It’s no secret that General Motors has recently been going through one of the lowest points in the company’s great history. While it’s going to be a while before they can truly reestablish their business as a strong 21st-century presence, the bosses of the company are currently looking at ways to spark sales with a new strategy. Specifically, they’re looking at performing online car sales with the auction site eBay.

Of course, by now the car industry is one of the last consumer sectors to be without a strong online presence. Everything else has been selling through the web for at least a decade now, but for some reasons the car industry has barely even tried to get into online car sales. But this recent economic crisis has everyone thinking more creatively.

With eBay, GM plans to use online car auctions to allow shoppers to browse through the listings of about 20,000 vehicles that are sitting on lots of GM dealerships across North America. If you see a car you like, you can either bid on it or choose the “buy now” option to start going through the buying process.

In 2008, the GM online car sales program began a pilot program limited to the state of California, but it wasn’t long before they started branching out into other areas of the market.

And what does this mean for you? For one thing, it’s now easier than ever to buy a GM car. With online car auctions, you may not be able to test drive the car, but since you’re going directly through the company, you can rest assured that they’re not using the type of scam techniques that are common throughout non-professional internet sales.

And the process is more than just clicking “buy.” GM and eBay plan to make the business similar to buying a car in person. There’s a negotiation process, during which you communicate back and forth with the company about your needs and preferred price, and finally you get approval from a GM employee, and the car is shipped to you.

Will online car sales save GM? Only time will tell. Now that this type of sale has started, there’s no doubt that other car companies will get on board, which likely means more innovative ways of car sales, plus increased competition, which can only be good for the average car buyer.