REPORT: GM sees first year-over-year sales increase in 21 months
While still down considerably, the auto industry has begun to pick up a bit of steam lately. In fact, industry analysts at Edmunds went as far as to predict that General Motors would increase its market share for the month of October.
Less than two weeks after Edmunds' prediction, GM global market and industry analysis director Mike DiGiovanni told the Detroit Free Press that the automaker will increase year-over-year sales for the month of October. And GM will achieve that sales uptick with 95 percent of vehicles sold coming from GM's four core brands. The remaining 5 percent comes from Pontiac, Saab, Hummer and Saturn. Last October the four endangered or extinct brands represented 15 percent of GM's overall sales.
Not only will GM's sales be increased versus October 2008, they will also best last month's tally by a considerable margin. The automaker sold 168,719 units in October 2008, so the expected year-over-year increase will likely place the General somewhere north of 170,000 units for the month, or at least 10 percent more cars and trucks than the 154,000 September 2009 sales. The month-over-month increase doesn't come as too much of a surprise, though, as September was negatively affected by the hangover generated after Cash for Clunkers ended.
[Source: Detroit Free Press | Image: Nelson Ortiz/Getty]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
The Other Bob 10:25AM (10/29/2009)
How does that compare to October 2007?
That's a real indicator of where we are considering the bottom fell out of financing in October 2008.
The increase in market share shows a postive indicator though.
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Luis 10:46AM (10/29/2009)
Yeah, compared to 2007 when the economy was in full-tilt bubble mode. Not that the financial sector's bubble isn't already beginning to inflate lacking any real foundation, but whatever. No one cares how fragile the financial sector is if there isn't a lot of hurt.
ALEXDB9 10:25AM (10/29/2009)
That's nice and all for GM....but why is that man washing his car with that?!?! On a black finish too....guess he really likes swirl marks
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Luis 10:47AM (10/29/2009)
dumbass is a car-washer for a dealer. he doesn't own the car, so he doesn't care.
ALEXDB9 10:53AM (10/29/2009)
Luis...if theres one thing I know about washing cars is NEVER let you're dealer do it. I even ask for this after the car has been in service. The other day I saw a black SL65 when the sun was hitting the hood...looked like someone used sand paper instead of a microfiber towel. I thought....damn dealer's carwash
The Other Bob 10:55AM (10/29/2009)
I think that brush is designed for car washing. It looks similar to ones at a dealership I once worked at. The bristles are extremely soft.
ALEXDB9 11:02AM (10/29/2009)
@ The Other Bob
Yeah it looks soft, but is it me or is he washing it dry? Looks like just the brush is wet
I don't know...I don't trust the wood handle either, the way he's got it slanted.....wood+black paint= a dealer discount
Redline 11:08AM (10/29/2009)
Yeah, the wood is fully making contact with hood there *shivers*
Gary 11:18AM (10/29/2009)
It's interesting that so many others here thought the same thing after seeing that brush. It's kind of hard to tell from this angle, but I think that plastic brush end can wreak havoc on a car's bumper... it's happened to my car after a service and I've seen it at dealers on cars that haven't been sold yet: when you use that brush to wash the back of a car above the bumper, the person washing it slides the brush on top of the bumper, leaving scrapes in the paint on top of the bumper.
Note: Don't buy at Kendall GM
Interpol 1:38PM (10/29/2009)
Is that Jon Gosselin washing the car?
Insect 10:26AM (10/29/2009)
That's what I like to see, a dry black car being washed in the sun with a brush!
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9600baud 10:30AM (10/29/2009)
omg i thought the same thing... i didnt even read the post after seeing that picture, i assumed it was about how GM dealerships were scratching the cars before selling them
CrashDummy11 10:40AM (10/29/2009)
That's the first thing I thought....the paint is going to be horrible before the owner even takes delivery.
Avinash machado 10:26AM (10/29/2009)
Go GM!
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AlienEvoX 10:28AM (10/29/2009)
Someone should show that kid how to was cars
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mk15 10:30AM (10/29/2009)
Sales would be higher if they properly washed a car and not ruin the paint.
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leftlaneabuse 10:32AM (10/29/2009)
Thanks to cash for clunkers and deep discounts on the soon to be dead brands.
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Luis 10:48AM (10/29/2009)
stupid. C4C has no impact on October sales. Although this is proof that C4C provided the shot in the arm that autosales needed. That and the stimulus is actually working, helping drag the economy, kicking and screaming, out of the Great Recession.
Tourian 11:01AM (10/29/2009)
Your reading comprehension is terrible. The article states that most of GM's sales came from its surviving brands and the outgoing brands contributed less then last month. Also C4C is long over, champ.
leftlaneabuse 11:04AM (10/29/2009)
What stimulus? I could use it. Unemployment is projected to rise by another 3.3 million by the end of 2010. C4C got people excited about buying a new car and deep discounts drove them to the door.