JAMIE LAREAU
AUTOMOTIVE NEWS
JUNE 23, 2008 - 1:45 PM ET
UPDATED: 6/23/08 2:55 P.M. EDT


DETROIT -- General Motors told dealers in a teleconference today that it would be launching a 0 percent financing sale starting Tuesday, June 24, while raising prices "across the board" for GM's 2009 models.

GM executives also told dealers that they plan on making some production shifts and that they hired Citibank to help review the Hummer brand's future.

Attempting to boost June sales, GM's Mark LaNeve told dealers in a conference call that GM would be starting what it calls a "72 Hour Sale." The sale starts June 24 and runs through June 30. LaNeve is GM's vice president of vehicle sales, service and marketing.

The sale will offer customers 0 percent interest for 72 months for most Chevrolet and Buick-Pontiac-GMC products, GM told dealers for those brands.

GM has included the premium brands in the 72 Hour Sale. Cadillac includes everything except the CTS, which only gets zero percent for 36 months on the 2008 model, a dealer said. GM put an additional $1,000 cash on the Escalade. Saab includes the 9-3 sedan and 9-7 SUV and Hummer includes H2 and H3.

At Thompson Sales Co. in Springfield, Mo., owner Lynn Thompson believes he will sell an additional 45 to 50 cars during this last week now due to the sale. That will bring him closer to last June's sales figures, but he'll still be down about 10 percent.

"The first 17 days of the month were horrendous, just awful," Thompson says. "I think the gas price shock…all you saw every time you turned on the TV was that gas was up, gas was up…the media was just feeding on it. It was unbelievable. I think it just wore people down."

GM will also offer an additional $500 bonus cash to a customer who purchases a vehicle rather than leasing, say dealers who listened to the conference call.

According to dealers, LaNeve also said that GM would be raising prices on average by 3.5 percent for most 2009 vehicles. Dealers say LaNeve said the price increases would be across the board.

'We all knew' increases were coming

"Some of that is because they're adding more content, but some of it is because commodities are going up and the dollar is weaker," says a dealer who listened to the call, but declined to be named. "We all knew price increases were coming."

Dealers say LaNeve said that GM would be adding a third shift at its plant in Lordstown, Ohio. GM builds the Pontiac G5 and Chevrolet Cobalt compacts at Lordstown. GM will go on maximum overtime at its plants in Orion Township, Mich., and Kansas City, Kan. GM builds the Pontiac G6 and the Chevrolet Malibu mid-sized cars at Orion and builds the Malibu and Saturn Aura at Fairfax.

GM will also increase crossover production, dealers say. GM will add 3,500 GMC Acadias and 7,000 Buick Enclaves to the mix by year-end. GM builds those vehicles at the Lansing Delta plant near Lansing, Mich.

Finally, LaNeve told dealers that GM has hired Citibank to help it complete its study of the Hummer brand. On June 3, GM's CEO Rick Wagoner announced that GM is conducting a strategic review of the Hummer brand and is open to "all options" from revamping the product lineup to a partial or complete sale of the brand.