GM offers incentive to lure Toyota owners
DETROIT — General Motors Co., seeking to capitalize on the problems plaguing Toyota Motor Corp.’s vehicles, will offer a monthlong incentive to Toyota and Lexus owners.
The move is in response to “thousands” of calls and e-mails to dealers and GM employees from Toyota owners asking for help, GM spokesman Tom Henderson said today.
The incentive, which runs through the end of February, offers Toyota and Lexus owners three options, Henderson said:
1. Those who choose to lease a vehicle may waive three payments for up to a total of $1,000.
2. Qualifying customers who are financing a vehicle purchase can receive 0 percent financing for up to 60 months.
3. Cash buyers can receive $1,000 off their purchase.
The incentive applies to purchases of GMC, Buick, Cadillac and Chevrolet vehicles, Henderson said.
GM intended for its offer to compensate for some of the value Toyota trade-ins have lost as a result of the recall, said Steve Hill, GM’s general manager of retail activities.
“When something like this happen … probably the consumers’ biggest concern is, ‘What has happened to the value of the used car?’” he said. “In general, when people buy a car, it’s, ‘What is the used car worth, and what does the new car cost?’”
Toyota last week recalled 2.3 million vehicles to fix accelerator pedals that could become stuck. That recall number included some 2009-10 Pontiac Vibes, the sibling crossover of the Toyota Matrix. Both were produced in California by a former joint venture between GM and Toyota, New United Motor Manufacturing Inc.
Late yesterday, Toyota said it would suspend sales of vehicles with the affected pedals. That includes the 1,300 Pontiac Vibes left in North America, GM spokesman Alan Adler said today.
Only six Vibes are left in the United States — the rest are in Canada. And four of the U.S. Vibes are technically sold but still may be on dealers’ lots, Adler said.
GM dealers won’t sell the two unsold U.S. Vibes, he said.
Read more: http://www.autonews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100127/RETAIL/100129874#ixzz0fBviP4Fw
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