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GM, Ford Announce Incentives To Boost Sales

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Mar 31, 2009 5:29 pm US/Eastern

GM, Ford Announce Incentives To Boost Sales

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) ― While American automakers are struggling to stay afloat, they hope to drive new car sales with a new incentive.

Today, both General Motors and Ford announced, if you buy a new car and then lose your job, they'll make your car payments.

Ford and General Motors hope this new incentive will motivate people to put aside their fears and hit the car dealerships.

"It provides protection for the customer for automatic payment protection," said new General Motors CEO Fritz Henderson.

Under General Motors plan, GM will make up to nine car payments of $500 each for customers who lost their jobs through no fault of their own.

Customers must qualify for state unemployment to be eligible. The program starts Wednesday and runs until April 30.

Ford announced a similar program. If you lose your job, Ford will take over your car payment of up to $700 a month for a year on any new Ford, Lincoln or Mercury vehicle. It runs through June 1.

"It's a way for Ford to give our customers peace of mind and to show customers that we have their back in good times and in tough times," said Ford Executive Vice-President, Mark Fields.

Hyundai launched a program in January that allows buyers to return a vehicle within a year if they can't make the payments due to a job loss or disability.

Hyundai said the program helped it avoid a double-digit sales decline last month, reporting a 2 percent slide.

There are other incentives aimed at getting you on the lot and driving away with a new car.

Ford is offering zero percent financing on certain models.

In addition, just yesterday, President Barack Obama said the government will back new car warranties issued by GM and Chrysler.

The offers come as auto sales have been battered by the recession and tight credit, reaching their lowest levels in 27 years.

(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)

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