A Paradigm Shift?
 

No, this isn't as profound as you might be hoping.

I was thinking about how GM is selling cars at employee cost, and there are rumours that Ford and Mercedes-Benz might follow. Might everyone be going the way of Saturn?

It's long been my opinion that the current sales model for cars is very inneficient. Your sales price includes the cost of the dealership and the saleman's commision. You have to spend time haggling to get a decent price. I know that you can get a better price for most vehicles on the Internet, so why bother have a sales staff on commission?

So the dealer and sales team get profits too for selling at employee discounts? Gee, how much/or little is the discount? Or do they just jack up the price of the optional floor mats?

Sherwood

I think this paradigm was shifted without the clutch...

This morning on NPR some "expert" brought up the fact that people - on average - aren't really getting GM cars any cheaper than they were before (due to the previous incentives). So, this thing has really been a big marketing ploy. The good news is GM sales were up something like 40%, the bad news is that GM still isn't making any money selling cars.

Mike

GM makes money on the financing....and sometimes it's just enough to keep the cash flow coming in...

Even with the incentives, didn't you still have to haggle for the price?

I think the attractiveness here is the absence of haggling.