More GM Dealer Cuts Coming
Published: May 29th, 2009
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And going, it seems. As many as 450 dealerships with franchise agreements coming due in the next 17 months will be dropped by GM, according to Automotive News [sub]. GM’s Mark LaNeve insists that “less than half” of the 450 number is more accurate, but admits that cuts will be announced when GM files for bankruptcy on Monday. “These are dealers who have very specific issues,” LaNeve tells AN. GM will be using “very similar” criteria for these cuts as the last round, when 1,124 dealers went to the big closeout sale in the sky.
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Had a conversation with a small town Chevy dealer Friday; 30 years at the same place. He thinks cutting dealers is pointless. He's safe, so I don't think he has any axe to grind. Chevy dealerships have these VERY large displays on a rack, kind of like a notebook with the pages in heavy lamination. He said the rack cost him $2k with another $600 a year for the content. I doubt GM goes in the hole on these. I caught the tail end of an interview with Jerry York on Bloomberg today. He said that during his brief stint on the GM board, there was nobody there with the experience needed to be an effective board member. He's very high on Kent Kresa. I'd like to know where this dealer culling bullshit is coming from.
"I don’t know about you, but the GM dealerships I have been too have all the charm of a DMV office. Hard plastic seats, cheap desks, burned instance coffee, worn dingy floors, and a drab old feel to them." Our local Chevrolet dealer just closed up shop ... and the facility was about two years old. They built it in part with incentive money from the local government. Argh. " ... quick, send money to the democratic party ..." You know that line of so called reasoning has been completely debunked, right? http://www.fivethirtyeight.com/2009/05/news-flash-car-dealers-are-republicans.html
if your product is desirable, people will travel distances to obtain it. something GM needs to take to heart.
@John Horner: Half-assed analysis from a left-wing blog does not an argument make.