A Year Later, GM Bankruptcy Resonates With Car Shoppers

Today is the one-year anniversary of General Motors filing for its federally backed bankruptcy and restructuring. To see how consumer behavior has been affected, Cars.com conducted a survey of more than 1,000 people and found that a year later, 32% were less likely to consider GM brands than others.

That’s not a cheery number, but 63% said the bankruptcy would have no impact on their shopping behavior, and that is a large chunk of buyers. Five percent said they’d be more likely to buy a GM vehicle after the bankruptcy.
 
The same question was asked regarding Chrysler as well, and an identical 63% response was recorded in the “no impact” category, with 33% saying they were less likely to consider the Chrysler range of vehicles.

When asked if the fact that Ford took no federal money would influence their car shopping, 47% said it made them more likely to consider a Ford when buying their next car, while 53% said it made no impact on their decision. Compare that 47% more favorable number with GM’s 5% however, and it’s easy to see the bankruptcy sting still lingers as the domestic brands battle for market share in a rebounding economy.

The survey was conducted in May and included a random sample of 1,057 men and women.