Autos Blog

Category: Cash for Clunkers

Loyalty fades for domestic brands

A deeper look at the detailed data from the "cash for clunkers" program shows that GM did the best job in retaining owner loyalty, followed closely by Ford. Chrysler was a dismal third.

We compared the make of the cars traded in to the make of the cars sold. The data comes from a database of the nearly 700,000 "clunker" sales that took place in which buyers could get up to $4,500 for trading in low-mileage vehicles for newer, more fuel-efficient models.

All three domestic brands did far better in Michigan than they did in the rest of the country. GM kept over 61 percent of its Michigan customers; Ford retained 52.1 percent. Chrysler was way behind, at just one-in-five.

Nationwide, excluding Michigan, GM trade-ins produced a GM sale just under 30 percent of the time. Though low, it represents the best of Detroit's Big Three; Ford had 23 percent outside Michigan; Chrylser just 10.8 percent.

Chrysler owners were even more likely to buy a GM product in both Michigan and across the country.

A look at the numbers