NEW YORK--General Motors is mounting a major cross-divisional offensive for the California market that includes a $25-million advertising campaign via D'Arcy Masius Bent" />
NEW YORK--General Motors is mounting a major cross-divisional offensive for the California market that includes a $25-million advertising campaign via D'Arcy Masius Bent" /> GM rolls out 'Value' campaign <b>By Fara Warne</b><br clear="none"/><br clear="none"/>NEW YORK--General Motors is mounting a major cross-divisional offensive for the California market that includes a $25-million advertising campaign via D'Arcy Masius Bent
NEW YORK--General Motors is mounting a major cross-divisional offensive for the California market that includes a $25-million advertising campaign via D'Arcy Masius Bent" />

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GM rolls out 'Value' campaign By Fara Warne

NEW YORK--General Motors is mounting a major cross-divisional offensive for the California market that includes a $25-million advertising campaign via D'Arcy Masius Bent

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Today GM is scheduled to announce the California Value Selling Initiative, an extensive pricing and sales training program, which the company hopes will give Californians a reason to step into GM dealerships again. “We have lost an entire generation to the imports,” said Frank Halvorson, a dealer with Prospect Motors Inc. in Jackson, Calif. GM’s California market share is 20%, compared to 34% nationwide.
The company hopes to recapture that lost generation in the country’s biggest car market by offering special prices and options on 45 models from its six divisions. Models as diverse as the Grand Prix SE Coupe, the Cadillac De Ville and the GMC Sonoma will be priced to make them much more competitive against Japanese imports, traditionally Californians’ automobiles of choice. In some cases, the cars will be $3,000 less than comparable Japanese models.
Value pricing is nothing new. GM and other car makers have offered no-dicker stickers on older models and Saturn’s one-price strategy has become the mantra of the automobile industry. But GM’s California program is the biggest for already-established brands and could herald a way of doing business nationwide if it is successful.
The program also involves an extensive dealer training program for an estimated 5,000 sales people. About one-third of GM’s California dealers have yet to sign up, which could weaken the program because it would mean business as usual with dealers offering disparate pricing.
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