MARK LANEVE, GM VP, ON RED TAG EVENT!

By Mark LaNeve
Vice President, GM North America Vehicle Sales, Service and Marketing

OK, Fastlane bloggers, you’ve gotten my attention. I've seen your blog entries and wanted to respond. Some of you objected to including my Red Tag comments in this forum and urged me to stick to discussing only product. Others quarreled with the Red Tag program itself. Clearly, Fastlane is intended to focus on product. And for the most part, we do. Once in a while, however, I think it's important to give you some insight as to why we're doing a certain marketing program -- particularly when our competition is out there providing color commentary on our actions.

The reality of the business is that we want to move the metal at the end of the year. We know the Employee Discount for Everyone program brought in lots of customers who otherwise might have waited. But people haven’t stopped buying cars and trucks -- so we’ll do what it takes to bring new prospects our way, and our competitors will try to do the same. That doesn’t mean Total Value Promise is history -- far from it. Do I have to say “read my lips?” We're committed to this strategy because we're confident that over time it will bring new buyers into GM dealerships to experience first-hand our great cars and trucks -- particularly the new ones that are coming to market in the next few months. And after all, isn't that our goal? Red Tag is in synch with this strategy because it supports our efforts to close the gap between MSRPs and what you actually pay for a car or truck. Programs like this will always be part of our business. That's just the way it is. They make our business more exciting, and when we do them well they set GM apart from the competition.

When all is said and done, our latest promotion is about getting people in GM showrooms to see, touch and test drive really great products. With our 2005 and 2006 lineup, the hard work we’ve done in recent years to produce category-leading vehicles is really paying off. From Cobalt and HHR to the G6 sedan and coupe to LaCrosse and Lucerne – not to mention Solstice and the outstanding Cadillac lineup – it’s clear that GM is back in the car business, with products that really grab the market and hold on tight. Our all-new 2007 large SUVs take this segment to another level of excellence -- especially when it comes to interiors. Equinox and Torrent are big winners in the small SUV category, and HUMMER H3 is keeping that brand at the top for truck lovers. But there I go selling again.