March 2008 Sales: General Motors

[Newbiewar]

GM Reports 282,732 Deliveries in March
805,720 In First Quarter
FOR RELEASE: 2008-04-01
Link to Press Release

(Monthly comparison percentages are sales day-adjusted. Quarterly percentages are not adjusted.)

March Highlights

Chevrolet Car Retail Sales Up 6 Percent Led By A 122 Percent Increase in Malibu and a 16 Percent Increase in Impala Sales
Cadillac Retail Car Sales Up 22 Percent with a 43 Percent Increase in CTS and 6 Percent Increase in DTS
Strong Retail Month at Saturn with Aura Up 25 Percent, Vue Up 18 Percent and Outlook Up 14 Percent, offsetting Ion
Enclave, Acadia and Outlook Drive Mid-Utility Crossover Segment Up 45 Percent
Saab Total Sales Up 12 Percent; GMC Total Sales Up 1 Percent
Q1 Highlights

Retail Share Remains Stable Despite Market Pressures; Fleet Sales Down 7 Percent
Continued Strength of Malibu, Impala, CTS and Aura Driving Passenger Car Growth
GM’s Mid-Utility Crossover Segment Grows 47 Percent
DETROIT – GM dealers in the United States delivered 282,732 vehicles in March, a decrease of 13 percent when compared with the same month a year ago. For the first three months of 2008, GM total sales of 805,720 vehicles were down 11 percent compared with a year ago. Retail share appears to have remained stable throughout the month and the quarter.

“Our new launch vehicles, including the award-winning Chevrolet Malibu, Cadillac CTS, and our new crossovers -- Enclave, Acadia and Outlook -- had a strong month,” said Mark LaNeve, vice president, GM North America Vehicle Sales, Service and Marketing.

“Most importantly, despite the tough economy and soft truck market, we anticipate our total retail vehicle sales share to have remained flat for the month and the first three months of the year. We are encouraged by our performance in the key passenger car categories, and we anticipate holding our share for full-size pickups and utilities,” LaNeve added.

There were several bright spots in the truck category, including GMC Sierra pickup sales that were up 4 percent total and 1 percent retail for the month. Saturn Vue total sales were up 12 percent and retail climbed 18 percent. The Buick Enclave, GMC Acadia and Saturn Outlook crossovers together accounted for more than 14,000 vehicle sales in the month, an increase of ­ ­45 percent compared with the same month last year. Outlook sales were up 18 percent; Acadia sales increased 39 percent; and there were more than 4,400 Buick Enclaves sold. The Saab 9-7X also increased its total sales 18 percent for the month. GM total truck sales for the month declined 16 percent compared with March 2007.

GM’s fuel-efficient cars saw strong growth. Chevrolet Malibu total sales were up 7 percent with retail sales up 122 percent, and Impala sales were up 10 percent total and 16 percent retail. Pontiac Vibe total sales were up 39 percent with retail up 4 percent, while G6 was up 31 percent total compared with March 2007. In the luxury car segment, the award-winning Cadillac CTS saw total sales increase 33 percent with a strong retail increase of 43 percent. The just-released 2009 Pontiac Vibe and G8 are selling as fast as they are delivered to dealers.

“For the first three months of the year, GM has four of the top-10 selling cars in the market with Impala, Cobalt, G6 and Malibu. Our sales performance in mid-cars and crossovers shows the power of new products to attract consumers – even in a tough market,” LaNeve added. “Consumers can always walk into a GM showroom and know they’ll get a vehicle with industry-leading value, great fuel economy and the best warranty coverage of any full-line automaker.”

Certified Used Vehicles

March 2008 sales for all certified GM brands, including GM Certified Used Vehicles, Cadillac Certified Pre-Owned Vehicles, Saturn Certified Pre-Owned Vehicles, Saab Certified Pre-Owned Vehicles, and HUMMER Certified Pre-Owned Vehicles, were 43,659 vehicles, down 19 percent from March 2007 results. Year-to-date sales are 123,633 vehicles, down 12 percent from the same period last year.

GM Certified Used Vehicles, the industry’s top-selling certified brand, posted March sales of 38,612 vehicles, down 19 percent from last March, when GM Certified set an industry monthly sales record for the certified category. Cadillac Certified Pre-Owned Vehicles sold 3,324 vehicles, down 14 percent. Saturn Certified Pre-Owned Vehicles sold 1,042 vehicles, down 35 percent. Saab Certified Pre-Owned Ve hicles sold 518 vehicles, down 32 percent, and HUMMER Certified Pre-Owned Vehicles sold 163 vehicles, up 39 percent.

“We’re encouraged that GM Certified Used Vehicles sales grew 2 percent from the previous month, the second consecutive monthly sales increase for the brand,” said LaNeve. “The Hummer Certified Pre-Owned Vehicles program posted one of its best months ever, with a 39 percent increase from last March.”

GM North America Reports March and First -Quarter 2008 Production , 2008 Second-Quarter Production Forecast Unchanged at 1.08 Million Vehicles

In March, GM North America produced 237,000 vehicles (124,000 cars and 113,000 trucks). This is down 164,000 vehicles or 41 percent compared to March 2007 when the region produced 401,000 vehicles (134,000 cars and 267,000 trucks). (Production totals include joint venture production of 20,000 vehicles in March 2008 and 15,000 vehicles in March 2007.)

GM North America built 885,000 vehicles ( 360,000 cars and 525,000 trucks) in the first-quarter of 2008. This is down 178,000 vehicles or 17 percent compared to first-quarter 2007 actuals when the region produced 1.063 million vehicles (399,000 cars and 664,000 trucks). Nearly 100,000 units of production have been lost due to the strike at American Axle. Additionally, the region’s 2008 second-quarter production forecast remains unchanged at 1.08 million vehicles (408,000 cars and 672,000 trucks ).

General Motors Corp. (NYSE: GM), the world’s largest automaker, has been the annual global industry sales leader for 77 years. Founded in 1908, GM today employs about 266,000 people around the world. With global headquarters in Detroit, GM manufactures its cars and trucks in 35 countries. In 2007, nearly 9.37 million GM cars and trucks were sold globally under the following brands: Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC, GM Daewoo, Holden, HUMMER, Opel, Pontiac, Saab, Saturn, Vauxhall and Wuling. 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 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: the pace of introductions and market acceptance of new products; the effect of competition on our markets and significant changes in the competitive environment; price increases or shortages of fuel; and changes in laws, regulations or tax rates. 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.

###

*S/D Curr: 26
*S/D Prev: 28
March (Calendar Year-to-Date)
January - March
2008 2007 %Chg Volume %Chg per S/D 2008 2007 %Chg Volume
Vehicle Total 282,732 349,866 -19.2 -13.0 805,720 909,093 -11.4
Car Total 117,378 136,865 -14.2 -7.6 329,344 349,923 -5.9
Light Truck Total 163,335 208,552 -21.7 -15.7 471,032 548,519 -14.1
Light Vehicle Total 280,713 345,417 -18.7 -12.5 800,376 898,442 -10.9
Truck Total 165,354 213,001 -22.4 -16.4 476,376 559,170 -14.8
GM Vehicle Deliveries by Marketing Division
2008 2007 %Chg Volume %Chg per S/D 2008 2007 %Chg Volume
Buick Total 12,317 16,222 -24.1 -18.2 37,834 43,343 -12.7
Cadillac Total 17,453 18,943 -7.9 -0.8 46,665 46,825 -0.3
Chevrolet Total 164,564 213,156 -22.8 -16.9 480,278 548,693 -12.5
GMC Total 38,422 40,894 -6.0 1.2 103,929 110,661 -6.1
HUMMER Total 3,451 4,847 -28.8 -23.3 9,863 13,004 -24.2
**Other-Isuzu Total 0 1,396 ***.* ***.* 0 3,023 ***.*
Pontiac Total 25,417 30,448 -16.5 -10.1 72,377 79,071 -8.5
Saab Total 2,962 2,837 4.4 12.4 6,468 7,420 -12.8
Saturn Total 18,146 21,123 -14.1 -7.5 48,306 57,053 -15.3
GM Vehicle Total 282,732 349,866 -19.2 -13.0 805,720 909,093 -11.4
GM Car Deliveries by Marketing Division
2008 2007 %Chg Volume %Chg per S/D 2008 2007 %Chg Volume
Buick Total 7,779 11,999 -35.2 -30.2 25,815 30,258 -14.7
Cadillac Total 11,030 10,306 7.0 15.3 30,883 26,642 15.9
Chevrolet Total 64,334 73,665 -12.7 -5.9 181,441 187,160 -3.1
Pontiac Total 23,616 27,046 -12.7 -6.0 65,845 70,995 -7.3
Saab Total 2,449 2,370 3.3 11.3 5,110 6,048 -15.5
Saturn Total 8,170 11,479 -28.8 -23.4 20,250 28,820 -29.7
GM Car Total 117,378 136,865 -14.2 -7.6 329,344 349,923 -5.9
GM Light Truck Deliveries by Marketing Division
2008 2007 %Chg Volume %Chg per S/D 2008 2007 %Chg Volume
Buick Total 4,538 4,223 7.5 15.7 12,019 13,085 -8.1
Cadillac Total 6,423 8,637 -25.6 -19.9 15,782 20,183 -21.8
Chevrolet Total 99,157 138,089 -28.2 -22.7 296,020 357,879 -17.3
GMC Total 37,476 39,243 -4.5 2.8 101,402 106,687 -5.0
HUMMER Total 3,451 4,847 -28.8 -23.3 9,863 13,004 -24.2
Pontiac Total 1,801 3,402 -47.1 -43.0 6,532 8,076 -19.1
Saab Total 513 467 9.9 18.3 1,358 1,372 -1.0
Saturn Total 9,976 9,644 3.4 11.4 28,056 28,233 -0.6
GM Light Truck Total 163,335 208,552 -21.7 -15.7 471,032 548,519 -14.1

* Twenty-six selling days (S/D) for the March period this year and twenty-eight for the last year.
** Prior to Aug '07, includes American Isuzu Motors, Inc., dealer deliveries of commercial vehicles distributed by GM as reported to GM by American Isuzu Motors Inc.
Effective Aug '07, GM only includes GMC & Chevrolet dealer deliveries of commercial vehicles distributed by American Isuzu Motors, Inc.

Car Deliveries

March
Calendar Year-to-Date
January - March

2008 2007 %Chg Volume %Chg per S/D 2008 2007 %Chg Volume
Selling Days (S/D)
26 28 26 28
Century 0 2 ***.* ***.* 0 4 ***.*
LaCrosse 3,080 4,462 -31.0 -25.7 11,435 10,603 7.8
LeSabre 0 11 ***.* ***.* 0 51 ***.*
Lucerne 4,699 7,517 -37.5 -32.7 14,380 19,587 -26.6
Park Avenue
0 7 ***.* ***.* 0 13 ***.*
Buick Total
7,779 11,999 -35.2 -30.2 25,815 30,258 -14.7
CTS 6,045 4,880 23.9 33.4 16,697 10,765 55.1
DTS 3,370 3,663 -8.0 -0.9 9,218 10,947 -15.8
DeVille 0 9 ***.* ***.* 0 31 ***.*
STS 1,486 1,555 -4.4 2.9 4,581 4,434 3.3
XLR 129 199 -35.2 -30.2 387 465 -16.8
Cadillac Total
11,030 10,306 7.0 15.3 30,883 26,642 15.9
Aveo 3,693 6,793 -45.6 -41.5 12,307 15,228 -19.2
Cavalier 0 9 ***.* ***.* 0 24 ***.*
Classic 0 0 ***.* ***.* 0 1 ***.*
Cobalt 13,756 18,061 -23.8 -18.0 48,024 41,949 14.5
Corvette 2,692 3,158 -14.8 -8.2 6,778 8,176 -17.1
Impala 29,010 28,505 1.8 9.6 71,750 80,705 -11.1
Malibu 15,082 15,140 -0.4 7.3 42,083 36,052 16.7
Monte Carlo 100 1,971 -94.9 -94.5 496 4,899 -89.9
SSR 1 28 -96.4 -96.2 3 126 -97.6
Chevrolet Total
64,334 73,665 -12.7 -5.9 181,441 187,160 -3.1
Bonneville 0 6 ***.* ***.* 0 42 ***.*
G5 1,546 2,364 -34.6 -29.6 5,379 5,593 -3.8
G6 15,108 12,390 21.9 31.3 45,951 35,636 28.9
G8 777 0 ***.* ***.* 777 0 ***.*
GTO 3 702 -99.6 -99.5 14 1,887 -99.3
Grand Am 0 12 ***.* ***.* 0 40 ***.*
Grand Prix 1,073 6,807 -84.2 -83.0 3,350 16,823 -80.1
Solstice 1,216 1,742 -30.2 -24.8 2,791 3,620 -22.9
Sunfire 0 5 ***.* ***.* 0 11 ***.*
Vibe 3,893 3,018 29.0 38.9 7,583 7,343 3.3
Pontiac Total
23,616 27,046 -12.7 -6.0 65,845 70,995 -7.3
9-2X 0 20 ***.* ***.* 1 81 -98.8
9-3 2,133 1,981 7.7 16.0 4,371 4,875 -10.3
9-5 316 369 -14.4 -7.8 738 1,092 -32.4
Saab Total
2,449 2,370 3.3 11.3 5,110 6,048 -15.5
Astra 720 0 ***.* ***.* 1,477 0 ***.*
Aura 6,241 5,530 12.9 21.5 16,382 13,428 22.0
ION 32 4,639 -99.3 -99.3 251 12,555 -98.0
Saturn L Series 0 0 ***.* ***.* 0 0 ***.*
Sky 1,177 1,310 -10.2 -3.2 2,140 2,837 -24.6
Saturn Total 8,170 11,479 -28.8 -23.4 20,250 28,820 -29.7
GM Car Total 117,378 136,865 -14.2 -7.6 329,344 349,923 -5.9

Truck Deliveries

March (Calendar Year-to-Date)
January - March

2008 2007 %Chg Volume %Chg per S/D 2008 2007 %Chg Volume
Selling Days (S/D)
26 28 26 28
Enclave 4,460 0 ***.* ***.* 11,712 0 ***.*
Rainier 14 601 -97.7 -97.5 74 1,589 -95.3
Rendezvous 1 2,697 ***.* ***.* 9 9,753 ***.*
Terraza 63 925 -93.2 -92.7 224 1,743 -87.1
Buick Total
4,538 4,223 7.5 15.7 12,019 13,085 -8.1
Escalade 2,805 3,774 -25.7 -20.0 6,667 8,600 -22.5
Escalade ESV 1,309 1,742 -24.9 -19.1 3,148 3,881 -18.9
Escalade EXT 551 932 -40.9 -36.3 1,294 2,081 -37.8
SRX 1,758 2,189 -19.7 -13.5 4,673 5,621 -16.9
Cadillac Total
6,423 8,637 -25.6 -19.9 15,782 20,183 -21.8
Astro 0 2 ***.* ***.* 0 16 ***.*
Chevy C/T Series 19 22 -13.6 -7.0 44 59 -25.4
Chevy W Series 168 314 -46.5 -42.4 435 646 -32.7
Colorado 5,126 7,685 -33.3 -28.2 15,750 19,769 -20.3
Equinox 6,450 9,997 -35.5 -30.5 22,989 22,896 0.4
Express Cutaway/G Cut 1,112 1,513 -26.5 -20.9 3,746 3,665 2.2
Express Panel/G Van 5,838 6,572 -11.2 -4.3 15,942 16,192 -1.5
Express/G Sportvan 1,214 1,832 -33.7 -28.6 3,817 3,839 -0.6
HHR 7,260 7,870 -7.8 -0.7 22,615 22,045 2.6
Kodiak 4/5 Series 781 880 -11.3 -4.4 1,981 2,345 -15.5
Kodiak 6/7/8 Series 105 186 -43.5 -39.2 357 604 -40.9
S/T Blazer 0 0 ***.* ***.* 0 2 ***.*
Suburban (Chevy) 5,278 8,282 -36.3 -31.4 13,594 19,670 -30.9
Tahoe 9,772 14,848 -34.2 -29.1 25,709 34,875 -26.3
TrailBlazer 5,253 11,426 -54.0 -50.5 23,850 31,632 -24.6
Uplander 5,791 6,936 -16.5 -10.1 15,360 15,260 0.7
Venture 0 4 ***.* ***.* 0 8 ***.*
Avalanche 3,502 5,496 -36.3 -31.4 9,869 15,295 -35.5
Silverado-C/K Pickup 42,561 55,626 -23.5 -17.6 122,779 152,715 -19.6
Chevrolet Fullsize Pickups 46,063 61,122 -24.6 -18.8 132,648 168,010 -21.0
Chevrolet Total
100,230 139,491 -28.1 -22.6 298,837 361,533 -17.3
Acadia 7,424 5,739 29.4 39.3 20,675 11,704 76.6
Canyon 1,303 1,802 -27.7 -22.1 4,107 5,207 -21.1
Envoy 2,305 3,150 -26.8 -21.2 8,476 10,749 -21.1
GMC C/T Series 9 27 -66.7 -64.1 41 57 -28.1
GMC W Series 252 553 -54.4 -50.9 732 1,089 -32.8
Safari (GMC) 0 0 ***.* ***.* 0 11 ***.*
Savana Panel/G Classic 1,014 1,225 -17.2 -10.9 2,608 3,339 -21.9
Savana Special/G Cut 2,701 1,106 144.2 163.0 3,689 2,661 38.6
Savana/Rally 193 135 43.0 54.0 421 396 6.3
Sierra 15,919 16,503 -3.5 3.9 44,207 47,790 -7.5
Topkick 4/5 Series 297 610 -51.3 -47.6 885 1,581 -44.0
Topkick 6/7/8 Series 388 461 -15.8 -9.4 869 1,247 -30.3
Yukon 3,943 5,704 -30.9 -25.6 10,297 14,852 -30.7
Yukon XL 2,674 3,879 -31.1 -25.8 6,922 9,978 -30.6
GMC Total
38,422 40,894 -6.0 1.2 103,929 110,661 -6.1
HUMMER H1 4 15 -73.3 -71.3 10 56 -82.1
HUMMER H2 890 1,040 -14.4 -7.8 2,388 3,091 -22.7
HUMMER H3 2,557 3,792 -32.6 -27.4 7,465 9,857 -24.3
HUMMER Total
3,451 4,847 -28.8 -23.3 9,863 13,004 -24.2
Other-Isuzu F Series 0 184 ***.* ***.* 0 477 ***.*
Other-Isuzu H Series 0 13 ***.* ***.* 0 30 ***.*
Other-Isuzu N Series 0 1,199 ***.* ***.* 0 2,516 ***.*
Other-Isuzu Total
0 1,396 ***.* ***.* 0 3,023 ***.*
Aztek 0 2 ***.* ***.* 0 12 ***.*
Montana 0 5 ***.* ***.* 0 13 ***.*
Montana SV6 2 189 -98.9 -98.9 22 534 -95.9
Torrent 1,799 3,206 -43.9 -39.6 6,510 7,517 -13.4
Pontiac Total
1,801 3,402 -47.1 -43.0 6,532 8,076 -19.1
9-7X 513 467 9.9 18.3 1,358 1,372 -1.0
Saab Total 513 467 9.9 18.3 1,358 1,372 -1.0
Outlook 2,428 2,210 9.9 18.3 6,550 5,054 29.6
Relay 19 178 -89.3 -88.5 100 511 -80.4
VUE 7,529 7,256 3.8 11.7 21,406 22,668 -5.6
Saturn Total 9,976 9,644 3.4 11.4 28,056 28,233 -0.6
GM Truck Total 165,354 213,001 -22.4 -16.4 476,376 559,170 -14.8

# # #

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.

[Northstar]

122% jump in Malibu retail sales (and considering overall it was slightly down, that shows how much they fleeted the old one)... and the Impala retail sales were up 16%. Perhaps the Malibu is drawing in buyers and some of them are going for the bigger and cheaper Impala, especially when they find that there are not many Malibus on the lot. Cobalt and Aveo are tanking, though.

777 G8s sold. Interesting number.

[A Horse With No Name]

Cobalt and Aveo are outlcassed by other cars in the market.

I wonder if the Astra is up to projections?

And yeah, the economy still sucks.

Chris

[turbo200]

122% jump in Malibu retail sales (and considering overall it was slightly down, that shows how much they fleeted the old one)... and the Impala retail sales were up 16%. Perhaps the Malibu is drawing in buyers and some of them are going for the bigger and cheaper Impala, especially when they find that there are not many Malibus on the lot. Cobalt and Aveo are tanking, though.

777 G8s sold. Interesting number.

yeah, 777 is a good number. could be a sign.

some quick math, remember Impala was at around 56% fleet sales last year, so take away about 30k sales for fleets and you're left with 40k. The last Malibu was also around 60% fleets.....it was at 36k sales at this time last year and is now at 42k. 60% of 36k is about 23k, so that leaves 13k retail sales through March for the last gen Malibu. taking the 122% retail increase and you get to about 33k retail sales, which sounds about right and normal. If GM is only doing about 3k/month for fleet sales for Malibu and keeps this consistent level that'll translate to a 220-250k/year [assuming increased sales over coming months] sales car doing 36k fleets. That's a sound level for a mass market car.

Edited April 1, 2008 by turbo200

[Northstar]

yeah, 777 is a good number. could be a sign.

some quick math, remember Impala was at around 56% fleet sales last year, so take away about 30k sales for fleets and you're left with 40k. The last Malibu was also around 60% fleets.....it was at 36k sales at this time last year and is now at 42k. 60% of 36k is about 23k, so that leaves 13k retail sales through March for the last gen Malibu. taking the 122% retail increase and you get to about 33k retail sales, which sounds about right and normal. If GM is only doing about 3k/month for fleet sales for Malibu and keeps this consistent level that'll translate to a 220-250k/year [assuming increased sales over coming months] sales car doing 36k fleets. That's a sound level for a mass market car.

Good points. Also, if it did 15k in March, that's probably a lower rate than what the average month will be. June, July August, September should be around 25k I would think... and the average will probably end up around 20k/month for this year. If GM can sell 250k Malibus and keep Impala at the same level without increasing fleet sales that is a huge number of retail sales. Eventually the Malibu should be doing 25k in the non-JJAS months and 30k in the JJAS months for a total of about 275k a year, I would think. Still not CamCord numbers, but it should at least gain attention in the marketplace and have a solid owner base when the EPII model comes out, which should be even better.

[smk4565]

It is good to see retail sales of the key cars like the Malibu up, they need to get away from the fleet cars that kill resale values.

Hummer down 23%, they aren't even on pace to sell 40,000 units this year. This brand can be dumped, it is going to be a big CAFE liability and the money would be better spent on Cadillac.

Buick down 18.2%, on pace for under 150,000 sales this year. This brand is dying faster than it's customer base.

Chevy was down 16.9%, that can't all be due to less Malibus to Avis, they need an all new Cobalt, all new Impala, and a hybrid that gets 40+ mpg city like the Prius. (The Volt could be huge, but they need a low cost hybrid also) A minivan and a better Aveo wouldn't hurt either. They should make Pontiac a fleet brand and give Chevy the product it needs. Chevy should get 2 products per year (10-12 products 5-6 year cycle) as good as the 08 Malibu.

Edited April 2, 2008 by smk4565

[A Horse With No Name]

I'll shoot down a minivan, the last generations of minivans were horrible and the minivan market is shrinking.

Ditto though to killing Hummer and spending the cash in Cadillac instead.

Ditto also to a fuel efficient car, although I think the volt will have that covered. Maybe a small diesel to compete with the Jetta/Rabbit diesels comming?

Chris

[regfootball]

cobalt is DOWN. wow. is sync killing the chevy?

[smk4565]

Toyota is upping Prius production to 480,000 in 2009. I think the car is ugly inside and out and would never buy one, but that is pretty good sales number for a car that deep into it's life cycle. Domestically, the Prius sells about 270,000 a year. There is a market for 40+ mpg vehicles, that GM is missing. Plus GM needs them to offset the Silverado on CAFE regs.

I do like the idea of diesels.

No market is shrinking faster than full size SUVs and GM seems to have a lot of vehicles there. The Honda Odyssey outsells the Lambda trio, the minivan market isn't that bad.

[VenSeattle]

A friend of mine in Texas (he's 30) bought an Impala last month. Interesting case.

He traded in his Dodge Ram pick-up of all things. He wanted better gas mileage, but didn't want to feel like he was in a "small" car. Ultimately, the deciding factor was based around his two dogs. The Impala's rear seat flips/folds forward creating a secure, hard-plastic area for the dogs. It's easy to clean and protects the leather.

I didn't provide any input on the sale. He made the decision all on his own. He was looking forward to telling me that GM won him over though... lol.

I did ask him about the Malibu. It wasn't a consideration because of its size and the folding back seat didn't operate similar to the Impala's.

------

On another note... I've noticed two Impalas in two separate driveways with dealer tags during my commute to work. So the Impala seems to have some consumer appeal.

[SuperSport623]

that hard plastic area under the seat is actually a really cool feature! never new about that!

[VenSeattle]

I agree... and it appears the seatbelts are still accessible/functional so you can buckle a harness in and secure the pet. I'll have to verify with him if that is the case.

[Drew Dowdell]

A friend of mine in Texas (he's 30) bought an Impala last month. Interesting case.

He traded in his Dodge Ram pick-up of all things. He wanted better gas mileage, but didn't want to feel like he was in a "small" car. Ultimately, the deciding factor was based around his two dogs. The Impala's rear seat flips/folds forward creating a secure, hard-plastic area for the dogs. It's easy to clean and protects the leather.

I didn't provide any input on the sale. He made the decision all on his own. He was looking forward to telling me that GM won him over though... lol.

I did ask him about the Malibu. It wasn't a consideration because of its size and the folding back seat didn't operate similar to the Impala's.

This is a feature GM needs to consider adding to more cars. It is unique in the market... I think. No other car has it right?

[Robert Hall]

cobalt is DOWN. wow. is sync killing the chevy?

Probably more that it's looked the same for 4 model years now..it needs an MCE yesterday..

[siegen]

cobalt is DOWN. wow. is sync killing the chevy?

Riight. Sync must be killing the Corolla too.

Yes, one non-deal-breaking feature is the reason! :AH-HA_wink:

[siegen]

Nice to see GM finally make a comeback with the new Malibu.

It's surprising though, both Accord and Camry sales are up slightly (36k and 40k respectively). Ford/Chrysler must be taking the losses, or Cobalt buyers are deciding on the Malibu instead.

[A Horse With No Name]

This is a feature GM needs to consider adding to more cars. It is unique in the market... I think. No other car has it right?

That is a really cool feature. We need more salespeople that can actually sell cars and tell people about the features. Gm still has a way to go fixing its dealer network.

But a really cool feature.

Chris

[A Horse With No Name]

Nice to see GM finally make a comeback with the new Malibu.

It's surprising though, both Accord and Camry sales are up slightly (36k and 40k respectively). Ford/Chrysler must be taking the losses, or Cobalt buyers are deciding on the Malibu instead.

Cobalt is a great car but GM needs a Malibu quality refresh to stay strong in the small car market.

Chris

[CARBIZ]

Probably more that it's looked the same for 4 model years now..it needs an MCE yesterday..

Our sales are still holding up because of the 'value packaging,' but let's not have the Cobalt turn into another Uplander.

One vehicle that we have to give away with a set of Tupperware is enough, thanks.

[makfu]

So I see good news and bad news in this report. The bad news is that the market is clearly in real trouble and these numbers don't point to a turnaround later in the year (this frankly is wishful thinking by GM's economists - I don't know why they continue to cling to this false hope). I would expect next month to also be substantially worse than forecast.

That said, GM's numbers were pretty bad except in the all important retail market-share. If GM can continue to hold the line on retail share, when the economy does turn around, sometime in 2009 (I don't expect anything to improve until Q2 CY09) GM will be in a good position, especially with all the structural cost improvements in NA starting to bare fruit.

I have to agree with those calling for Hummer's closure. I am not a fan of killing brands (it generally doesn't work - example Oldsmobile), but Hummer truly is redundant and adds little value while stealing precious marketing and product development dollars from Saturn and PBG, which really are very important to GM's revival. I would also say that Hummer, in this era of eco-silliness and not so silly gas prices, really is a public relations nightmare. GM should dump the brand posthaste.

By the way, the sharp decline in fleet sales is an indication that the economy is likely contracting (not just slowing) as decisions around fleet purchases are driven largely by two key factors: rental companies seeing a decrease in total mileage, which indicates rentals and travel are down, and corporate customers who have cut transportation budgets because revenues are down. Neither of these indicators occurs preemptively on this scale, this is a reactive indicator and, frankly, it's pretty disturbing (though it helps GM mask fleet cuts that were already planned, though not nearly this steep).

[ZL-1]

I watch financial news bc of professional inclination (essentially on Bloomberg since the #$%&s that run my cable operator cut CNBC from the cable package), and from what I've been listening, I am getting hints that this might either be a longer or a deeper contraction in the US economy. Either way, the Detroit 3 will face a pretty heavy storm this year, and I'd be very surprised to see anything interesting coming from them both in terms of earnings and especially cash flows.

Edited April 3, 2008 by ZL-1

[gmcbob]

A friend of mine in Texas (he's 30) bought an Impala last month. Interesting case.

He traded in his Dodge Ram pick-up of all things. He wanted better gas mileage, but didn't want to feel like he was in a "small" car. Ultimately, the deciding factor was based around his two dogs. The Impala's rear seat flips/folds forward creating a secure, hard-plastic area for the dogs. It's easy to clean and protects the leather.

I didn't provide any input on the sale. He made the decision all on his own. He was looking forward to telling me that GM won him over though... lol.

I did ask him about the Malibu. It wasn't a consideration because of its size and the folding back seat didn't operate similar to the Impala's.

------

On another note... I've noticed two Impalas in two separate driveways with dealer tags during my commute to work. So the Impala seems to have some consumer appeal.

He wouldn't happen to live in Houston? I literally just saw a brand new black Impala SS being driven by a guy who in my neck of the woods, I'd normally see behind the wheel of an IS250 or G35 or something.

Actually, despite the fact that it's front wheel drive, I still think the 2006+ Impala SS makes for a pretty cool car.

GM does well in Houston with their trucks and SUV's, but I don't see that many new GM cars running around. I mostly see Honda and Toyota here.

As far as luxury type cars, every once in a blue moon I'll see a new CTS, but most of the "entry level" or mid level luxury sport sedans are G35's and IS's and Bimmers (and first generation CTS actually).

I love the new CTS, but it's expensive when you start loading it up with the options I want.

Edited April 5, 2008 by gmcbob