GM’s latest move of boosting its image in the public’s eye is their “Total Confidence” program that has been targeted at concerns about the latest economic turndown as well as stereotypes that GM cars have acquired over the last twenty years. This bit of good news comes coincident with the decision of Rick Wagoner to step down from the CEO position of GM, to be replaced with Fritz Henderson who was then serving as the Vice Chairman and COO; however that is a topic for another post so hit the jump to find out more about the GM Total Confidence program that just might convince you to get out there to buy a Buick Lacrosse or a Chevrolet Corvette (which is having a plant shut down soon!).

The plan encompasses four major points: Payment Protection, Vehicle Value Protection, one free year of OnStar, and the 5 year/100,000 mile powertrain warranty.

The payment protection program sounded familiar at first and my suspicions were confirmed when I realized it is almost the same program that is being sold with Hyundai cars. GM’s plan only differs in a couple minor details such as the length and amount of payment they will cover; in the unfortunate event that the buyer becomes unemployed; payments will be covered for $500 a month for 24 months. With the amount of people losing their jobs nowadays, fear of repossession is something that is obviously distressing prospective new car buyers.

Besides the notion that American made cars are less reliable than their imported competitors, another label that just won’t leave GM cars alone is their terrible depreciation. Too bad it’s firmly grounded in reality; how many Chevrolet Malibus or Hummer H2’s are currently upside down on their loans when compared to Honda Civics? The Vehicle Value Protection is a temporary way to squash this problem as well as encourage repeat customers. When an owner trades in their GM car for another one, they will not have to deal with vehicle value fluctuations for the first two years. They specifically say that they will provide “assistance” if the principal loan balance is greater than the NADA value. What is not covered is the interest that may have accrued, or a specified amount that they will “assist” with.

The second half of the GM Total Confidence package is not that interesting or new. Their one year of OnStar will still be ignored and left expired at the end of the trial, their 5 year/100 thousand mile powertrain warranty is nothing new.

I doubt there are too many people out there that are actually convinced to buy a GM car simply because of this supposed assurance package, but the window for inclusion in it is only through the month of April.