All GM Brands to Get Logo

Saying that many consumers are unaware that Cadillac, Saab, Chevrolet and other brands are part of General Motors Corp., the automaker on Tuesday announced that it would add the GM corporate logo on the side of all its vehicles.

The addition of a silver badge with the GM logo on all 2006 model-year vehicles coincides with the automaker’s recent efforts to promote the GM brand, with increased spending on advertising and marketing.

“The name General Motors speaks to people,” said Mark LaNeve, who took over as head of GM’s North America vehicle sales and marketing last month. “Research tells us that many of our most outstanding segment-leading vehicles are not associated by the customer to be part of the GM portfolio.”

GM named LaNeve to his new position about two weeks before the automaker announced last month that it would post its biggest quarterly loss since 1992 because of rising healthcare costs and weakening U.S. market share.

So far this year, GM’s U.S. sales have dropped about 4%, and company executives have said that its incentives are not attracting consumers like they used to.

GM has started promoting safety features on its vehicles to try to boost sales and ease off incentives.