General Motors (GM) and eBay are launching a trial scheme in the US that will allow customers to buy new GM cars via the auction¹ website.

通用汽车和易趣正在尝试一个新方案，允许在美国的顾客通过易趣的拍卖网站购买通用汽车。

bankruptcy² protection last month" width="226" border="0" src="/upimg/090811/4_064142_1.jpg" />
GM emerged from bankruptcy protection last month

More than 225 of GM's 250 Californian dealers⁴ have signed up to the scheme, which will allow consumers to either pay a fixed⁵ price or try to haggle（争论，杀价）.

The trial will run from 11 August to 8 September and is part of GM's continuing efforts to boost sales.

The carmaker emerged from bankruptcy protection in early July.

Expansion plans

All four of GM's brands - Buick, Chevrolet, GMC and Pontiac - will be available through the eBay scheme.

Customers buying a car via the website would then have to pick it up from one of the participating GM dealerships.

Lorrie Norrington, president of eBay marketplaces, said that if the trial is successful, it could be extended across the whole of the US, and that similar schemes with other carmakers may also be launched.

Some GM dealerships in the US already sell second hand cars via eBay, but this is the first time new vehicles have been put on sale through the website.

"I think they should have done this a long time ago," said Inder Dosanjh, one Californian GM dealer³.