Almost two months ago General Motors introduced the most irresistible offer in the history of the automotive industry. They have extended their employee discount to the public. This is the first time an automaker has proposed a discount of this magnitude to any who walk through their showroom doors.
However, enticing the offer is, it is nothing more than a last stich effort by the executives at General Motors before waving the white flag. GM sales, before the “Employee Discount for Everyone” program, were dismal. Beyond their truck line, and the brand new Chevrolet Corvette C6, their product line has largely been scrutinized.
Since the day the advertising campaign began there has been a reversal of fortune. The advertisements themselves are ingenious. They are not like the local ads you see here in Dallas that often open with “We have too many cars!” or “We’ll take any trade-in!” These ads declare that the corporation and its employees are “Proud to offer you,” their own employee discount. What makes the promotion even more attractive is that it applies to every company under the GM corporate umbrella; GMC, Chevrolet, Pontiac, Buick, Saturn, Saab, Cadillac and Hummer.
After the first month of the program GM reported an earnings increase of nearly 26 percent over the month before. Needless to say, this caught the attention of Ford Motor Company and DaimlerChrysler, and they too now offer their own spin on an employee discount program.
Three of the world’s biggest automakers offering unprecedented discounts, sounds flawless; however, just as with any great incentive offer, there is a catch. Not every model is available with that employee discount you’ve been hearing about.
Ford, for one, has chosen to leave out most of the brands it owns. There is no employee discount for Mazda, Volvo, Jaguar, Land Rover or Aston Martin, as well the omission of select Ford models from the offer.
The DaimlerChrysler group will not offer any of its high-performance SRT models or the Dodge Viper at an employee discount. They will also hold out their three newest and most popular car models: the Chrysler 300, the Dodge Charger and the Dodge Magnum.
General Motors leaves the price of its brand new Chevrolet Corvette unchanged, along with the Saturn L300 and nearly every new Pontiac. However, GM will include the high performance Cadillac V-series models in the discount program.
Additionally, in the first earnings period in which all three major automakers offered their own employee discounts, Ford sold the most cars. Therefore with all offers being equal, people chose the blue oval.
There are a lot of great deals out there right now, especially with individual dealers taking the next step and even offering additional discounts beyond those given on a national scale.
However, there is no way we can know of every deal around the country, so I can only judge all the offers on a national level. As far as I’m concerned the place to be this season is at your Cadillac or GMC dealer. Daimler-Chrysler eliminated its high performance SRT models, Chrysler 300, and Dodge’s Charger, Magnum and Viper from the massive savings.
Cadillac and GMC have not made that mistake; they do offer their most desirable cars at an even more desirable discount. Cadillac’s CTS-V is available for $46,363 with the employee discount, a savings of about $6,000, and a steal on a 400 horsepower sports sedan. GMC’s best deal is its ever popular, fully loaded, Yukon Denali with the employee discount for $40,415, which is a savings of nearly $10,000. I do understand that both of these cars are double the price of a base model Toyota Camry, nonetheless I still see them as the two best deals ongoing.
There have never been automotive discounts like these and there may not be once this round is over. So if you’re looking for a domestic car, now is the time you were waiting for to buy it.
