http://www.nytimes.com/packages/html/nytint/maps/chrysler-dealerships-slated-for-closing.html
End of an era.
End of an era.
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Dealer closings
- Thread starter Jim
- Start date
Sad times. That map is especially sobering.
Wow. You can read numbers all day long, but one look at that map, all I can say is wow.
It is the end of an era and everyone who is losing a job and facing the prospects of having to figure out how to pay the bills has my sympathy.
That being said, I just went over to their web page and there's not a single car they sell I would consider buying. I haven't been keeping them in business, that's for sure.
I remember my parents would buy a new Chrysler every 3-4 years or so. It was a status thing. Well, looking at my parents now, I realize they were living a lifestyle they really couldn't afford. If they had been more thrifty in the way they lived, life would be a lot easier for them right now. When I was a kid, I didn't understand what it meant to be upside down with your loan. Neither did they. Every time they went in and the salesman gave them a sweet deal on their trade-in and renegotiated their loan with an eye only to monthly payments, they were trading away their future.
Was this Chrysler's fault? No. But it was a symptom of life in those decades and we're paying for it now.
That being said, I just went over to their web page and there's not a single car they sell I would consider buying. I haven't been keeping them in business, that's for sure.
I remember my parents would buy a new Chrysler every 3-4 years or so. It was a status thing. Well, looking at my parents now, I realize they were living a lifestyle they really couldn't afford. If they had been more thrifty in the way they lived, life would be a lot easier for them right now. When I was a kid, I didn't understand what it meant to be upside down with your loan. Neither did they. Every time they went in and the salesman gave them a sweet deal on their trade-in and renegotiated their loan with an eye only to monthly payments, they were trading away their future.
Was this Chrysler's fault? No. But it was a symptom of life in those decades and we're paying for it now.
childre dodge in milledegville ga is on the list.their first notification was when the local newspaper called and asked them for a comment.i bought from this dealer in the 80's,pretty good people except for the service monkeys.
i loved their comment to the paper--we're not sure why we are on the list as we are financially sound and have good sales.so all i can say is we're not going any where we will continue selling our nissan line rather than sell italian owned vehicles from a bankrupt chrysler corporation.
i loved their comment to the paper--we're not sure why we are on the list as we are financially sound and have good sales.so all i can say is we're not going any where we will continue selling our nissan line rather than sell italian owned vehicles from a bankrupt chrysler corporation.
Wow! There's a bunch more people out of work. It kind of begs the question, "Did the bail out money really have any effect or were they simply posturing for their upper echelon to get sweetheart severence packages?" What I do know for sure is that there will be a whole bunch of people who have worked very hard for a lot of years that come to work one day soon and get a pink slip, a pat on the back, and a "good luck out there". Honest, hard working folks really do deserve better than that, it really is sad.
GM and Chrysler were in such dire financial situations, the bailout money basically just let them hang on a bit longer.
When I moved to my hometown in 1989, there were dealerships representing all of the big 3 motor companies. Over the course of 2008-2009, we have lost all three (the most recent closing coming from Chrysler shutting it down).
Sad state of affairs
Sad state of affairs
A friend of my grandmother has worked as a mechanic at one of the dealerships on the chopping block for almost 20 years. He's not at all worried because, his dealership is losing their Chrysler franchise, they plan to continue operations in the used car business and to keep the shop open.
Hearing that, this may be good for some of the smaller franchises. When I worked at dealerships, we were required to maintain a certain level of new inventory. Every month that any of that inventory didn't move, the owners took another hit in interest. When they did sell, new cars don't have nearly the profit that some would assume.
Used cars, on the other hand, are gold mines if you have room to keep a good selection and you have quality cars. There's more money to be made in their sale(if there's a competent buyer representing the dealership at auctions) and more people buy them(in my experience) because the price is usually better.
That being said. I'm not saying that this isn't a terrible situation. I'm just saying that some dealers will be able to play this hand well, provided that they survive the initial kick in the onions from the news of loosing the franchise name.
Hearing that, this may be good for some of the smaller franchises. When I worked at dealerships, we were required to maintain a certain level of new inventory. Every month that any of that inventory didn't move, the owners took another hit in interest. When they did sell, new cars don't have nearly the profit that some would assume.
Used cars, on the other hand, are gold mines if you have room to keep a good selection and you have quality cars. There's more money to be made in their sale(if there's a competent buyer representing the dealership at auctions) and more people buy them(in my experience) because the price is usually better.
That being said. I'm not saying that this isn't a terrible situation. I'm just saying that some dealers will be able to play this hand well, provided that they survive the initial kick in the onions from the news of loosing the franchise name.
- Thread starter
- #11
Very sad for all the families that are struggling now, I also feel the bailout filled a hole but the bailout did not address the cause of the hole.All the American car makers are reaping what they have sowed to a greater or lesser extant. Managing the company for the stock price rather than the end user is,I firmly believe is the root cause of the woes.
I last owned a GMC truck in 1989 and it was a rolling piece of junk,the only thing worse than the truck was the corporate response to the major issues I was having with it.
I recently was on a road trip through the south east and there are empty dealer lots, going out of business signs everywhere, there are also many shinny new Toyota dealerships going up every where.
I know that in my own extended family no one has owned a big three car in many many years.
I last owned a GMC truck in 1989 and it was a rolling piece of junk,the only thing worse than the truck was the corporate response to the major issues I was having with it.
I recently was on a road trip through the south east and there are empty dealer lots, going out of business signs everywhere, there are also many shinny new Toyota dealerships going up every where.
I know that in my own extended family no one has owned a big three car in many many years.
I think they were given funding for something like 60 or 90 days of operations to allow time to create a plan for restructuring so they wouldn't shut down immediately.
And I'll note that this list may be the notices sent out on the red-letter day, but is really not complete. Our town's Chrysler dealership closed a couple of months ago, reportedly after Chrysler tightened the procedures by which they extended credit to the dealerships.
As said previously, reading the article does not have the impact of seeing the map. I grew up in Detroit and it's suburbs. Everything was the Big 3 or a related industry like Fisher Body. Photos of the old Fisher Body plant look like it's been bombed.
We tried a Ford F250, a Mercury Marquis and a GM 'something', all junk to keep the maintenance dept. busy. Good friends have their second Grand Caravan, nothing but electrical problems, just like the first one. I have a Taurus in the garage--it is a disposable car.
TPTB raked in their bonuses or left with a Golden Parachute and twiddled their thumbs while their customer base bought better built cars that were not manufactured by the Big 3. They are who should be held accountable.
What happened to American work ethic? There are a lot of hard working men and women but there is a disinterested attitude that is a prevelant undercurrent. You see it everywhere; checkers who ignore you standing in line with everything on the belt for check-out and they are too busy talking on their cell phone or the checker next to them.
We as a society can do better. If we don't, the mess we have now will be miniscule compared to what is down the road.
Sue
We tried a Ford F250, a Mercury Marquis and a GM 'something', all junk to keep the maintenance dept. busy. Good friends have their second Grand Caravan, nothing but electrical problems, just like the first one. I have a Taurus in the garage--it is a disposable car.
TPTB raked in their bonuses or left with a Golden Parachute and twiddled their thumbs while their customer base bought better built cars that were not manufactured by the Big 3. They are who should be held accountable.
What happened to American work ethic? There are a lot of hard working men and women but there is a disinterested attitude that is a prevelant undercurrent. You see it everywhere; checkers who ignore you standing in line with everything on the belt for check-out and they are too busy talking on their cell phone or the checker next to them.
We as a society can do better. If we don't, the mess we have now will be miniscule compared to what is down the road.
Sue
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What you have is a combination of too many dealers, and some dealers that didn't sell a lot of cars. While folks losing their jobs is never a good thing, quite frankly, there were more dealers than they needed. There is quite a large difference in the number of dealers for GM and Chrysler compared with the number of dealers for the foreign automakers.
I'm missing the obvious, but how does closing all those dealerships help a company's bottom line? A quick glance at the map shows there will not be a single Chrysler dealer in New Jersey's Hudson County, and few, if any in the neighboring counties of Bergen, Passaic and Essex.
They lost one of their biggest and best dealers in northern NJ last summer when he was hit with the credit crunch. They had been in business over 70 years.
So, if you want a Chrysler, there are few dealerships in a four county region with well over a million people. How do you expect to sell cars without dealers?
They lost one of their biggest and best dealers in northern NJ last summer when he was hit with the credit crunch. They had been in business over 70 years.
So, if you want a Chrysler, there are few dealerships in a four county region with well over a million people. How do you expect to sell cars without dealers?
I agree, very sobering indeed.
Very sad, I'm just praying that long term the company will survive as well as the other American automotive giants. We need their industry. God bless all involved.
