The way they are closing these dealerships is fishy. The Chrysler dealerships around here ranked in the top 2 percent for sales, yet they got closed but a BIG dealership down the road got kept around. I expect the same with GM.

When you have 4 or 5 different places in the same town selling the same car with a different nameplate, at best you'll have 1 winners and 4 losers.

Of course, with the type of product GM had been putting out, you'd just get 5 losers.

I'm suprised that business model lasted as long as it did.

@gqcarrick: Part of the deal to close the dealership is that Chrysler has to buy back or liquidate the dealers inventory and parts. That means it would cost more to shut down a bigger dealer. Plus dealers that sell other cars will stay open, but will just have their Chrysler cars taken back.

@torgonius: Didn't you know GM pays for everything in Monopoly money? How else do you think they have stayed in business for so long.

out of curiosity, does anyone here actually plan to ever again buy a GM (or Chrysler) vehicle?

The reason the entire auto industry is in this situation is because we never got our flying cars! We're sick of waiting!

@Shane Elliott: nope.

Ford, Maybe depending on how teh new Fiesta does in road tests.

next car is going to be a 2010 VW GTI

@Shane Elliott: Uh...yes. Go away. Just because CR owns this site not everybody on here is suckling at the CR teat. There will be a lot of people buying GM, trust me when Toyopet loses 8bil and the Japanese government opens their pockets (without fanfare) maybe people will see what a paper tiger Toyopet is...oh, they already have!

@B1663R: I bought my first car a little over a year ago, a Scion tC. I didn't even consider American car when I was shopping. I don't like paying for car repairs. I had a hand me down Ford Explorer that I had already dumped more money into than it was worth. Why buy a car that's going to break, when you can go with a Toyota or Honda that will outlive cockroaches?

@The_Legend: I'm fond of saying my mom has had nothing but ford/chryslers, and my dad nothing but chevy, and from my experiences of owning nothing but mazda, toyota, nissan...I can honestly say the foreign made cars are leaps and bounds ahead of what my mom and dad have owned. I could buy a car with 100k more miles, and it would hold up better with less repairs over the years.

Honestly...you can sit there with a straight face and tell me a *cobalt* is anywhere near a civic/mazda3/etc?

Now, I'll give them credit for making leaps and bounds in the past 5-6 years in quality (new malibu, the fusion, etc), but it's kinda too little, too late. For every Fusion there is a Jeep Compass, Dodge Caliber, Chevy Aveo dragging their names through the mud all over again.

I really don't feel too sorry for many of these dealers. First off, there are just too damn many car dealers in the U.S. Over 20,000. C'mon, we don't need that many dealers. Besides, the dealer method of selling cars is outmoded.

Second, while there are some decent, honest dealers out there, there are also many shady/dishonest dealers and if the car dealers ever tried to clean up their act and treat customers like they should be treated, I would have more empathy for them. But that is simply not the case.

Let these dealers close and move on. GM is dead anyway and the sooner this entire melodrama plays out, the better it will for everyone.

@Saboth:

Mazda is owned by Ford.

@ADismalScience: Yea, but Ford purchased a company who already produced quality cars and allowed them to continue doing so. The only reliable car Frod makes is the F-150 those thanks tend to run forever, but unless your a redneck/contractor you don't need one.

Friday? they have been getting the ax since at least wednesday. There are quite a few salemen scrambling for jobs selling at the toyota and honda dealers right now

@ADismalScience:

Mazda is NOT owned by Ford. Ford only has a 13% stake in the company and doesn't even have majority voting rights.

@minsky:

I was going to say the same thing and you beat me to it.

Agreed!

@HRHKingFridayXX:
Not true, sadly. Reports on CNN and local Houston TV state the Chrysler dealers getting the axe will NOT be able to sell their new vehicle and/or parts back to Chrysler; the bankruptcy filing takes Chrysler off the hook for any legal requirement to take the inventory back.

The owner of the Archer D/C/J dealerships in Houston was intervied on ABC's KTRK-13. He said his only option is to hold a liquidation sale and that Chrysler wants all the new vehicle inventory sold off by June 9.

Hmmm...could this be an ultimate deal or will the Circuit City liquidation sharks graduate from TVs and PCs to cars and trucks?

@gqcarrick: Plus on top of that, Chrysler's pre-bankruptcy Project Genesis plan was calling for their dealerships to sell all three Chrysler brands (Chrysler, Dodge, and Jeep) at one dealership. A lot of the dealers in my area that were on the list didn't sell all 3 brands at the same location.

@gman863: Yea thats what I heard too. The local news said the dealerships are stuck with existing stock and parts.

I'm still playing on buying a Wrangler in the future to replace my current Cherokee. Bought my first Cherokee in 90, had it for 10 years. After about 6 years the AC went and I never got it fixed, loved that vehicle. In 2001 I got another Jeep Cherokee and it's running like a champ. I'll keep it for a few more years and then upgrade again...it too lost it's AC after about 5 years and the power windows only work on the drivers side. Other than that, brilliant truck...

Those little 4 stroke engines they put in the Cherokees and Wranglers for years were excellent engines. I'll be getting a Wrangler next...two door, soft top...the way they were meant to be.

@zonk7ate9: I have two Ford Focuses (Focii?) each with over 150,000 miles. The only issue other than regular maintenance has been the $#%#! power window motor. Anecdotal, sure, but they've done just fine.

Nice that a Scion owner is willing to throw around stereotypes of pickup owners.

I already posted this earlier in the Chrysler dealer shutdown comments; however it applies equally to the GM issue:

While I feel sorry for the individuals who are losing their jobs, this is the tip of a HUGE issue nobody in the government or media has yet to address: Consumer tastes have changed. Chrysler and GM failed to change with them.

Honda, Toyota and Dautsun (now Nissan) became household names in the 1970s by offering vehicles with better gas mileage and reliability. In the 1980s, these companies targeted the high-end market with Acura, Lexus and Infiniti. The former laughingstock of the import industry, Hyundai, recently won Car Of The Year honors for its Genesis model and now "imports" most of its cars from Alabama - not Korea.

In contrast, many of GM's vehicles (Chevy Aveo, for example) are built overseas - and it has been reported that, once GM's restructuring is complete, many more of its US vehicle offerings will be made offshore in countries including China.

Both Chrysler and GM failed to offer the products American consumers wanted over the past 30 years. Now it is time to let the chips fall where they may. Although I voted for Obama, I disagree with his throwing billions of our tax dollars to subsidize companies and unions that made poor choices and created a pension and benefits Ponzi Scheme that would make Bernie Madoff blush.

A lot has changed in 30 years. Thankfully, cars are built better and last longer. Consumers know which companies deserve the thanks, and these companies have returned the thanks by building manufacturing plants in the US - plants that employ Americans, building the cars and trucks Americans want.

Chrysler and GM don't deserve to be on life support at taxpayers' expense. Pull the plug, hold the funeral and see what (if anything) comes back to life with new ownership and thinking.

I will buy any American car that offers AWD.

Still waiting...

@grapedog: Do you consider AC failures and electrical problems acceptable?

I'm not challenging, just asking. Maybe I ask too much from cars.

@gman863: I agree. I don't understand those that say this is the "death of the American auto industry". What's more American, a Subaru made in Indiana, or a Chrysler made in Mexico? The line's blurred to the point that I'd rather just buy the better car, which more often than not is from a "Japanese" manufacturer.

Did I understand this correctly, privately owned dealerships are being forced to close? How does putting car dealers out of work help anything? GM doesn't pay someone to sell their cars; they do so at their own risk, especially GM...

@Shane Elliott: Could not imagine that.
If I wanted an unreliable car, I'd buy a '60s Jaguar XKE. Black. It may sit in the garage most of the time and get crappy mileage, but BOY would it look foiiiine!

First, I'm sorry that all these people are losing their jobs. That's awful.

Second, these companies (at the corporate level) deserve this level of pain. Their cars are low-quality, unreliable, and completely out of touch with American's green future.

Maybe this means I won't have to see as many American truck commercials when I watch football this year...

@cunnij98:

"GM and Chrysler argue that too many dealers puts pressure on pricing and dealership profits, which leads to ailing dealers offering weak customer service and hurting the brand image. That can cost the automakers sales."

I believe 50% of Chrysler's dealers make 90% of sales.

@Shane Elliott: Absolutely. I have 3 GM vehicles (2001, 2004, 2006) in my driveway and with the exception of routine maintenance and 1 starter motor, I have not had any major repairs on any of them . Prior to that I had a 96 Saturn (GM) that ran fine for 10 years and I only had to replace the alternator. GM vehicles have treated me well and tend to have the combination of options and features that I look for in a car. I have no brand loyalty, and nothing against other manufacturers, but when I sit in the car, they just don't feel comfortable to me, and dont have the combination of features that I am looking for.

@drrictus: Ford sells both the Ford Fusion and Taurus with an AWD option. There is also the Dodge Caliber (if you can stand its looks). Enjoy your new Ford!

@Shane Elliott:

Me. I love my Chevy SUV and would buy another one in a heartbeat. Previously, I'd only ever owned a Honda and three Mitsu's. I wasn't impressed.

@drrictus:

Because a Japanese car has never had the AC go on it?

@zonk7ate9: Own a '97 Ford F150 with 214,000 miles on it.

@Shane Elliott:
I would never buy an American car. That would be like going into a restroom stall that doesn't have toilet paper.

@The_Legend:

You keep on bringing up that bogus $8BN number. Look at the actual cash losses, not the below-the-line currency stuff. Toyota lost FAR less money last quarter than GM did.

@tbax929: Japanese cars are supposed to be more reliable? When I drive by the local Toyota and Honda dealers I see many cars in for repairs. They are always busy. No Maytag repairmen there.

The only thing I'm pleased about are all the dealership owners and managers losing their jobs. Those guys treat their employees like shit.

Ah to see that special person who was the only one at a chevy dealer who could approve a price get the boot. Awesome.

Maybe now the commercials on TV wont blow me off the couch when Im sleeping...

The GM quote "While GM doesn't own the dealers, the company says its network is too big, causing dealers to compete with each other and giving shoppers too much leverage to talk down prices and hurt future sales."

So the taxpayer turnaround isn't being used to save money or make a better product...it's to eliminate dealers so they can charge a higher price without other GM dealers to compete!

They think someone will actually pay an Accord or Camry price for a Cobalt? They're doomed!

@Shane Elliott: Absolutely. I have three Tahoe/Yukons, an ext. cab truck, and a Trans Am. All are well over 150,000 miles and have never needed a repair that I couldn't do myself. (I also own two X chromosomes.) Prior to that, I had a Firebird, a Beretta, a Dodge Daytona, and a Ford Maverick. Sprinkle in a few Thunderbids (three generations), Mustangs (two gens), and lots of GM F-bodies (four gens) and you have my entire driving and racing career. (I'm sorry to say there was an MG Midget and a Miata in there as well.)

My <3 belongs to GM.

@bananaboat:

Come to think of it, why do GM and other car companies even NEED dealers?

Back in the days of disco music and leisure suits, manufacturers of everything from TV sets to lawn mowers had things set up like GM: Their products could only be sold by an "authorized" dealer who also had to stock parts and provide repair service.

Now most all of these products can be purchased at big box stores or online. Want a John Deere lawn tractor? Home Depot. Sony TV? Wal-Mart, Fry's or Amazon.com. Although it would suck having to wait 8-12 weeks for our $5000 mail-in rebate on a new mini-van, the fact we could buy a car without wasting 3 hours on the "let me talk to my manager" bullshit might be the best thing that ever happened to the auto industry for increasing sales.

One of the GM dealers here in Fort Wayne (Don Ayres Pontiac/GMC) is closing, but has no plans to fight. Why? Their Honda franchise next door was a much bigger part of their sales anyway, and they might buy another import franchise in the meantime between now and next year. (Can you say "Don Ayres MINI" or "Smart Center Fort Wayne"?)

Every other GM dealer within city limits is staying for now, though.

@gman863: Parts they own and the service and parts depts are in a real bind. Chrysler will not take them back. The cars are almost always financed from Chrysler. After June 9th Chrysler will take those cars back to later redistribute to other dealerships. With so many of the cars on the lots for so long the dealerships will have lost a lot of money at that point.

@Saboth: You've clearly not owned a pre-1980 Toyota (in a salt the roads state) nor a post-2000 Nissan or Toyota or you would not be speaking so highly of them.

@zonk7ate9: Ford did not ever really own Mazda and especially that is not the case anymore. They did share a lot of parts though starting around '96.

I have owned a fair number of '80s and '90s Mazdas. They were okay but not great, certainly not over-engineered in the way that Toyotas of the same time period were. Every component was selected to be as cheap as possible to be just barely good enough on a Mazda. When you would do any significant amount of work every twentieth bolt you would need to drill out and 8 out of ten would be stretched too far so you would need a new replacement. It is also the only car I have ever had to replace a pvc gasket with a cork one since the plastic one was being sucked in. Also you had to get everything just right or else you would have leaks everywhere. Things like you change the spark plugs and now you get an oil leak between the transmission and block, so to fix it you diddle with the timing. I'm serious about that. The Mazdas started getting peculiar around 60K miles on me.

Also the F-150, very reliable, as well as the Ranger.

@bbagdan: I've got friends and family in this buisiness, and so I know of two that were great to work for and another that was fair. I wrote were because two are definitely goners and the other is most likely as well. That said every single one of them had the misfortune of starting an a really crushing place. When you look at dealerships that are not detroit, there is also a VW and Toyota dealership around here that have a good reputation. So yeah about 60% of the good employers are now toast.