In a bid to ease consumer fears, General Motors and Ford Motor Co. announced payment protection plans Tuesday for U.S. buyers who lose their jobs after purchasing a vehicle.
GM is offering to make up to nine car payments of $500 each for customers who lose their job through no fault of their own.
To be eligible, customers must qualify for state unemployment.
The program will run for the month of April as GM tries to stimulate sales, which have reached their lowest levels in 27 years.
GM Vice-President Mark LaNeve said the company will extend the program if it's well received.
Earlier Tuesday, Ford announced it will cover payments of up to $700 each month for up to a year on any new Ford, Lincoln or Mercury vehicle if a U.S. customer loses their job.
"Consumers remain anxious about the economy and their own outlook for the future," Ken Czubay, vice president of sales and marketing, said in a statement.
The Ford program runs until June 1.
However, in Canada, GM and Ford will not offer the same assurances to Canadian buyers.
GM Canada has had a difference plan in place since mid-February: two years of XM Radio and OnStar along with free maintenance for the life of the warranty.
In the event a vehicle is not XM or OnStar capable, the no charge maintenance is for five years.
Kerri Stoakley, communications manager for Ford of Canada, said the Canadian and U.S. markets always have unique incentive programs.
"We always assess programs on an ongoing basis to ensure we're competitive but there's no plan at this time," Stoakley told CTV.ca on Tuesday.
The incentives south of the border come as U.S. President Barack Obama rejected the restructuring plans from GM and Chrysler on Monday. Obama gave the automakers a short window to revise their bids if they want to receive federal bailout money.
"We can only win if we get the job done in revenues," newly-appointed GM CEO Fritz Henderson said Tuesday.
"...The view is everything's got to pay rent in our product portfolio. Every one of our entries needs to be focused on not only a position in the marketplace with the customer, but it needs to be profitable."
Last January, Hyundai launched a program that allowed buyers to return a vehicle within a year of purchase if they suffered a job loss or disability and couldn't make payments.
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNew...1?s_name=Autos 
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