General Motors Launches Six-Day, 72-Hour Sale

Posted by admin on July 16th, 2009 at 03:15
Category: Auto News | 0 Comment |

In an effort to keep the wheels of (re)invention rolling, General Motors has released plans for a "72-Hour Sale", which starts today and runs through July 6. By our calculations, that's considerably longer than 72 hours, but we're going to give GM the benefit of the doubt and assume they mean business hours. Besides, calling it a "144-Hour Sale" wouldn't be quite as catchy.

To drive home the "72" theme, GM is offering shoppers a shot at 0% financing for up to 72 months (see what they did there?). There are two small caveats: to get that deal, you'll need to be a "well-qualified buyer" (i.e. meet certain credit requirements), and you'll need to choose from a list of approved GM vehicles, which includes:

Chevrolet Silverado

GMC Sierra

Chevrolet Suburban

GMC Yukon XL

Chevrolet Impala

And many Pontiacs: Vibe, G3, G5, G6, and G8

If your vehicle of choice isn't on the list, don't fret: GM is offering 0% financing on other models, too--though only for 60 months instead of 72. You can visit the GM website for current offers; just enter your ZIP code to see what's available in your area. Surprisingly, we found a number of other cars at 0%APR, including a 2008 Chevrolet Corvette. Sweet.

Between this sale, the buzz surrounding some current GM models, and the company's Cash-for-Clunkers hopes, the General may fare reasonably well on the lots in the coming months. Unfortunately, that won't have much effect on how GM does in the courts, where it's begun dropping the "L" word: liquidation.

P. S. If you'd like more details about the "72-Hour Sale", or about GM's Cash-for-Clunkers sales pitch, you'll find the company's press release below.

[GM]

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Buy and Say Goodbye: July Offers Make Getting a New GM Vehicle More Affordable

Buy: 72-Hour sale offers new 0 percent reduced-rate financing for up to 72 months to well-qualified buyers on select GM vehicles

Say Goodbye: GM will have twice as many qualifying vehicles under the Federal "Cash for Clunkers" program, once it is finalized, than any other manufacturer

DETROIT - General Motors made two announcements today that will help make buying a new GM vehicle even more affordable this summer. Here are the details:

GM is announcing its "72-Hour Sale," running from July 1 to July 6, 2009, where low-rate financing of 0 percent for up to 72 months will be offered to well-qualified buyers on select 2009 and 2010 vehicles in dealer stock including Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra regular, extended and crew cab light-duty pickups; Chevrolet Suburban and GMC Yukon XL SUVs; Chevrolet Impala; and the Pontiac models: Vibe, G3, G5, G6 and G8. Although not part of the 72-Hour Sale, many other vehicles will have reduced rate financing of 0 percent for up to 60 months for well-qualified buyers. A full list of current offers, conditions, and eligible vehicles, is available at: http://www.gm.com/shop/currentoffers/

GM has 74 different models - twice as many as any other auto manufacturer - that may qualify under the new Federal CARS (Car Allowance Rebate System) "Cash for Clunkers" program. Customers with older vehicles will soon have a new reason to trade in their "clunker" - vouchers worth from $3,500 to $4,500 cash from the CARS program. CARS provides incentives for consumers to bring in their out-of-date vehicle to scrap and trade-in on a new, more fuel-efficient model. Once the program begins later this month, all a customer needs to do is bring in a qualifying vehicle for scrap, and trade it in on an eligible new GM model, that offers a significant improvement in fuel economy, and the dealer does the rest. A list of the GM models that may qualify, depending on the EPA estimated combined fuel economy of the vehicle they are trading in, as well as its age and condition, is shown below. Customers should visit the official NHTSA site: http://www.cars.gov, or their local GM dealer for more information.

(GM's Proposed Eligible Vehicles List under the Cash for Clunkers' CARS program. Subheadings with numbers i.e. '22 and above' refer to EPA estimated combinedfuel economy ratings. Please note that whether a transaction qualifies for an incentive under CARS depends, among other things, on (1) the type of vehicle the customer is trading in, and (2) the increase in EPA estimated combined fuel economy ratings resulting from the purchase of the new vehicle.)

About GM: General Motors Corp. (NYSE: GM), one of the world's largest automakers, was founded in 1908, and today manufactures cars and trucks in 34 countries. With its global headquarters in Detroit, GM employs 235,000 people in every major region of the world, and sells and services vehicles in some 140 countries. In 2008, GM sold 8.35 million cars and trucks globally under the following brands: Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC, GM Daewoo, Holden, Hummer, Opel, Pontiac, Saab, Saturn, Vauxhall and Wuling. GM's largest national market is the United States, followed by China, Brazil, the United Kingdom, Canada, Russia and Germany. GM's OnStar subsidiary is the industry leader in vehicle safety, security and information services. More information on GM can be found at www.gm.com.

Note: GM sales and production results are available on GM Media OnLine at http://media.gm.com/us/gm/en by clicking on News, then Sales /Production. In this press release and related comments by General Motors management, we use words like "expect," "anticipate," "estimate," "forecast," "objective," "plan," "goal" and similar expressions to identify forward-looking statements, representing our current judgment about possible future events. We believe these judgments are reasonable, but actual results may differ materially due to a variety of important factors. Among other items, such factors might include: our ability to have the 363 sale approved by the Bankruptcy Court and to complete it on an expedited timeline; our ability to sustain vehicle sales in the U.S. and globally while we carry out our restructuring plans; the ability of our foreign subsidiaries to restructure, enter into the new investment arrangements they have announced, and receive other financial support from their local governments; our ability to build consumers' confidence in our viability following Chapter 11 proceedings and to continue to attract customers, particularly for our new products; our ability to continue to sell, spin-off or phase out some of our brands, to manage the distribution channels for our products, and to complete other planned asset sales; and the overall strength and stability of general economic conditions and of the automotive industry, both in the U.S. and globally. GM's most recent annual report on Form 10-K and quarterly report on Form 10-Q provide information about these factors, which may be revised or supplemented in future reports to the SEC on Form 10-Q or 8-K.

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GM strives to ensure that all of the information contained in a press release is accurate at the time it is issued. However, changes in materials, equipment and specifications, prices, availability, etc do occur over time. For the most up-to-date information on currently available models, please visit GM.com/shop.