The Five Dumbest Things on Wall Street This Week

My Mother the Car Lots and lots of company in GM's family

4. Red Carpet

When all else fails, roll out the welcome mat.

Stocked with a hefty supply of last year's vehicles, General Motors (GM Quote) unveiled a new sales strategy this week. Like many of GM's previous strategies, the one unveiled Wednesday calls for steep discounts.

Unlike the other plans, however, this one has bigger implications. It kicked off with a press release reading, "GM is Proud to Invite America to be Part of its Family."

Sound like a little too much commitment? Not to worry. The idea is to give buyers preferential employee-discount rates and simplified pricing.

"We firmly believe that once consumers have the opportunity to drive a GM vehicle, they'll know what we, and millions of loyal GM customers, already know about the value represented by the cars and trucks that we build," said GM marketing exec Brent Dewar.

You can't blame GM for trying something new. The company posted a 12% sales drop for May. Earlier, it reported a huge first-quarter loss that led to several recent trips to the bond-rating junkyard, as analysts fretted over the company's pension obligations and financial position.

Yes, sounds like just the sort of big happy family everyone is itching to join.