GM's June sales stats were on the catastrophic side of dire. But they would have been a lot worse if not for the automaker's end-of-the-month zero percent fire sale. So… July. Now what? This time Marketing Maven Mark LaNeve is going all Amway on us (minus the multi-level marketing). He's hoping the automaker's [remaining] workers will spread some octo-branded love to a family member, friend, casual acquaintance or anyone with a pulse, really. The Wall Street Journal reports that GM employees can give one employee discount away between now and the end of July. "During this challenging period for people across the country, there's no better time than to talk up our great products and give someone you know an additional incentive to buy GM," LaNeve's intercepted email opined. The current shitty challenging U.S. new car market is "the perfect opportunity to pass this on" an unnamed (what is it with the WSJ and anonymous sources?) GM spokesfolk added. Yes, OK, but HOW MUCH? Seems the Journal forgot to mention this little factoid. We reckon it's about three percent off dealer invoice. Anyone? Bueller?
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Elvis would have benefitted from this, he purchased a lot of Cadillacs during his life. But your photo does bring the mind what we will be hearing in the not too distant future: “General Motors Has left the Building”.
(BTW: as they stated in Men in Black, Elvis didn’t die, he just went home.)
And NEXT month?
I predict the return of the “Employee discount for all” fairly soon.
BTW-My personal name for that past (and future?) debacle was/is “The Kegger”.
Panic is not a sign of leadership Rick.
Might be an appropriate reaction emotionally however.
One item to note, in June Ford held the line on incentive vs. the others in the Debt 3.
See if they can keep it up (down?).
Bunter
The real point is that GM employees will SELL their “employee pricing rights” on eBay/craiglist/etc. Why would they give it away (unless they’re really munificent)? GM has created a “rights offering” of sorts which imbeds value unto those rights. How much the rights offering is worth to a buyer remains to be determined, but it’s at least several hundred dollars.
Ken, I would think GM would prohibit selling the “employee pricing right” as part of the deal (punishable by firing). That’s pretty standard for this sort of employees-and-acquaintances offering in corporate America.
Isn’t talking your friends and family into buying a POS the automotive equivalent of serving them tainted food?
The GMS discount is worth approximately 11% off MSRP.
faster_that_rabbit – You’re right, it is prohibited. But doesn’t mean some won’t try and it’s likely impossible to adequately police. GM’s more worried about boosting sales to anyone right now.
Here’s a little factoid about GM employees. Viagra was (and maybe still is) provided as part of GM’s health plan. Enterprising employees and retirees got a doctor to say they needed the blue pills. Guess what some of them did with their monthly supply…
The point is that something gotten for free that has value will find a market. It’s the “invisible hand” of Adam Smith at work.
Absurd. Truly absurd.
Anyone can get a deal better than Employee Pricing by just walking off the street and proving a pulse.
Come to think of it, 1 year ago you could buy a house with the same qualifications.
Let’s go lynch some realtors…..
I think GM’s problems come down to two things:
1) They panicked
2) They forgot their towel.
If they had followed the advice of the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, they’d be fine. Oh well.
Robert,
3% off published dealer invoice pricing is very much on the high side. A Chevy Cobalt ranges from 2.1% for the base model, to 2.4% for the SS. An Escalade AWD Platinum edition is 3.04% off dealer invoice (or over $8000 of MSRP), so the more you spend, the more you save.
Keep in mind, they will also be eligible for any financing/rebate deals.
Friends don’t give friends GM employee discounts.
Example 2008 GMC Sierra 1500 4WD Crew Cab Slt
MSRP-$41015.00
Invoice-$38209.00
GM Employee price $36355.00
Certain conquest rebates cant such as Enclave,Acadia and Vibe cant be used with
employee pricing but most others can.These are
numbers I am reading off a real invoice
If you go to http://www.gmfamilyfirst.com and then in the pulldown menu at the top of the page select Build Your Own you can see the GMS pricing for any configuration. It’s not exact, but it’s very close.
Nissan have been offering this service to punters for years
My husband and I just came back from trying to purchase a $40,000.00 CTS. We went in with our own financing and an excellent luxury trade.
The price on the CTS was good, not great. Since we were not using GM’s financing their intention was to give us $4000.00 less than the trade value of our car.
This offer is not what it appears to be and if GM is hurting so much, why would they let customers with cash walk out the door.
It seems to me that employee discounts are still just for the employees and used as a ploy to get people in the door.