GM March sales up 21 pct as incentives draw buyers

Image via Wikipedia

By TOM KRISHER (AP)

DETROIT — Sales of General Motors Co. cars and trucks rose 21 percent last month compared with a dismal March last year, a sign that U.S. auto sales are benefiting from an incentive war touched off by Toyota.

GM said Thursday sales of its four core brands — Buick, GMC, Chevrolet and Cadillac — rose 43 percent on strong demand for redesigned vehicles like the Chevrolet Equinox midsize crossover and Buick LaCrosse luxury sedan.

Meanwhile, Hyundai's sales rose 15 percent to 47,000 vehicles, propelled by sharply higher demand for its newly released Sonata sedan and its Tucson small SUV.

It's likely that higher incentives from GM and other automakers drove traffic to showrooms. Toyota Motor Corp. raised its rebates and low-interest financing deals last month to counter publicity about safety-related recalls, and other automakers were forced to respond.

GM says it sold 188,546 vehicles last month, up from the 156,380 it sold in March of 2009 as it was receiving government aid and heading into Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

The company, which is shedding Pontiac, Saturn, Saab and Hummer, sold just over 27,000 vehicles from those brands in March of last year, but that dropped to about 3,100 last month because few cars and trucks remain on dealer lots.

Last month Toyota boosted interest-free financing, low-priced leasing and free maintenance in an effort to bring customers into showrooms as it dealt with the recall of more than 8 million cars and trucks around the world.

Toyota has been forced to recall cars and trucks mainly due to reports of unintended acceleration. The company is fixing gas pedals and floor mats in many of its top sellers including the Camry midsize sedan, a top-selling car in the U.S.

A top Toyota executive said on Wednesday that the automaker's sales would rise 40 percent in March and that some of those deals would extend into the spring. The company's sales fell 9 percent in February, before it launched its aggressive incentives. The broader industry's sales climbed 13 percent that month.

The automaker is to update its incentives on Monday.

Toyota's March surge likely outpaced the U.S. industry. Sales of new vehicles as a whole climbed 23 percent in March, according to market research firm J.D. Power and Associates.

Although auto sales have been steadily recovering, automakers have been raising their spending on incentives due to the shaky economy. Automakers are spending less on incentives now than they did a year ago, according to data from the auto Web site Edmunds.com.

Sales tanked in March of last year as the economy slowed, layoffs rose and GM and Chrysler headed into bankruptcy protection. Last March was among the worst auto sales months in decades.

AP Auto Writers Dee-Ann Durbin in Detroit and Dan Strumpf in New York contributed to this report.

2010 GMC Terrain Review

As a compact crossover, the GMC Terrain excels, while defying convention with a bold new look

By Colum Wood, Mar. 12, 2010 Autoguide.com

The GMC Terrain may be a compact crossover, but it has all the bold and brawny styling of a Mack truck, with boxy flared fenders and a massive front grille. A sister vehicle to the Chevrolet Equinox, it certainly doesn’t look it.

General Motors has a new plan for the GMC brand and it’s so crazy it might just work. The concept, it seems, is to rebrand and restyle Chevys as GMCs. Now, we know what you’re thinking… didn’t they do that with Saturn and Pontiac and isn’t that what got them into a financial mess?

The short answer is yes.

The difference with GMC, however, is that the idea of bringing muscular styling from middle-America to new models designed more for the big cities on the coasts, might just work. And this bold styling is sure to be a big draw with younger buyers who might not have considered a GM product of any sort, until now.

What also makes this plan different from rebadging Chevys as Pontiacs is the fact that GM is actually producing pretty decent vehicles these days.

The Terrain’s engine. In front drive layout and with GM’s direct-injection 2.4-liter 4-cylinder, GMC claims a best-in-class highway fuel economy rating of 32-mpg, with a city rating of 22-mpg. During our test we managed 25-mpg, which is pretty incredible for a vehicle with room for five and good cargo room.

Power from the 4-cylinder is rated at 182-hp and 174 ft-lbs of torque. Many journalists have complained that this isn’t enough, perhaps forgetting that it is in fact a compact crossover and not a real truck. We, however, think the acceleration is adequate and would only opt for the V6 for towing purposes – the V6 rated to tow 3,500 lbs vs. the 4-Cyl at 1,500 lbs. Costing just $1,500 extra for the V6, it’s certainly attractive, although you’ll spend far more in the long run in fuel, with a rating of 17/25 mpg. Plus, once you’ve opted for the six, you’ll be tempted to go for the then-optional 19-inch wheels.

In regards to driving dynamics, the Terrain does seem to be tuned more for a truck-like driving feel, with a bit more lean in the corners than some competitors. For the most part though, the suspension is identical to that in the Equinox, although the Terrain has a slightly wider track as well as slightly better ground clearance with a minimum height of 7.8-inches (although the same overall height). The turning radius also remains constant with its Chevy twin.

As big as the Terrain looks, it’s no behemoth and we found it quite easy to scoot around in – even in urban traffic. In fact, it will fit nicely into a single garage space, even though you wouldn’t expect it to.

Overall, the driving feel is reasonably sporty for a crossover, but the Terrain continues to feel more like a mid-size crossover than a compact one – which is at least in keeping with its look.

There’s also a truck-like build quality to the Terrain, with doors that slam shut with a resounding thud.

Another strong point for the Terrain is its interior. While fully optioned-out models have plenty of style with two-tone leather and the like, all come nicely designed and put together. The monotone black leather on our tester isn’t the best combo for looks, but was still nice. And like the Equinox, you just don’t expect red stitching on the seat and dash on a vehicle at this price-point – something that really helps it stand out.

Even more impressive is when the dash lights up at night, with a bright red glow. There’s even red ambient lighting for the center console and cupholder surrounds. We still find the center stack a bit excessive in the button department, but we have to commend GM for the digital trip display between the gauges that not only gives plenty of info, but can also display the car’s speed digitally.

In the rear seat area there’s a notable absence of style, with big swaths of hard plastic on the doors. But considering the use the rear seats area will get, it’s at least purposeful. Like the Equinox, the Terrain gets GM’s MultiFlex rear bench seating that can slide forwards and back by 8-inches. Even when forward legroom is good and when pushed all the way back, there’s a tremendous amount of space to stretch out. This is aided by the Terrain’s huge rear doors that make accessing those seats easy.

The sliding rear seats also allow for different amounts of rear cargo room. With the seats all the way forward, the Terrain offers 31.6 cubic feet of space and when folded flat, there’s a total of 63.9 cu.-ft. That’s good, but not exactly great, falling far short of the class-leading Honda CR-V, despite the Terrain’s huge appearance. One much-appreciated luxury feature that comes on the SLT-2 trim level is a power liftgate for easy access to your cargo.

The SLT-2 trim level includes most every feature you could ask for with the usual power options plus leather, heated front seats and an 8-way power driver’s seat with lumbar support and a memory setting. There’s also automatic climate control, an impressive 8-seaker audio system with a subwoofer and 7-inch display screen, rear parking assist, heated mirrors, remote vehicle entry and vehicle start, Bluetooth connection, a sunroof and a leather steering wheel with audio controls and cruise controls. Like we said, pretty much everything.

We’re not really sure if the seat memory is really necessary, but some customers will most likely see the appeal and it’s obvious GM wants to market the Terrain as a bit of a step-up from the Equinox. That’s why models like the SLT-2 also come with gobs of chrome on the exterior and some big and bright 18-inch wheels.

With the Terrain starting at $24,250 it’s definitely priced higher than a lot of compact crossovers, allowing GMC to target it against larger models like the Nissan Murano, Ford Edge and Mazda CX-7, even thought it’s really more of a CR-V, RAV4 rival. Our SLT-2 tester in front-drive 4-cylinder form starts at $29,550 and thanks to a $2,145 Navigation system, a few small options and a very reasonably priced $1,295 rear seat entertainment system with two display screens its sticker price is $33,035 (deliver included).

THE VERDICT

The Terrain is likely just the first of many new vehicles for the GMC brand, using a smart new strategy. Priced at several thousand over its Chevy Equinox twin, it’s putting much needed cash in GM’s pockets. The down side to this smart business model is that the customer has to pay extra.

Most customers aren’t likely to mind, however, as there’s a real feeling that you’re getting more with the Terrain, with its bold style and big looks that make even the pricey $24,250 base price seem like a bargain compared to larger vehicles.

The reality, however, is that it’s still a compact crossover and, when judged on those qualities alone, it excels. There’s good cargo room and great passenger room, top-notch fuel economy, a nicely executed interior and overall sturdy GMC construction.

With the Terrain, GMC has built a highly competitive compact crossover that snubs it big chrome grille at conventionally cute ‘utes.

GM claims sales dominance with Chevrolet Equinox

General Motors, which badly needs some more hits, has one where it counts -- in the hot small crossover segment, declares GM Vice Chairman Bob Lutz.

Small crossovers are the new sweet spot in the auto industry. So having a shortage of the Chevrolet Equinox is a great sign that GM is on the way back, Lutz says.

With Equinox,"we have broken through the barrier," he says. With sister vehicle GMC Terrain, "we dominate the segment" when it comes to purchase intent, he told the J.D. Power and Associates conference in Orlando yesterday.

GM sold 9,513 Equinoxes in January, Autodata figures show, and conceivably would have sold more if the model wasn't in short supply. By contrast, Toyota sold 7,894 RAV4s and Honda sold 9,672 CR-Vs. Check out our great selection of Chevrolet, Buick, Caddilac, and GMC today at www.BradhsawGreer.com

Chevy Equinox, an example of GM's promise

If General Motors Co. is going to climb out of the hole, repay taxpayers and get on the move again, it needs more cars like the 2010 Chevy Equinox.

This compact SUV looks a little like a Lexus, but at $28,000 for the top-of-the-line LTZ model, it has a much lower base price. The style is American all the way, with plenty of chrome, a spacious leather interior, a six-speed automatic and a peppy-yet-gas-friendly four-cylinder engine.

"The bottom line is to give the customer astonishing amounts of value," said GM Vice Chairman Bob Lutz. "This looks and feels like a way more expensive car."

After one of the worst years in a century of domestic automotive manufacturing, GM is desperate for a win. Its biggest financial problems have been solved, courtesy of bankruptcy court and $53 billion in federal aid. Now America's No. 1 automaker has to perform.

Its financial results this week showed progress. The company -- your company, because it is after all 61 percent owned by U.S. taxpayers -- generated a surprising $3.3 billion in cash during a truncated third quarter. It floated plans to begin repaying its loans early, and raise billions through an initial public offering next year.

But even as it's hitting the gas pedal, it's leaving a trail of parts behind. Employment fell 17 percent in the previous 12 months, to 209,000 worldwide. The U.S. hourly work force took a brutal 25 percent whack. Between June and the end of next year, GM expects to shrink its dealer network by 1,900 -- a scary thought given the nation's rising jobless rate.

GM is trying to speed along the things that traditionally take it forever. "Things like sales programs, changes in direction in advertising or modifying the product plan," Lutz said. "Things that used to be put on a monthly schedule are now on a twice-weekly schedule. We don't drown ourselves in a sea of numbers. We don't need in-depth studies if we all agree this is what we're going to do."

And now that the government has invested so much, it wants results -- and not only financial results. Bailing out GM was supposed to save U.S. jobs by preserving a bedrock U.S. industry.

Yet GM's latest numbers suggest that it will be selling a lot more Wuling microvans through a joint venture in China than SUVs at home. Even the definition of an American car has gotten squishy: GM made its test model of the Equinox in a Canadian assembly plant, sourcing 30 percent of the parts from outside North America, including a South Korean transmission.

Further, the government vision of a small-car fleet with triple-digit fuel economy runs up against long-standing American preferences. The Equinox may be a "compact" SUV, but it's not compact in the same way a jumbo shrimp is still a shrimp.

It feels big, and though it advertises combined fuel economy of 26 miles per gallon -- outstanding for its class -- a cold-weather drive around the city unmasks its SUV heart.

GM says the Equinox can more than make it from Chicago to Kansas City, Mo., or roughly 600 miles, on a tank of gas, and do it in style. For GM, that alone represents a step toward survival.

To see the All New Equinox for your self; stop by Bradshaw Chevrolet, Cadillac, Buick, GMC, Pontiac in Greer. Visit anytime at http://www.bradshawgreer.com/.