Hope on the horizon: GM to reinstate 580 dealerships
03-05-10, 01:32 PM
#1
Lexus Fanatic
Thread Starter
Hope on the horizon: GM to reinstate 580 dealerships
http://www.autoblog.com/2010/03/05/h...einstate-more/
According to Automotive News (which is citing four separate yet unknown sources), General Motors is preparing to reinstate more than 580 dealers that had applied for government-mediated arbitration to keep their franchises in the United States. For those keeping track, 580 represents exactly half of the 1,160 dealerships that signed up to go through the arbitration process. These selected dealerships would potentially be reinstated outside the process of arbitration.
GM will reportedly send letters to the 580-plus dealerships it has decided to reinstate, offering immediate restoration of their franchise rights, including the ability to order new vehicles. If a dealership does not receive a letter, GM has not chosen to restore its franchise rights and it will have the option to either settle with GM or enter the arbitration process if it so desires.
According to Automotive News (which is citing four separate yet unknown sources), General Motors is preparing to reinstate more than 580 dealers that had applied for government-mediated arbitration to keep their franchises in the United States. For those keeping track, 580 represents exactly half of the 1,160 dealerships that signed up to go through the arbitration process. These selected dealerships would potentially be reinstated outside the process of arbitration.
GM will reportedly send letters to the 580-plus dealerships it has decided to reinstate, offering immediate restoration of their franchise rights, including the ability to order new vehicles. If a dealership does not receive a letter, GM has not chosen to restore its franchise rights and it will have the option to either settle with GM or enter the arbitration process if it so desires.
03-05-10, 08:40 PM
#2
Lexus Fanatic
Over 600 GM Dealerships Will be Saved From Closings.
Here's some good news for a lot of (potential) dealership employees and customers. GM, last year, planned a reduction of some 1160 of its dealerships to reduce size and cut costs. After a round of arbitration, 661 will be allowed to remain for the time being, although details have not (yet) been released as to specific ones. I think it is safe to day, though, that it will (probably) not include any Pontiac, Saab, Saturn, or Hummer dealerships....unless they switch to another GM brand.
President Obama, as of today, does not seem to have made any public statements on the situation........it was under his watch, of course, that the big buyout package came that sold GM partly to the Federal Government and partly to the UAW. UAW boss Ron Gettelfinger does not seem to have made any public satements (yet) either.
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-f...,1764662.story
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/35728322/ns/business-autos/
Part of this, of course, stems from Congressional legislation passed last summer that set up the arbitration process. It could, of course, affect some Dodge/Chrysler/Jeep dealerships, too, but no official word on that yet.
This, of course, is a breaking-news story today, and, as of now, few details on specific dealerships are known, but we can post/reply as more of them are made known.
President Obama, as of today, does not seem to have made any public statements on the situation........it was under his watch, of course, that the big buyout package came that sold GM partly to the Federal Government and partly to the UAW. UAW boss Ron Gettelfinger does not seem to have made any public satements (yet) either.
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-f...,1764662.story
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/35728322/ns/business-autos/
Part of this, of course, stems from Congressional legislation passed last summer that set up the arbitration process. It could, of course, affect some Dodge/Chrysler/Jeep dealerships, too, but no official word on that yet.
This, of course, is a breaking-news story today, and, as of now, few details on specific dealerships are known, but we can post/reply as more of them are made known.
Last edited by mmarshall; 03-05-10 at 08:52 PM.
03-06-10, 11:17 AM
#5
Lexus Fanatic
What do you think about the prospect of more than half of those targeted GM dealerships staying open? Seems to me that will be great for the economy.....and jobs.
The last thing the country needs right now is more layoffs.
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03-06-10, 05:38 PM
#8
i am not sure if it's good for economy... yet. it's good when money are constantly flowing freely from consumers to business, etc... right now it's just a lot of our tax money from government to GM, unless it continues to flow, this is just digging deeper holes
03-06-10, 06:19 PM
#9
Lexus Test Driver
Many of the dealers people were happy to see close as they had really bad reps and did bad business. GM corp seen a chance to get rid of these poor dealers and tried to but....
03-06-10, 09:20 PM
#10
Lexus Fanatic
I understand your point, and, to an extent, see where you are coming from (I've seen dealerships myself, from several different manufacturers, that I wasn't impressed with), but, nevertheless, 1160 dealerships represents a LOT of employees. Even if half of them are saved (which seems to be about to happen), that still prevents a lot more layoffs. And, one thing I've pointed out for a long time............manufacturers need to sell vehicles to make money. Laid-off employees, in most instances, can't buy new cars.....even at employee-discount prices. To take home a new car, you usually have to have a job, some kind of steady income, a decent credit rating, or, of course, be given one as a gift like some parents do nowadays with their teens.
03-06-10, 09:23 PM
#11
Lexus Fanatic
Thread Starter
03-06-10, 09:25 PM
#12
Lexus Fanatic
Well, two things. First, only part of GM was saved.....it certainly didn't apply to Pontiac, Saab, Hummer, or Saturn, although some of those dealerships might (?) convert to other GM brands. Second, All that Obama did was sign a piece of paper in front of cameras....typical White House PR. Congress actually voted the money. And GM ownership (what's left of it) was actually split between the Federal Government, the UAW, and, of course, private shareholders.
03-06-10, 09:33 PM
#13
Lexus Fanatic
Thread Starter
Obama signed the papers. What would have happened if he did not??? They owe him more appreciation than what you are making out although I see your point
03-06-10, 09:50 PM
#14
Lexus Fanatic
And the money, don't forget, ultimately came from all of us taxpayers to start with.
03-07-10, 04:56 AM
#15
Lexus Test Driver
I understand your point, and, to an extent, see where you are coming from (I've seen dealerships myself, from several different manufacturers, that I wasn't impressed with), but, nevertheless, 1160 dealerships represents a LOT of employees. Even if half of them are saved (which seems to be about to happen), that still prevents a lot more layoffs. And, one thing I've pointed out for a long time............manufacturers need to sell vehicles to make money. Laid-off employees, in most instances, can't buy new cars.....even at employee-discount prices. To take home a new car, you usually have to have a job, some kind of steady income, a decent credit rating, or, of course, be given one as a gift like some parents do nowadays with their teens.