GM scales down resort event for fleet buyers

CHANDLER, Ariz. -- They were among 500 fleet buyers — folks who work for rental car companies, government agencies, businesses that buy heavy-duty trucks, and companies that run fleets of vehicles for their workers — that GM was hosting at the resort this week.

GM says these buyers are key to their business. The automaker sold 866,000 vehicles to such customers last year, and says this event is intended to reach out to them and make sure they don't jump to rivals such as Ford or Toyota.

Guests are being treated to two nights lodging at the upscale resort, where the average room goes for $300 per night. Steve Harris, head of public relations for GM, says the automaker paid less than $250 for each room.

Other events hosted by other companies on government life-support have enraged taxpayers and members of Congress. In October, insurer AIG inflamed the public when it treated executives to a $440,000 getaway at the St. Regis Resort near Laguna Beach, Calif.

Image is everything in this environment, says Leslie Paige, media director for Citizens Against Government Waste, and GM should have thought of that. "It seems to me this would be an obvious thing, that they would say, 'This is not a normal year, we are in extraordinary circumstances, and this year we will skip,' " Paige says. "One wonders what the heck is going through their minds."

'Fun stuff' gone

The hotel, decorated in earth tones, is in the middle of the Gila River Indian reservation. While the facility is a four-star resort, it doesn't feel as swank as a Ritz-Carlton.

GM declined to give the cost of the 2010 Fleet & Commercial Product Preview, but says it's significantly less than last year, when it was at the Red Rock Casino Resort in Las Vegas. Before that, GM had the event in Nashville.