Declining Automotive Residual Values and their Impact

Abstract

For a ten-week period, I was employed at GMAC Financial Services, a leading company in the financing, insurance, and home mortgage industries. Founded in 1919 by General Motors Corporation, it was originally designed as a subsidiary to finance automobiles for the consumer in a booming auto industry in Detroit. It is out of this company that GMAC would branch into varying industries, not only within the Unites but overseas as well, and has become one of the largest privately held companies in the world. With locations in about 50 countries, GMAC is the very definition a global, diversified company. The program in which I was involved consisted of 18 students from six universities, half completing their undergraduate studies and half completing graduate studies. 17 of the students were placed into finance rolls within the company, and one was given a position within the Human Resources department. I was given a finance roll after turning down an opportunity to work within the Vehicle Remarketing division as I had previous experience working for Carlson Marketing Group, the marketing arm of Carlson Companies, one of the largest privately held companies in the United States. I was unfortunate in that the program officially began towards the end of May when I was still at school, so I was absent from many of the introduction programs for the interns. The process, however, was described to me in a manner that was not only very professional, but also informative. All presentations were forwarded to me via email to ensure that I was up-to-date with the program. This is where I learned where exactly I would be working, the Financial Planning team within North American Operations (NAO).