From our front-page news:
When purchasing a vehicle, new or not, it's always been common practice to go to a local dealer and have a look around. But with the popularity of the Internet, it was only a matter of time before people would sit at their computers and browse instead. And why not? At your PC, you have access to thousands of cars, not dozens, and you can even look outside your own state for specific models if you have to.
When people do look to purchase a car online though, it's usually not brand-new. Rather, it's an older model that someone chooses to buy either because it saves money, or because they want an older model that's not exactly easy to come by (mint Chevelle's, for example). But that might change soon, thanks in part to ideas spawned by GM's turn-around plan, which will bring their new cars to eBay.
This will start out as a trial, and run until September 8th, and it really only applies to Californians. Of the 250 GM dealers located in that state, 225 of them have opted into going online. As a consumer, you'll be able to visit a site like GM.eBay.com and peruse GM's many models (spanning Chevrolet, Buick, et cetera), find the model you want, and then discuss the sale with the nearest dealer. It's not as simple a process as clicking a button to buy, as consumers will have the ability to haggle or ask questions.
This is also an interesting move for eBay, as typically all auto sales have gone through their sub-site eBay Motors. Not this, though, as each of GM's brands will have co-branded pages on the actual eBay site, and search results will be found on eBay, not eBay Motors. Whether this will begin a trend or not is yet to be seen. If proven successful, it's unlikely that the Sept 8 end date would be upheld, and chances are many other US states (and perhaps Canada) would join in on the fun.
My question to you is, would you rather purchase a brand-new car online, or go to the dealer? For me, I'd prefer online, only because if the time came to purchase a new car, I would have done enough research and seen the model in real-life before committing to a purchase. As with most things, the online convenience is just too good to pass up.
The test comes a month after GM made an unusually quick exit from bankruptcy protection with ambitions of becoming profitable and building cars people are eager to buy. Once the world's largest and most powerful automaker, new GM is now leaner, cleansed of massive debt and burdensome contracts that would have sunk it without additional federal loans.
Source: USA Today
When people do look to purchase a car online though, it's usually not brand-new. Rather, it's an older model that someone chooses to buy either because it saves money, or because they want an older model that's not exactly easy to come by (mint Chevelle's, for example). But that might change soon, thanks in part to ideas spawned by GM's turn-around plan, which will bring their new cars to eBay.
This will start out as a trial, and run until September 8th, and it really only applies to Californians. Of the 250 GM dealers located in that state, 225 of them have opted into going online. As a consumer, you'll be able to visit a site like GM.eBay.com and peruse GM's many models (spanning Chevrolet, Buick, et cetera), find the model you want, and then discuss the sale with the nearest dealer. It's not as simple a process as clicking a button to buy, as consumers will have the ability to haggle or ask questions.
This is also an interesting move for eBay, as typically all auto sales have gone through their sub-site eBay Motors. Not this, though, as each of GM's brands will have co-branded pages on the actual eBay site, and search results will be found on eBay, not eBay Motors. Whether this will begin a trend or not is yet to be seen. If proven successful, it's unlikely that the Sept 8 end date would be upheld, and chances are many other US states (and perhaps Canada) would join in on the fun.
My question to you is, would you rather purchase a brand-new car online, or go to the dealer? For me, I'd prefer online, only because if the time came to purchase a new car, I would have done enough research and seen the model in real-life before committing to a purchase. As with most things, the online convenience is just too good to pass up.
The test comes a month after GM made an unusually quick exit from bankruptcy protection with ambitions of becoming profitable and building cars people are eager to buy. Once the world's largest and most powerful automaker, new GM is now leaner, cleansed of massive debt and burdensome contracts that would have sunk it without additional federal loans.
Source: USA Today
