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Automotive News & Views Dude, where did all the dealerships go?
657 messages, Last post on Dec 04, 2009 at 11:37 AM
You are in the Automotive News & Views Forum. Your Hosts are steve_ & claires
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Replying to: gagrice (Jun 03, 2009 2:48 pm) That's not surprising. Back in the old days, there was a Chevy, Ford, Dodge, and AMC dealer here for about 7500 people. One by one, they fell out over the years until only the ca. 1919 Chevy dealer is left (it used to carry Olds, too), and that franchise may not be long for the world now. |
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Dealers have long had political muscle and they are starting to flex it. "I don't believe companies should be allowed to take taxpayer funds for a bailout and then leave local dealers and their customers to fend for themselves with no real notice and no real help. It's just plain wrong," continued Rockefeller who noted the roughly 2,000 Chrysler and GM dealerships being closed across the country put at risk more than 100,000 jobs." GM, Chrysler Defend Dealer Cuts in U.S. Senate (AutoObserver) For the conspiracy theorists, Rockefeller is a Dem. The bankruptcy judge is having none of it. Judge: Chrysler has good case for franchise cuts (Yahoo/AP) |
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Replying to: euphonium (Jun 03, 2009 7:26 am) Not sure if there is a San Francisco Nissan? Haven't ever heard of one. But basically, it's only the domestics that are out of business on Van Ness Avenue, and the rest of San Francisco too. |
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Replying to: gagrice (Jun 03, 2009 2:48 pm) Heck, at one point in the 1950's, there were about 10,000 dealers that sold Plymouth! I believe that was more than any other brand, however, there is a reason. Back in those days, Plymouth was always paired with Dodge, DeSoto, or Chrysler/Imperial. Or sometimes, all three! There's a dealer a few miles up the road from me that used to carry Plymouth/Dodge/DeSoto/Chrysler/Imperial. When Chrysler restructured in 1960, having Dodge on its own and merging everything else, I think that's when they went to Dodge only. For most of my memory, they sold Dodges and Pontiacs, but lost the Pontiac franchise a few years ago. I think they sell Dodge/Chrysler/Jeep now. Well, for the time being at least. 
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Replying to: andre1969 (Jun 04, 2009 10:56 am) |
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Plymouth Cricket, baby!
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I'm still a tad fuzzy on where the savings are going to come from for GM and Chrysler by closin gdealers. You would think that the market forces would take care of that if needed (as has always happened). Plus, usually more outlets for your product is better. Also, this new, streamlined, dealer network isn't permanent. I'm sure that once the BR is over and the companies are back up an operational, and the market settles out, there will be obvious areas underserved by certain makers. So, at some point, new delerships will (re)open in some markets, where it makes sense. If anything, the best way to figure out how many dealers you need, and where, was to close ALL of them (IOW, pull every franchise.) Then have people bid on the franchises again. So in the short run closing some small ones hurts at the local level, but it should lead to a "right sized" and better located dealer network. Hopefully. Or Ford will just take all the domestice business and make Joel happy! |
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However it is that is buying Opel should also buy Saturn. Bingo, instant dealer network and product. The best stuff at Saturn was rebadged Opels anyway. Then partner up with some other non-US Euro makes that want an inroad. Renault? Peugout? Heck, some of there stuff just might be interesting to US buyers, especially if they can pull off snazzy diesels, and some of the efficient people movers that everyone else is afraid to bring over. |
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"Penske, who became a Chevrolet dealer in Philadelphia in February 1965, had a Saturn franchise among his GM brands at a dealership in Bakersfield, Calif., in the early days of Saturn in the mid 1980s, but later sold all of the GM franchises. He later went onto build a publicly owned dealership group that now ranks as the No. 2 retailer of vehicles in the U.S. He also has dealerships outside of the U.S. GM prohibited publicly owned dealership groups from having a Saturn franchise. Still, as a retailer, Penske has competed against Saturn dealers, who were carefully handpicked by Saturn when it was formed in the 1980s. Penske says, the best in the country and "are passionate about the brand." Those 200 Saturn dealers operating 350 outlets across the country, which employ about 12,000 people, will be offered a new franchise agreement with Penske. "We'll give each existing Saturn dealer an opportunity to sign on with our franchise," he said." Penske: Envisioning Saturn as a Global Motors (AutoObserver) And locally, Idaho’s Saturn dealer says GM's sale to Penske is a 'dream come true’ (Idaho Statesman)
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Wow, I only posted that idea yesterday, and Penske already "stole" it from me! And I swear I hadn't read anything about his plan before I did. makes a ton of sens though. Seperate the manufacturing and support/distribution for efficiency sake. And it must coast a fortune to establish a dealer network, parts distribution, and also a brand name. None of the Euros were going to d oit, but having a chance to supply cars to "global motors?" That's a whole different story. |
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