GM risks alienating its best customers
As yesterday’s column mentions, bailout backlash is one risk that General Motors faces. Some of its most loyal customers, the buy-America crowd, may be so angry about the government bailout that they’ll shop for a Ford or perhaps even a foreign brand. Autoblog reports today that some right-wingers are, indeed, trying to organize a boycott of GM, and a Rasmussen Reports poll indicates that they may find a receptive audience.
Rasmussen says 26 percent of survey respondents approve of the GM bailout, but 53 percent think it’s a bad idea and 17 percent would support a boycott. Here’s another poll finding that won’t help Government Motors:
However, 51% of adults are more likely to buy a car from Ford because it did not any take bailout funding. Just 12% are less likely to buy from Ford.
Of course, it’s one thing to express your frustration when a pollster calls on the phone. It’s much harder, if you’re a lifelong Chevy driver, to go out and buy something with a blue oval on front. And, as Autoblog points out, past auto-boycott efforts have come to naught. Clearly, though, the new GM has some big marketing challenges ahead.
(3 votes, average: 5 out of 5)
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David Nicklaus has covered St. Louis business for more than 25 years. His column appears three days a week on the Post-Dispatch business page. 
If the Red State buyers refuse to buy because it will make Obama look good they are doomed. Red State buyers are the wheelhouse of GM’s customers. Blue State buyers wouldn’t have been caught dead in a GM car for decades. What will make them start now?
Hey!! a boycott is not needed. Future Government Motors cars designed by the likes of Obama/Pelosi/Reid/…don’t forget Barney, won’t be worth looking at, forget buying. My fear is the tax credit incentives to buy their crap will cost us dearly and serve to destroy the rest of the market….Just EXACTLY what is going on in the plan to have government heath care ………..destruction of private enterprise…..ObamaProgressism……….worse than socialism
General Motors and Chrysler played this president like a fiddle. If you kow anything about bankruptcy, you will know that a bankrupt company pays back a percentage of the monies owed to its debtors. In December/January GM and Chrysler borrowed as much money as the president would loan them. Then they declared bankruptcy. The first thing this president did was to “waive” 15 billion dollars in debt. Secondly, he inserted additional funds to keep the companies afloat when every financial indicator was it was throwing good money after bad.
THEN, when the deal was done, this president gave preferencial treatment to the unions over the bond holders. This is a disasterous action. Who in their right mind would want to purchase a U.S. Savings bond? If the president wont back the bonds of GM and Chrysler, what keeps him from pulling the rug out from under those people who hold our government bonds?