Helping hands from Detroit

It’s been widely reported that Ford & GM have announced variants on the “if you lose your job, we’ll make your car payments—so please come buy a car; possibly two” schtick.

Ford’s plan will cover payments up to $700 for up to a year. GM’s will cover payments up to $500 for up to nine months. Dunno what you have to do to prove job loss, but I’ll bet there are scammers out there figuring that out already.

What I find interesting is this statement about the program from newly-minted GM CEO Fritz Henderson: “It’s bold & unprecedented.”

Well, actually it is precedented: Hyundai announced in January that it would allow buyers to return a new car within a year of purchase if they can’t make payments due to job loss or disability. They then expanded the plan in February to make payments for customers for up to three months.

So, once again, Detroit has demonstrated its bold ability to say, “me, too!”