Radio interview with a Chrysler dealer

[alan1]

Sorry folks, it was a radio interview I heard on the way home from work today, so I can't provide a link.

They were talking to a guy that owns a Chrysler dealership (he owns a Huyndai dealership also).
He got his phone call today. He is one of the 3600 Chrysler dealerships that is being shut down. He employs 70 people at his dealership. He owns the real estate, the cars, the shop, and all the parts in it. His shop alone does $200,000 in business a month (sales, not profit). Losing his dealership means that he can no longer be an official Chrysler Certified Repair Shop. He was the only Chrysler dealership in the county (right next to a large county with other Chrysler dealerships).
He was talking about how hard it was to tell his employees that most of them will lose their jobs due to this action. And it was not due to anything that any of them had done.

So, my questions about this are numerous.
How does telling a successful business to close it's doors help Chrysler? It wasn't like Chrysler was paying for any of this, he owned everything.
How does putting his 70 employees out of work "save jobs", stimulate the economy, or keep the tax paying base of the business and the employees?
How does it help Chrysler to sell cars if a successful dealership is shutdown?
Who decided that Chrysler needed to tell 3600 independently owned and operated dealerships that they had to close up their business? That very same business that sold Chrysler cars?
How the heck does Chrysler think it can sell cars without dealerships (or at least without half of what they had)?

I know Chrysler is in bankruptcy, but how does closing independently owned and operated dealerships that own their own inventory (cars, repair parts, real estate) save Chrysler any money or reduce expenses?

 

[wimpy77]

first of all the closed 790 not 3600.

it sucks but i would ask you how far was the nearest dealership? if the next dealership was lets so 30 mins or so away then chrysler more than likely closed the dealership because the one in the next county mad them more money. if he owns his dealership he could probably look into selling foreign cars or fords. to be honest i think it is gonna be a while before chrysler or gm will be competitive again.

 

[alan1]

first of all the closed 790 not 3600.

it sucks but i would ask you how far was the nearest dealership? if the next dealership was lets so 30 mins or so away then chrysler more than likely closed the dealership because the one in the next county mad them more money. if he owns his dealership he could probably look into selling foreign cars or fords. to be honest i think it is gonna be a while before chrysler or gm will be competitive again.

I must have misunderstood something he said.
Chrysler has 3200 dealerships and is closing about half of them according to this article, What does Chrysler's filing mean for GM, suppliers? - USATODAY.com

Part of the thing is that there doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason to the ones getting closed. I live within 45 minutes of probably 6 Chrysler dealerships, as far as I've heard, in this area, he was the only one to get notice yesterday that he was being shut down.
Who knows, maybe they chose him because he has another dealership and they figured he could weather a storm like that.

 

[neurosport]

Chrysler dealerships have been closing here in Brooklyn for a couple years already. My father has gone through 3 Chryslers ( all of them LHS ) in that period of time ...

I tried to convince him not to buy Chryslers but nothing worked. Well i think he is finally getting the message

 

[BaronVonBigmeat]

Excessive dealerships is one of the big burdens that Detroit has that the imports don't. Toyota has like...1/3 of the dealerships of GM, even though they sell more cars. Most states have laws that prohibit closing dealerships, unless of course the company is in bankruptcy, which is one of the benefits of filing for bankruptcy.

I can't tell you exactly what the reason is, since I'm not in the car biz. Probably they have to carry more inventory and stock more parts. The whole car business seems like of antiquated from what I can see--they stockpile massive inventory and thus can't change to market conditions very quickly. It would be better to have a select few dealerships that let you test drive cars, and if you like it you can order a car from the factory. Just-in-time production and all that. Of course, since antitrust laws prevent carmakers from owning the dealerships, that might not be possible.

 

[wimpy77]

first of all the closed 790 not 3600.

it sucks but i would ask you how far was the nearest dealership? if the next dealership was lets so 30 mins or so away then chrysler more than likely closed the dealership because the one in the next county mad them more money. if he owns his dealership he could probably look into selling foreign cars or fords. to be honest i think it is gonna be a while before chrysler or gm will be competitive again.

I must have misunderstood something he said.
Chrysler has 3200 dealerships and is closing about half of them according to this article, What does Chrysler's filing mean for GM, suppliers? - USATODAY.com

Part of the thing is that there doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason to the ones getting closed. I live within 45 minutes of probably 6 Chrysler dealerships, as far as I've heard, in this area, he was the only one to get notice yesterday that he was being shut down.
Who knows, maybe they chose him because he has another dealership and they figured he could weather a storm like that.

a dealership about 20 miles from here is closing but he also owns a kia dealership and he's just try and move as much inventory as possible and turn his chysler dealership into another kia dealership.

 

[WiseOldMan]

to be honest i think it is gonna be a while before chrysler or gm will be competitive again.

It will not be a while.

It will be never.


American car companies are going to be gone. I think the last single American car brand that will be left standing will be Ford, and the last actual model (by whoever takes it over) will be the Jeep (about the last American car worth buying).


TVs are no longer made in America, and neither are radios, MP3 players, shoes, etc.



Invest in beer companies, because (according to my friend who is in the bottling business), it's always going to be cost prohibitive to outsource bottled beverages, especially those in glass.


We'll always have our Coors Light.

 

[alan1]

to be honest i think it is gonna be a while before chrysler or gm will be competitive again.

It will not be a while.

It will be never.


American car companies are going to be gone. I think the last single American car brand that will be left standing will be Ford, and the last actual model (by whoever takes it over) will be the Jeep (about the last American car worth buying).


TVs are no longer made in America, and neither are radios, MP3 players, shoes, etc.



Invest in beer companies, because (according to my friend who is in the bottling business), it's always going to be cost prohibitive to outsource bottled beverages, especially those in glass.


We'll always have our Coors Light.

Most American beer is no better than horse urine.
Decent bottled beer is about the same price whether it is domestic or imported.

Now, about them cars,
70% of Toyota's sold in the US are built in the US. Americans can build good quality cars and do. Get the government and the unions out of the way of American car companies and watch American car companies flourish just like Toyota USA does.