. No parts = bad joojoo.
"The Enclave is a decent looking vehicle"
Feel free to buy one and you can drive around with a big smile on your face, kinda like your avatar.
Myself, I'll never own a GM vehicle.
GM printing cars.
Im still holding out for a Hover Craft.
I hate vehicles. All they do is suck money out of you from the day you buy them, to the day you send them off to the scrap heap.
OMG... is Ben running GM logistics?
When we bought our 3bd 1bath house with detached garage and 16x24 workshop out back we paid 46K for it (1996). Now they want nearly that much for a 2011 F-150 Supercab? (I drive an 1998) I will admit to buying a six month old rental Malibu in 2006 for 6K and it has served me well for 60K miles so far. Now if GM wants to clear some of those new cars for under 6K at no interest, I might be interested, then again, maybe not. I like my silver nest egg too.
Next to a home, a car is the next biggest purchase most consumers ever make.
We know that houses have declined about 70% in value since 2006, and that the value of an existing home has no relationship to what it costs to build a new home. It is all supply and demand.
What has not been accepted yet is that cars are more similar to homes than to any other product people purchase. I submit that the market for new cars is following in the footsteps of the housing market. There is a reason why the poor in third world countries live in hovels and ride motor scooters to work. They cannot afford cars. Neither can most Americans now. I would say that the only thing preventing a crash from your $40,000 car price to a $12,000 deal on that same vehicle is that cars wear out faster than homes, so clearing an excess inventory (and deciding not to assemble any additional vehicles while doing so) works better to more quickly balance out supply and demand. There is less pressure to give into the market and accept losses on sales.
In the longer run, the auto companies will have to figure out how to sell a decent car at a price low enough to result in a payment which reflects the historical average share of the much, much lower net income of a typical middle-class family.
Note the trend to leases. This was the start of the decades-long descent into a place where a huge segment of the country would no longer be able to afford to actually buy a car.
Then again, if the government will bail you out, why not keep assembling those SUVs and trucks to see if there is anybody out there dumb enough to pay your asking price? After all, there are still people building new homes when they could buy a used mansion for 25% of their construction cost.
From the look of things, if they continue on present trajectory.. folks houses and cars might be one and the same thing soon.
GM should have kept Pontiac going.
It was a brand that had a loyal following and at least a chance of being considered a sporty alternative to imports. The legacy of GM's most compelling and successful cars : the muscle cars and sports coupes (which at one time every male aged 16-30 had or wanted) died with Pontiac. That's called dropping the ball and losing a niche (as happened a generation before with Cadillac)
I dont know how old you are, but to my generation, driving a Pontiac means you're 80+ years old and live in Florida.
Where I live, American cars do not project the image "winner."
Now of course it's well and good to be fiscally conservative, drive a beater, and have a closet full of PMs, but you're not exactly going to have a full dance card with the ladies using that strategy prior to TSHTF.
I would be the jackass to venture the thought that any "girl" that will only be enticed by your visible fortune is perhaps not really worth wasting your time or resources on, but that's neither here nor there.
Your thinking of Pu-ick.
How about Oldsmobile? I'm sure every college graduate wants one of those
Agreed, the only decent looking vehicle they built.
But you know, "Chevy runs deep". What a shit ass slogan, shame your buyers to keep their loyalty.
I don't see that many new GM products here in Dtown. Mostly ford stuff. I think alot of people are pissed about their bailout still.
the deals are decent though, picked up a mazda 6, built in flat rock, michigan. Cheapo lease.
TBTF 2.0
Here's another point of view. In Argentina, cars and spare parts became relatively scarce and expensive after the hyperinflation. If you have extra cash and a goodly assortment of PMs, a new or spare car might be more useful than some extra zeros in an electronic record.
The twice bankrupted lots here only pander to the mercs around here.
a.k.a. U.S. troops to the dumb ass plebes who military worship.
Government Employee? YOU ARE APPROVED!
That is why Ally is filing for an IPO. Ally should be able to finance these no problem. Banks are levering up for round...10 of 10?
Offers for free $100 if you deposit $50 gone. Now I am getting offers to extend credit if I take credit out of my line.
Rally on.
I was in Florida a few weeks ago and rented a Buick Enclave from Hertz. I actually liked the car. However the sticker on it is over $40K and for a few bucks more, you can buy a Mercedes M class truck.
I wouldn't touch either of those brands with a 10 foot pole. At least BMW offers free scheduled maintenance during the initial warranty. The dealers love fixing stuff then, as they get paid by the manufacturer. Worth $1-3k. First Mercedes scheduled maintenance (rotate tires, oil change) will set you back $300 at a dealership.
Better yet, buy an Acura and have no problems at all.
Excuse me?
The dealers hate fixing stuff then, as the get paid very low-balled rates by the manufacturer for doing so.
There is no such thing as a free lunch, for Christ's sake!
What? No free lunches? Last I checked SNAP was dolling out 44+ million of em, 1st of every month.
Geez, isnt that the new world order "free lunches for all"!
Tires rotated and oil costs $300? Even the most expensive oil costs about $8/lr and oil filters aren't much more than $20. What fuck in the ass.
Yeah - at least for the $400 buttfk oil change at the Porsche dealership you are getting 10L of Mobil1 synthetic for a 911.
But my tv told me that dealerships were looking to increase their sales forces this year on expectations of increased sales.
Most people I know equate the GM brand with terrible quality.
GM worked hard to earn that stigma and its not going away anytime soon.
I own a '01 GMC Yukon, 228k miles and runs as good as it did when I bought it at 45k. I drive about 90% freeway and average 19 mpg. I maintain it to the tee, and have only replaced the starter outside of regular items like brakes, spark plugs,etc.
That said, they build a lot of CRAP that I would never buy, and I have had less than stellar luck with a few GM cars I own.
I find that the only people who can say 1 nice thing about GM tend to be truck owners.
That said, I have never wanted to turn down a Tundra for a GM truck.
I have met very few people who had good luck with GM sedans or small cars.
My only GM was a 94 Jimmy that I got in 96.
Almost made it to 100,000 miles.
Almost.
Never ever ever again GM.
A Tundra is fine until you actually have to use it as a truck. That is go off-road or haul stuff. Then you have to look at the prices of the part's to fix what you will defintaely break. The people I see buying those thing's never actually seem to use them as a truck, more often than not it's just an expansive grocery getter. The last time I saw one at MOAB, or on any trail, it was broken down and needed a tow.
The problem with them is that were designed by car engineers with no real experience in what makes a truck a truck. This is of course the current trend these day's, as seen by all of the trucks on the road with soft suspension's, gasoline V8's, and with gearing that would be more appropiate in a Mustang than a truck.
The Tundra is an excellent street truck, but if you want to pound the hell out of a Toyota truck off-road, then you need to get a Tacoma. There is no finer mid-sized truck on the market. And if you need any proof about how tough a Taco is, just look at what the Libyan rebels are driving around in, Toyota trucks all build on the same chassis as the Tacoma. Unfortunately, the bed mounted anti-aircraft gun is not a factory or dealer installed option.
Do you know what the hell you're talking about? The only trucks they buy in Africa and Central Asia are Toyotas.
oh dear .... another GM article. i become livid whenever GM is even mentioned ! (please forgive me for the following ) . Never ever in my lifetime will I ever buy or even ride in a GM auto. When I found out they got $57billion of MY TAXPAYER MONEY & used that money to build a plant in BRAZIL & make the transition away from the U.S. consumer to emerging market consumers ........ THAT'S IT ! I WOULD RATHER WALK UNTIL MY SHOES HAVE HOLES & MY LEGS FALL OFF than to give one dollar to GM. It's all just sick.
We have the great socialist redisdribute the wealth Barama and Government Motors (GM) owned by the people (that's us) why don't they just give the cars away?
Uh oh, Did Barama lose mo money on GM?
http://www.washingtontimes.com/blog/watercooler/2011/mar/31/barack-obama...
i still love my detroit muscle...as long as i replace the tierod ends and balljoints every 50k.
Note - the bar has been raised VERY high in the car business.
It's a "command" economy anywhere governments run business acording to socialized planning.
64,000,000 (yes, that's millions) empty condos in China (they might as well all have cars in garage):
http://www.sbs.com.au/dateline/story/watch/id/601007/n/China-s-Ghost-Cities
Around 1,400,000,000 (yes, that's billions) people live in China. That's a far lower vacancy rate than in the US!
So goes GM goes the country, when I was a young clown.
It's still true. GM has gone to crap, and so has the country. QED.
after all the company will needs years just to clear existing inventory...
Why?
If there are 574K on dealer lots, and GM sold 206K last month, then dealers have a little less than 90 days inventory. This is NOT alarming, at all.
One other thing... with a simple Google search, you will find that all the manufacturers are offering 0% (or damn close to 0%) in some capacity. On their 2011 Camry, Toyota is offering 0% for 60 months, no money down and $500 bonus cash on top of it all.
Same with Honda. They have $0 down, and near 0% (.9%) on lots of models.
http://automobiles.honda.com/current-offers.aspx
Why are we all pretending that GM is the only car manufacturer with 0% financing and buying incentives? I understand that everyone here wants to throw darts at GM, but let's try to minimize the distortion field.
I could be wrong, but GM sold 206k units to the dealers which is what you're reporting. The dealers don't really have a choice as they must take these into inventory. The dealers didn't sell 206k cars, hence it's called channel stuffing and the raise in the dealer inventories.
I just bought a new nissan, and the 0% financing was for 36 months only, the rates were 1.9 for 48, 2.9 for 60 months (ie, not worth it) or about $2000 in incentives...
here's a use for those bailout autos. a car catapult. fighting inflation...one Impala at a time.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3YVSXRETml4
Wow are they ever setting up a doozie of a short opportunity.
GM can become extremely profitable by shorting themselves.
Government Motors will be "all well" when the demands for the war machine kick into righteous high gear.
That is what these last few years have been about anyways. Allocation, allocation, allocation.
The allies have some, the axis has some (both sides have to be muscled up, see).
War, it's good for the government and by association good for the governed. Or some such convoluted logic anyways.
Have to say, for it's brick like shape and crazy (roll and dive filled) handling, my 88 oldsmobile Cutlass Sierra was a blast. Especially for student days driving. Load her up and away. Like a boat. Never owned american after that though.
ORi
http://aadivaahan.wordpress.com
My family's 84 Cutlass Sierra spent more time in the shop than on the streets. Never again.
Here's the dilemma with the channel stuffing issue, the dealer has to place the orders for the vehicles, so unless GM has gone back to the old Chrysler model OR has instructed (threatened) dealers to place orders or get the boot, then the dealer is the one who is responsible for acquiring inventory, after all they have to carry the cost of it.
I agree, the situation is not a good one, especially with that many cars held on lots, but the only way I see it as a mandate from headquarters is if there are quotas on how many cars you have to order.
I wonder if some of this recent rise in inventory is anticipation of Japanese producers inability to meet demand in the future? Somehow I don't see GM as being synonymous with Toyo / Mazda / etc.
Maybe the Fed will start buying brand new GM Vehicles from large banks in huge quantities. Since the Fed would probably only buy the title, GM would be free to disassemble and reassemble with a new VIN. I smell win here!
I wounder where he finds that graph. No graph at the GM site!
What cost more the monthly payments or the monthly gas costs. Gm is no known to be fuel suppers.
If they have so much inventory, why wouldn't the dickbags at the dealership lease me a Cruze for less than $220/mo? I'm opting to go without instead.
Old Japanese proverb; 'Make sure that the levee is full before setting off'
The American car companies sell to all the foreign cops. I see them on the lots in Miami with the Columbia police insignia in droves. Makes ya wonder....
Winning.
This is not as bad as it looks. GM, during the BK, were not making cars and dealers lots were empty. Over the years dealer inventories are increasing and this chart shows the increase. This is happening at Chrysler too but not so much with Ford, Honda, Toyota etc as they never stopped making cars or had do deal with going through BK.
Just curious, and 0% interest aside, what's the collateral for the principal in the car loan agreement for these deals? Being able to breathe on a mirror?
Absorption accounting for 200 please.
was at gym earlier and saw ticker news say that auto dealers thoughout USA may be hiring 90000+ employees this year..
add that to the Things That Make You go hmmmm
G
The GM dealers should do like the grocers do and rent lot space to GM.
Wonder if I should buy a government car on 100% credit, and then just default on the loan to piss then off. Make them come and get it if they can find it.
Dude - that would still be doing them a favor... you dig?