GM retailers will close in Quebec

[Moby Dick]

montreal racing web site list GM dealers

1. Ste Thérèse Autos ( Chevrolet ) ( Ste Thérèse )
2. Beaucage Chevrolet Cadillac ( Sherbrooke )
3. Thibault Pontiac Buick ( Magog )
4. Larocque Pontiac Buick GMC ( Drummondville )
5. Formule Pontiac Buick GMC ( Trois Rivières )
6. Louiseville Automobile ( Pontiac Buick GMC) ( Louiseville )
7. Labbé Pontiac Buick Cadillac GMC ( Vallée Jonction )
8. Munger Pontiac Buick ( Jonquière )
9. Aubé Pontiac Buick ( Val D'Or )
10. Contact Chevrolet ( Macamic )
11. Automobiles Senex ( Chevrolet Pontiack Buick GMC ) Senneterre
12. Dyson & Armstrong ( Chevrolet ) ( Richmond )
13. Lamoureux Pontiac Buick ( Coaticook )
14. Mille Iles Pontiac Buick ( St-Eustache )
15. Laurier Pontiac Pontiac Buick Cadillac GMC Hummer ( Québec )
16. L'ami Michel Cloutier Pontiac Buick GMC ( Lévis )
17. Service Bérubé ( Pontiac Buick GMC ) ( Trois Pistoles )
18. Sainte-Martine Automobiles ( Pontiac Buick GMC ) ( Ste-Martine )
19. Fichault Pontiac Buick GMC ( Châteauguay )
20. Vaillancourt Chevrolet ( Mont-Tremblant )
21. Les Sommet Pontiac-GMC-Buick ( Mont-Tremblant )
22. Dubois Pontiac-Buick-GMC ( Plessisville )
23. Lachapelle Pontiac buick GMC ( Gatineau Secteur Hull )
24. J.G. Gendron Pontiac Buick GMC ( Maniwaki )
25. Automobiles Lafrenière Pontiac Buick GMC ( Joliette )
26. Actuel Pontiac Buick Cadillac ( St-Hubert )
27. Avenue Pontiac Buick GMC ( Rimouski ) ( cas spécial: Fusion avec Boulevard Chevrolet de Rimouski )
28. Rondeau Pontiac Buick Cadillac GMC ( St-Jean sur Richelieu )
29. Roger Poirier Automobiles ( Chevrolet Cadillac ) ( Sorel-Tracy )
30. Robert Biron Ltée ( Chevrolet ) ( Acton Vale )
31. Simpson Automobiles ( Chevrolet Pontiac Buick GMC ) ( Gaspé )
32. Ste Marie Automobiles ( Chevrolet ) ( St-Rémi )
33.Sainte-Martine Automobiles (Pontiac Buick GMC) (Ste-Martine)
34.Fichault Pontiac Buick GMC (Châteauguay)
35.Vaillancourt Chevrolet (Mont-Tremblant)
36.Les Sommet Pontiac-GMC-Buick (Mont-Tremblant)
37.Dubois Pontiac-Buick-GMC (Plessisville)
38.Lachapelle Pontiac buick GMC (Gatineau Secteur Hull)
39.J.G. Gendron Pontiac Buick GMC (Maniwaki)
40.Automobiles Lafrenière Pontiac Buick GMC de (Joliette)
41.Avenue Pontiac Buick GMC de( Rimouski)
42.Poirier de (Sorel-Tracy)
43.Biron de (Acton Vale)
44.simpson chevrolet de (Gaspé)
45.Sainte-Marie auto a (St-remi)
46.bernard pontiac a( cowansville)
47.bourgeois chevrolet a (napierville)

 

[metoo4]

Moby, tu as des sites en double dans la liste.

 

[Time to Punt]

A couple of years ago vehicles sales in North America was somewhere between 17 and 18 million if I recall correctly. Estimates for 2009 are 10 to 12 million. Closing dealers only makes sense in view of this.

 

[Moby Dick]

GM list

Moby, tu as des sites en double dans la liste.

its not my list , its from a website forum ;
http://forums.montrealracing.com/ge...ste-des-dealers-gm-qui-ferment-au-quebec.html


moby dick
out

 

[Poulemeister]

Dealers Closing

its not my list , its from a website forum ;
http://forums.montrealracing.com/ge...ste-des-dealers-gm-qui-ferment-au-quebec.html


moby dick
out

Hey Moby,

I just checked that list, it only has 35 dealers on it,

Here it is...

oici la liste "non officielle" compiliée avec votre aide et ce que j'ai trouvé sur internet.

1. Ste Thérèse Autos ( Chevrolet ) ( Ste Thérèse )
2. Beaucage Chevrolet Cadillac ( Sherbrooke )
3. Thibault Pontiac Buick ( Magog )
4. Larocque Pontiac Buick GMC ( Drummondville )
5. Formule Pontiac Buick GMC ( Trois Rivières )
6. Louiseville Automobile ( Pontiac Buick GMC) ( Louiseville )
7. Labbé Pontiac Buick Cadillac GMC ( Vallée Jonction )
8. Munger Pontiac Buick ( Jonquière )
9. Aubé Pontiac Buick ( Val D'Or )
10. Contact Chevrolet ( Macamic )
11. Automobiles Senex ( Chevrolet Pontiac Buick GMC ) ( Senneterre )
12. Dyson & Armstrong ( Chevrolet ) ( Richmond )
13. Lamoureux Pontiac Buick ( Coaticook )
14. Mille Iles Pontiac Buick ( St-Eustache )
15. Laurier Pontiac Pontiac Buick Cadillac GMC Hummer ( Québec )
16. L'ami Michel Cloutier Pontiac Buick GMC ( Lévis )
17. Service Bérubé ( Pontiac Buick GMC ) ( Trois Pistoles )
18. Sainte-Martine Automobiles ( Pontiac Buick GMC ) ( Ste-Martine )
19. Fichault Pontiac Buick GMC ( Châteauguay )
20. Vaillancourt Chevrolet ( Mont-Tremblant )
21. Les Sommet Pontiac-GMC-Buick ( Mont-Tremblant )
22. Dubois Pontiac-Buick-GMC ( Plessisville )
23. Lachapelle Pontiac buick GMC ( Gatineau Secteur Hull )
24. J.G. Gendron Pontiac Buick GMC ( Maniwaki )
25. Automobiles Lafrenière Pontiac Buick GMC ( Joliette )
26. Actuel Pontiac Buick Cadillac ( St-Hubert )
27. Avenue Pontiac Buick GMC ( Rimouski ) ( cas spécial: Fusion avec Boulevard Chevrolet de Rimouski )
28. Rondeau Pontiac Buick Cadillac GMC ( St-Jean sur Richelieu )
29. Roger Poirier Automobiles ( Chevrolet Cadillac ) ( Sorel-Tracy )
30. Robert Biron Ltée ( Chevrolet ) ( Acton Vale )
31. Simpson Automobiles ( Chevrolet Pontiac Buick GMC ) ( Gaspé )
32. Ste Marie Automobiles ( Chevrolet ) ( St-Rémi )
33. Moreau Automobile ( Pontiac Buick GMC ) ( St Lin des Laurentides )
34. Thibodeau Automobiles ( Chevrolet Cadillac ) ( Victoriaville )
35. Le Trianon Automobile ( Pontiac Buick GMC ) ( Granby )


If you add the 14 Saturn (Saab) dealers which are

1. Brossard Saturn SAAB
2. Ile-des-Soeurs Saturn SAAB (fusion of PVM & Decarie)
3. Mondial Saturn SAAB
4. West Island Saturn SAAB
5. Blainville Saturn
6. Terrebonne Saturn
7. Saturn SAAB de Laval
8. Trois Rivieres Saturn
9. Saturn SAAB of Quebec
10. Levis Saturn SAAB
11. Granby Saturn
12. Drummondville Saturn
13. Saturn de ste-Foy
14. Sherbrooke Saturn

These dealers will continue if Saturn or SAAB has new life because of new ownership of the brands.

By the way some of these dealers have GM dealers attached to them such as Le Relais/Mondial or Gravel P/B & SS nuns island. These dealers are considered 2 separate dealers and therefore were issued 2 letters if they were both on the list.

Now you have a total of 49 Dealers out of either a reported 65 or 70 dealers which have been notified via letters that they will not belong to GM after Oct 2010. Most will probably close before that time.

Curious to note that no Greater Montreal area dealer has been confirmed. There are rumors but no one has come out to confirm such as the retailers outside MTL.

So there are still 16 to 21 dealers which have not been identified, there has to be at half of them in the montreal/laval/south shore region.

Who are they?

 

[Moby Dick]

montreal GM dealers

Christin , Hochelaga , Hamel , Le Relay , Clermont , Royal , Maisonneuve , Parkway , Gravel , ?

In or out ?

 

[Poulemeister]

That is the question....Who will go and who will stay

Would GM wipe out entire dealership groups like Gravel?

With the list we got from the other website (see above) which is accurate due to the dealers and media confirming the closures, AT LEAST Half of the dealers on this list are gone.

Here is the list of Montreal area dealers...

1.CLERMONT CHEVROLET CADILLAC INC.
2.LE RELAIS CHEVROLET LTEE
3.MAISONNEUVE CHEVROLET PONTIAC BUICK GMC INC.
4.HAMEL PONTIAC BUICK GMC LTEE
5.BOURASSA PONTIAC BUICK LTEE
6.CADILLAC DE LAVAL
7.GRAVEL PONTIAC BUICK CADILLAC LTEE
8.ROYAL CHEVROLET PONTIAC BUICK GMC INC.
9.GRAVEL CHEVROLET LTEE
10.PARKWAY PONTIAC BUICK INC.
11.PLAZA CHEVROLET HUMMER CADILLAC INC.
12.CARREFOUR 440 CHEVROLET PONTIAC BUICK GMC LTEE
13.DENIS BRETON CHEVROLET LTEE
14.BOISVERT PONTIAC BUICK LTEE
15.LES AUTOMOBILES CANDIAC INC.
16.VISION CHEVROLET LTEE
17.DESJARDINS CHEVROLET INC.
18.CHRISTIN AUTOMOBILE INC.
19.MAURICE GOYETTE PONTIAC BUICK (1983)INC
20.GRENIER CHEVROLET LTEE
21.LIONEL GRENIER AUTOMOBILES INC.
22.LA SEIGNEURIE PONTIAC-BUICK INC.
23.DESCHAMPS CHEVROLET PONTIAC BUICK CADILLAC GMC LTEE
24.PONTIAC BUICK GMC CHEVROLET DE L'ILE-PERROT LTEE
25.AUTOMOBILES REGATE INC.
27.FUGERE PONTIAC BUICK INC.
28.ST-JEROME AUTOMOBILES

 

[Heavy D]

That is the question....Who will go and who will stay

The only confirmed closings I know of are:

10.PARKWAY PONTIAC BUICK INC.
18. Sainte-Martine Automobiles ( Pontiac Buick GMC ) ( Ste-Martine )
19. Fichault Pontiac Buick GMC ( Châteauguay

I spoke with my dealer yesterday, and he confirmed he received his letter indicating he would be losing his dealership. He's obviously one of the above three, and he told me about the other two.

He indicated that "17.DESJARDINS CHEVROLET INC." and "32. Ste Marie Automobiles ( Chevrolet ) ( St-Rémi )" will *NOT* be losing their dealerships.

He thought he would be safe based on the volume of sales he made, but apparently too much of it was Pontiacs, and not enough Chevrolet and GMCs.

 

[Poulemeister]

The only confirmed closings I know of are:

10.PARKWAY PONTIAC BUICK INC.
18. Sainte-Martine Automobiles ( Pontiac Buick GMC ) ( Ste-Martine )
19. Fichault Pontiac Buick GMC ( Châteauguay

I spoke with my dealer yesterday, and he confirmed he received his letter indicating he would be losing his dealership. He's obviously one of the above three, and he told me about the other two.

He indicated that "17.DESJARDINS CHEVROLET INC." and "32. Ste Marie Automobiles ( Chevrolet ) ( St-Rémi )" will *NOT* be losing their dealerships.

He thought he would be safe based on the volume of sales he made, but apparently too much of it was Pontiacs, and not enough Chevrolet and GMCs.

Hey Heavy D

Everyone has heard rumors about the closures but one thing is for sure Half the GM dealers in this province are gone,

See Articles

On Wednesday, GM notified 70 dealers across Quebec that their sales and service agreements will not be renewed when they expire in October 2010.

GM announced yesterday it would close 245 dealerships across Canada, 35%, but in Quebec they're closing almost 50%, 70 of the 148.

I am just trying to figure out who they are.

Here are some Quotes that you can find on the internet that confirms the list (above) of GM dealers that received the letter they (dealers to be eliminated by GM).

Before each quote, I noted the number which corresponds to the dealer according to the above list.

1.
Vente de fermeture». Le slogan placardé dans le pare-brise des véhicules de Ste-Thérèse Chevrolet

2,3,4,12,13
La décision de General Motors (GM) Canada de procéder à la fermeture de près de la moitié de ses concessionnaires au pays d'ici octobre 2010 a des répercussions dans la région. Au moins cinq concessionnaires automobiles fermeront leurs portes en Estrie et au Centre-du-Québec.

C'est le cas de Beaucage Chevrolet Cadillac à Sherbrooke, Larocque Pontiac Buick GMC à Drummondville, Thibault Pontiac Buick GMC à Magog, Dyson & Armstrong à Richmond et Lamoureux Pontiac Buick à Coaticook. Les établissements fermeront leurs portes d'ici la fin de l'année.

5,6 Largués par GM, les deux concessionnaires touchés en région sont en furie. Maintenant que le choc de l'annonce de la fermeture a été absorbé, les propriétaires de Formule Pontiac Buick GMC se disent toutefois prêts à rester en vie au-delà de 2010 tandis que chez Louiseville Automobile, on ne décolérait toujours pas, au surlendemain de l'annonce fatidique.

9,10,11 Dans la région, trois des sept concessionnaires ont appris mercredi dernier que leur contrat avec GMC ne serait pas renouvelé au-delà de 2010: Aubé Pontiac Buick de Val-d'Or, Automobiles Senex de Senneterre et Contact Chevrolet Automobile de Macamic.

15.Le propriétaire de Laurier Pontiac, M. Alexandre Saillant, vient de confirmer au Journal de Québec, qu’il a bel et bien reçu un avis de GM en après-midi l’informant que le commerce qu’il dirige est parmi la liste de ceux qui pourraient fermer leur porte à la fin de leur contrat.

22.GM n’entrevoit pas, dans l’avenir, de concessionnaire à Plessisville. Qu’à cela ne tienne, le concessionnaire Dubois Pontiac Buick GMC n’entend pas baisser les bras et compte bien se battre jusqu’au bout.

25.La compagnie General Motors du Canada a annoncé cette semaine à Automobile Lafrenière de Notre-Dame-des-Prairies la fin légale de sa franchise GM.

30.«On maintient nos opérations normales de vente de voitures, de distribution de pièces et d'entretien de véhicules Chevrolet jusqu'au 31
décembre 2009. Passé cette date, on ne sait rien, admet Robert Biron Junior, président de Robert Biron Ltée d'Acton Vale



I just found number 36

Marcel Bélanger Pontiac Buick GMC devient la première fermeture connue dans notre région.

If we take 36 confirmed regional dealers and 14 Saturn, that makes 50, Who are the other 20 or so dealers that will be dumped by GM .

If we were take Parkway and Clermont as confirmation, it still leaves 26 dealers open in the greater Montreal Region. There are at least 6 more that have to close, if not 11 to make up the 70 that GM stated will close

Who are these dealers!!!

 

[EagerBeaver]

GM Filing For Bankruptcy Tomorrow

http://money.cnn.com/2009/05/31/news/companies/gm_bankruptcy_looms/index.htm

 

[metoo4]

That was previsible... Now they'll screw everibody they owe money to, management will line their pockets with a golden cushon for "a job well-done" and they'll restart fresh "under new management" (Read, 90% of the management staff who caused the company to go belly-up wil still be there but the lower management will be changed.)

I've witnessed a few "restructuraction" like this personally. The only one who saw some real management changes was because criminal charges of fraud were laid against most upper management and almost all of them got convicted. Yes, it was an international multi-million dollars company.

 

[Poulemeister]

Here is a link to another dealer closing

Confirmation that number 34 on my list is gone

He used youtube to inform everyone of his closing

VICTORIAVILLE) Éric Thibodeau, propriétaire de Thibodeau Chevrolet Cadillac, l'un des concessionnaires victimes de la cure d'amaigrissement de Général Motors, a mis en ligne, sur le site youtube.com, le 29 mai dernier, une vidéo expliquant les raisons de la fermeture de son entreprise et incitant les entrepreneurs de la région à faire l'embauche de ses employés.

 

[YouVantOption]

Why shed so many tears for the dealers?

I understand these dealers are local, but given the number of they actually employed, shouldn't we much more concerned for the workers in the manufacturing plants? They number in the tens of thousands, not a dozen or so per dealer ... Entire communities situated near the plants are going to be devastated.

 

[Moby Dick]

R.I.P. thibodeau chevrolet cadillac

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m8NQuTFtLVs

 

[Poulemeister]

Maurice Goyette just got added to the list

GM Canada se semble pas vouloir publier la liste des 70 dealers - concessionnaires qui ferment au Québec !

Avec votre aide pourquoi ne pas faire notre propre liste avec nom du dealer,ville.

Voici la liste "non officielle" compiliée avec votre aide et ce que j'ai trouvé sur internet.

1. Ste Thérèse Autos ( Chevrolet ) ( Ste Thérèse )
2. Beaucage Chevrolet Cadillac ( Sherbrooke )
3. Thibault Pontiac Buick ( Magog )
4. Larocque Pontiac Buick GMC ( Drummondville )
5. Formule Pontiac Buick GMC ( Trois Rivières )
6. Louiseville Automobile ( Pontiac Buick GMC) ( Louiseville )
7. Labbé Pontiac Buick Cadillac GMC ( Vallée Jonction )
8. Munger Pontiac Buick ( Jonquière )
9. Aubé Pontiac Buick ( Val D'Or )
10. Contact Chevrolet ( Macamic )
11. Automobiles Senex ( Chevrolet Pontiac Buick GMC ) ( Senneterre )
12. Dyson & Armstrong ( Chevrolet ) ( Richmond )
13. Lamoureux Pontiac Buick ( Coaticook )
14. Mille Iles Pontiac Buick ( St-Eustache )
15. Laurier Pontiac Pontiac Buick Cadillac GMC Hummer ( Québec )
16. L'ami Michel Cloutier Pontiac Buick GMC ( Lévis )
17. Service Bérubé ( Pontiac Buick GMC ) ( Trois Pistoles )
18. Sainte-Martine Automobiles ( Pontiac Buick GMC ) ( Ste-Martine )
19. Fichault Pontiac Buick GMC ( Châteauguay )
20. Vaillancourt Chevrolet ( Mont-Tremblant )
21. Les Sommet Pontiac-GMC-Buick ( Mont-Tremblant )
22. Dubois Pontiac-Buick-GMC ( Plessisville )
23. Lachapelle Pontiac buick GMC ( Gatineau Secteur Hull )
24. J.G. Gendron Pontiac Buick GMC ( Maniwaki )
25. Automobiles Lafrenière Pontiac Buick GMC ( Joliette )
26. Actuel Pontiac Buick Cadillac ( St-Hubert )
27. Avenue Pontiac Buick GMC ( Rimouski ) ( cas spécial: Fusion avec Boulevard Chevrolet de Rimouski )
28. Rondeau Pontiac Buick Cadillac GMC ( St-Jean sur Richelieu )
29. Roger Poirier Automobiles ( Chevrolet Cadillac ) ( Sorel-Tracy )
30. Robert Biron Ltée ( Chevrolet ) ( Acton Vale )
31. Simpson Automobiles ( Chevrolet Pontiac Buick GMC ) ( Gaspé )
32. Ste Marie Automobiles ( Chevrolet ) ( St-Rémi )
33. Moreau Automobile ( Pontiac Buick GMC ) ( St Lin des Laurentides )
34. Thibodeau Automobiles ( Chevrolet Cadillac ) ( Victoriaville )
35. Le Trianon Automobile ( Pontiac Buick GMC ) ( Granby )
36. Maurice Goyette Pontiac Buick GMC ( Varennes )

37.Marcel Bélanger Pontiac Buick GMC

+ 14 Saturn

Makes 51 Total

Who else is going???

 

[hungry101]

It's sad for the dealers, that's a given. Some of the ones hit have been in the business probably almost 50 years. The options for them will be to go to a different banner (doubtful since there's not much expansion by any majors lately), go to selling used cars or simply close-down...

What's sad is some of the reason this situation occurs. One of the big cause? UNIONS! When you have peoples paid $40/hr to do manual labour that shouldn't be paid more than $15-$20, it certainly doesn't help! $40/hr was the salary of some of the GM and Chrysler line-workers.

Now that the have a knife on the throat, unions just agreed to pay cut averaging $16/hr. The reduction itself is the average salary for a lot of peoples. That says a lot about the original salary and how much money they are still making! Peoples at GM/Chrysler were paid, in some instances, twice the salary, if not more, than somebody from Toyota doing the same job and, it's not because the Toyota peoples are underpaid. We're talking about peoples working in North America too, not comparing to Asia or Mexico.

It will be hard for these peoples too but, they must realise they had it extremely good before and now, they must join the real world.

Legacy Costs! GM is an insurer that happens to make cars! That is the problem! Also, I do not blame just the unions. Management agreed to the contract. Along time ago they should have said enoughs enough but that would have meant they would have meant slim profits the very next QTR which means no bonus that year so this is what we are left with.

I believe that the dealers actually do a lot for the community. They employ people, they service cars - even cars they didn't sell, they sponser local teams, their employees eat at the local restaurants etc.

OK, the dealers buy cars from GM. GM does not give the cars to the dealers. Therefore, I am puzzled how this is going to save the new GM any money? Is this because it will be tougher to go from one dealer to the next and get them in a bidding war? If so, someone explain this. All they have to say is the price is firm like Saturn.

 

[Marlow]

Its sad that many dealers will close, but maybe its the beggining of a new era where there is more competition and even the forien car makers will offer more. Certainly the Amrican makers will have to do better to survive.

 

[metoo4]

Hungry, you have the same question I have: What will closing dealers do to help GM? These guys were independant and were making GM some money. The contracts could have been renegotiated to add to the dealer's responsibility in terms of buildings and stuff! Dealers employees aren't on GM payroll! Why not renegociate the terms about how cars are sold to the dealers, making the dealers pay sooner? That would save on the dealer having 20 times the same car on the lot!

What these closures will do is making warranty repairs more difficult and make more peoples accept to live with problems they don't feel warrant the extra trouble, even if it mean they paid for something that doesn't perform as sold. The guy living in a small town with only a Buick dealer who's now closing might think twice before getting his car serviced under warranty for a noisy transmission for example, since he might now waste a day going to a far-away dealer for any little thing he need fixed.

It's strange... If you want to sell something, you want this thing to be avaliable so, you want exposure. Closing dealers does the exact opposite...

You're right, most dealers are implicated socially, even more in small communities so, their dissapearance will hurt lots of peoples.

 

[hungry101]

Hungry, you have the same question I have: What will closing dealers do to help GM? These guys were independant and were making GM some money. The contracts could have been renegotiated to add to the dealer's responsibility in terms of buildings and stuff! Dealers employees aren't on GM payroll! Why not renegociate the terms about how cars are sold to the dealers, making the dealers pay sooner? That would save on the dealer having 20 times the same car on the lot!

What these closures will do is making warranty repairs more difficult and make more peoples accept to live with problems they don't feel warrant the extra trouble, even if it mean they paid for something that doesn't perform as sold. The guy living in a small town with only a Buick dealer who's now closing might think twice before getting his car serviced under warranty for a noisy transmission for example, since he might now waste a day going to a far-away dealer for any little thing he need fixed.

It's strange... If you want to sell something, you want this thing to be avaliable so, you want exposure. Closing dealers does the exact opposite...

You're right, most dealers are implicated socially, even more in small communities so, their dissapearance will hurt lots of peoples.

One of the female anchors on Fox and Friends Morning Show had her parents form Minnessota on about 1-month ago and they owned a GM dealership. Her parents - dealership owners - were puzzeled by the rationale behind the dealership closings. They are a profitable dealership. I Just learned today that their dealership just recieved notice. Their profitable dealership is being cut off and phased out like so many others. Again, they were profitable. How does this help GM? How does this impact the consumer? It Cant be good.

A GM spokesmen was trying to rationalize for all the closings. He had a multitude of reasons. Most of them sounded like buzzwords from the latest 2-day marketing seminar he attended. About the only thing that made any sense was that cars would sit on the lots and GM would get pressure from the dealers to offer rebates and other offers to move the cars.

Does anyone have a good handle on this that can explain it to me?

 

[metoo4]

... About the only thing that made any sense was that cars would sit on the lots and GM would get pressure from the dealers to offer rebates and other offers to move the cars...

That would be easy to solve! Don't let the dealers keep that many vehicles on their lots! Some places, it look like a shopping center parking lot! We rarely if ever see this at a Japanese car maker!