Three local GM dealerships to close
Whitlow Chevrolet and Dominion Auto Group's Southpark Chevrolet and Cadillac franchises are closing as part of General Motors Corp.'s streamlining of its dealer base.
The three are among nearly 2,000 dealerships whose franchise agreements will not be renewed by the bankrupt automaker when they expire in October 2010, according to representatives.
David M. Watts, a Whitlow spokesman, would not elaborate on when the dealership would shut its doors or what would happen to the property at 9701 Midlothian Turnpike in Chesterfield County.
But J. Theodore "Ted" Linhart, Dominion Auto Group's chairman and CEO, said yesterday that his company bought Whitlow's inventory of 141 new cars and trucks and moved the vehicles off the lot early Sunday morning,
Linhart also confirmed yesterday that his Chevrolet and Cadillac dealerships in Colonial Heights are closing when the franchise agreements expire next year.
"Our current Chevrolet franchise is under a wind-down agreement," Linhart said.
After his Cadillac franchise closes at Southpark, Moore Cadillac in Henrico County will be the area's exclusive Cadillac dealer, he said.
GM, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy this month, is cutting its dealer base as it tries to restructure. The company previously said it would close 26 GM franchises in the state by not renewing franchise agreements.
The company, as well as Richmond-area GM dealers, has been tight-lipped about which lots were closing, citing concerns over employee morale and sales.
GM gave Congress a list of the closing dealers this month, but the names remained private.
Yesterday, Whitlow placed an advertisement in the Richmond Times-Dispatch announcing that GM decided "to go forward with a marketing plan that does not include Whitlow Chevrolet."
The ad said Whitlow has 109 employees. The closing "will result in some employee dislocation," but neither the ad nor Watts said how many.
Whitlow Chevrolet began operating on Midlothian Turnpike in 1982. The dealership adjoins Lexus of Richmond, also owned by Whitlow.
It is unclear how many jobs will be lost at Dominion Auto Group's Chevrolet and Cadillac dealerships because they will not close until next year.
Linhart opened the Dominion Auto Group Southpark on Charles Dimmock Parkway in Colonial Heights in 1996. The location houses five franchises, including Buick, Kia and Nissan.
Linhart said hopes to replace the Chevrolet and Cadillac franchises by 2011.
His family has operated locally since 1955.
Dominion Auto Group owns nine Richmond-area franchises, including seven GM brands. Its Pontiac franchise in western Henrico will go away when GM shuts down production of Pontiac sometime next year.
Contact Louis Llovio at (804) 649-6348 or
.
Advertisement
Reader Reactions
Looks like auto manufacturers made car business so complicated by manipulating lots of factors like warranties, recalls, rebates, many varieties of financing, adding all kind of fees, gambling with different kind of models and many more, that they themselves got tangled in the web they created to milk our money. Now they couldn’t get out of that web when economy slipped down and fuel cost spiralled up. Had they kept the business simple like other merchandises being sold, probably they would have survived. They became dinosaurs and extincted like them.
I would like to thank GM’s CEOs and leadership for driving two of their best known brands that I now own to extinction ( 2 Oldsmobiles and 2 Pontiacs}. You guys really fell asleep at the wheel during the 1990’s by designing ugly cars that no one would buy. You improved the designs and looks after the year 2000 but it was too late for these two once great makes. What is going to be next on the chopping block? Buick or Chevrolet? The Chevrolet brand offers nothing appealing but the new Camaro and the Corvette and they are not exactly family cars. The new Chevy Volt will not sell because of the high costs to replace the battery and short range. The Buick Lucerne is a decent car but is nothing more than a overpriced fancier Oldsmobile which it always has been and not many average Joes will be buying these. I suppose that I can be happy with 2 extinct Oldsmobiles, 2 Pontiacs, and 3 Chevrolets as long as I can get the parts to keep them running and dream about the old days.
Dealers adding processing fees to the already high cost of the cars has helped lead to the loss of business. Who wants to pay an extra $300 to $500 hundred dollars for a car for nothing? They got greedy and cost the manufacturers allot of business. If they don’t change I believe more will be closing.
Post a Comment(Requires free registration)
- Please avoid offensive, vulgar, or hateful language.
- Respect others.
- Use the "Flag Comment" link when necessary.
- See the Terms and Conditions for details.
Advertisement