Chris Krasowski

Cash for Clunkers Stalled? General Motors Comes to the Rescue

Each car maker can loan money to the its dealership network as a stop-gap to temporary cash flow issues encountered by waiting for DOT to sort out Cash For Clunkers paperwork and provide the rebates.

In GM's case the irony is that it is majority owned by the government, so any stop-gap funds it provides are technically government controlled funds, while it waits for other government funds to flow to its dealerships.

Is Anything Worth Owning in the Auto Industry?

Gearhead, just to add to your comment about the Prius sales and how long it stays on the lot.
Toyota does things differently then the American auto makers. They do not produce a car until it is actually sold to a dealership. And a dealership obviously doesn't buy a number of cars without a clear rough estimate of typical demand.

While other automakers produce cars all the time, leave them at the plant until they are sold, and when no one buys them they shut the plant down for 2 weeks and send everyone home, Toyota is different. They produce cars that are already sold to dealerships and use overtime to produce any excesses if needed.

There is a reason why Toyota cars dont stay on dealership lots very long.

Is Anything Worth Owning in the Auto Industry?

Yes, of course I'm aware that Chevy is a part of GM, however, in terms of auto design, each brand is its own house and makes its own bed. Chevy styling simply is staggering bad, but don't get started on those GMC SUVs and large Trucks.