The all-new Chevy Impala has wowed critics, and retail sales have been brisk -- so why is GM offering incentives on the Impala to its dealers? Photo credit: General Motors Co.

"Incentives" -- payments to customers or dealers to help boost sales -- are part and parcel of the auto business. Nearly all automakers use them to some extent, but the ones with the biggest payments are usually the ones with the most dated or least competitive models -- and more often than not, the slimmest profits.

In recent times, General Motors (GM -0.04%) has been among the incentives leaders. That's not a surprise, given that GM's product lineup was among the oldest in the business until recently. But as Fool contributor John Rosevear explains in this video, Automotive News is reporting that GM's latest incentives program includes something odd: Big bonuses to dealers who push one of GM's best new products, the 2014 Chevrolet Impala.