General Motors said it will drop about 1,600 U.S. dealers as it struggles to slash billions of dollars in costs and debts. But our Detroit photographer Rebecca Cook reports that, unlike Chrysler, GM does not intend to release to the media a list of dealers hit by the closure plans. Chrysler disclosed in court documents on Thursday the identities of the 789 dealerships it wants to terminate under the bankruptcy process.
Affected GM dealers received letters by express mail on Friday morning informing them that the automaker did not see how it could have a “productive business relationship” after 2010.
GM is telling journalists to find out for themselves which dealerships are closing. Our reporters around the country are working their sources and calling local dealers for information. Readers can help us. If you have any information on which dealerships face the ax, drop us a comment below or email tradingplaces at reuters.com.
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Who’s at fault for the American automobile industry collapsing to the point it needs to turn to the government for help! Well if you really look at the problem everyone is. The government is for allowing so many imports vehicles in to our country, with out considering the out come of what will happen to the American cars. The public for forgetting where they live, work, and play freely (in America), the automobile manufacture for not thinking about the American public. When they were building vehicles like they were toy model cars. Now we have a president that says he will save jobs and get the economy going to put people back to work. But the government forces the American manufactures to close car dealerships, down size the plants. Putting serve hundreds of thousands of people out of work that have survived off, The American automobile business. What did they do for the import vehicles sold in this country? They are forcing American car dealers to open more import dealerships. Pushing the American plant worker to find work for the import manufacture in this country. How does this help the American automobile business in this country? Where we employ and keep the tax payers money in this country. Instead of shipping it to Japan or Korea. The government took the American publics tax dollars to help out the American built vehicle companies, on the same hand forced Americans to help build sell and open more import dealerships in this country off our tax dollars. How have we helped the American economy by allowing the government to do this????? The government, the public, the manufacture needs to think about this country America and stop thinking about greed. Every import vehicle sold; bought and built in this country will keep bring down the American automobile industry. Which we all know that the down turn of the automobile industry affects the American economy.
- Posted by edThe comment posted by James Hawk has to one of the most ignorant comments I have ever seen. What do you do for a living for you to disparage a mostly honorable profession? You can find the cost of a vehicle from several sources on the web. Dealers have to pass on any rebates to the customer. GM and other manufacturers routinely audit deals to verify compliance. Dealers have supported local clubs, sports teams and other civic groups for years. I hope dealers aren’t closing in your area but if those so-called “thieves” are, maybe you can do your civic duty and make up for the lost revenue to those organizations. Next time do your homework before you engage that brain and maybe supidity doesn’t flow out of your mouth.
- Posted by Rob LucasThe way these dealers try to rape people on vehicles a lot more of them shpuld be closed down. You go to buy a GM from a dealer and he tells you no incentives are going to be given even though they are availiable, he chooses not to give them. I for one thought times were tough, GM filing bankruptcy, dealers losing dealerships, people losing jobs, people just plain starving. Really!!!! why don’t you try selling cars instead of letting them sit on your lot @ 10000 over msrp. that is ludacris!
- Posted by james hawkTo everyone who voted for Obama & his so called “Vision for America” I say this : What a picture he’s painted, huh ? GM is an American Icon & he managed to kill it with less than a year in office. Watch yourselves, your job is next on the chopping block !!!
- Posted by James HouserThis is a bankruptcy solely orchestrated by Obama administration. You get a job from Obama not from GM, only if you make a “green” car Obama wants you to. Otherwise you are out of job, out of home and out of existence.
- Posted by ArturoI am sorry to see more workers lose their jobs. There is something inherently wrong when some workers make $27 an hour and others cannot find a job that normally pays $25 an hour for $8-$10 an hour.
- Posted by PatriciaIfeel the consumers have a right to know which dealers are closing. (eg) What happens if you give your money to a dealer and they close you have to go to court to get it back and if they are out of business good luck.
- Posted by alDoes anyone truly believe that the government bailing out the automakers and effectively becoming co-owner (at least financially speaking), will improve their business performance and efficiency and succeed in a competitive global marketplace? I suppose the idea of good exit strategies are also applicable to (or perhaps not) this conversation as well. It reminds me of a similar conversation happening around big banking’s future - here.
- Posted by ChloeBauerhttp://expattitude.blogspot.com/2009/05/ charlie-rose-joseph-stiglitz-on-future.h tml
When the average wage for a highschool educated worker in one industry is significantly higher than the national avergage something is wrong with that picture. Glad to see it changing sorry to see it be such an abrupt transition for so many. As far as quality I have been happy with my Ford and GM vehicles. Chrysler on the other hand - better than in the past but still a way to go to win by my confidence. Chrysler prices also are to high and they don’t warrant the premium they are asking relative to the competition.
- Posted by DavidNo one seems to be crying in their beer when money is loose, too loose, and cars are being sold to ninnies who can’t afford them. Same for home ownership. Lenders were pigging out, in every industry. Now that there’s a business contraction, now that people who have no business buying cars they can’t afford and haven’t saved for, everyone is praying for the workers/dealers/managers who were gobbling up the cheap credit. GM, Ford and Chrysler didn’t seem to care how their cars were running; they made their money on financing. Until the dance ended. Now it’s “oh, woe is me!” Wake up, infants. You need to save money. Any moron knows how to spend it.
- Posted by Howard PerryI truly feel that the UAW workers are being wrongfully blaimed for the car industry problems. Basily it’s the UAW and the Industry Management who are at fault. Hourly wage workers love to get raises, management love to show profits, so both of them have caused this problem. In 1967 I purchased a new vehicle for $2,600.00, I was earning $4.00 an hour at a union job. Today that like type vehicle cost $18,000.00, while my wages were only $8.00 an hour. My wages doubled, the price of the car went uup 400%. I paid union dues, but my monthly dues were so low that we were considered small change to the main union. We had union officials spend our local share of dues anyway they wanted, we complained, no help, evidentually the union was kick out.
- Posted by terry leaseBoth GM and Chrysler could have been “saved” through means other than Federal takeover by a “Hope and Change” socialist that totally lied about what he and the Dems would do if elected. But, the ignorant and uneducated sheep that followed the “freebie” candidate and put him in office are now living with the results of their idiocy and gimme, gimme, gimme attitude. Hope you are enjoying the “back-end” job your getting now …. but wait - with a little luck, Congress will allocate billions more for some Vasoline to make it easier on you.
- Posted by Ben DoverIt’s unfortunate, and many people will suffer, but it’s the state of the world. I worked for Ford Aerospace long ago, and drove Fords because they were given with incentives. But they were terrible. The service was nothing short of a ripoff, and the quality was in the toilet. I’d love to buy American, but I can’t afford to throw good money after bad. U.S. automakers had an opportunity to fix their problems, but didn’t. So who’s to blame? Auto executives, but we can’t support failing businesses, so it’s too bad. I’m an engineer, and in a business that is being offshored, and also onshored as the U.S. continues to bring H1-B visa-holders to this country as cheap labor. It’s also unforunate, but where we are as a nation. The U.S. was once a powerhouse, but now it’s diminishing. I don’t think anything can be done to change that now. Is this really the change we voted for?
- Posted by TimMr. Imon Skok says it’s the UAW’s that’s killing the auto industry well, I beg to differ. Some advocate taking away workers pay and benefits (the average auto worker in the US makes 27 dollars an hour). The pension and health care benefits negotiated by the union enables employees that give many years of dedicated service, (sometimes 30 years or more) the ability to live life when retired and not depend on social welfare programs to survive. When the management of Wall Street, the Insurance Industry, and some of the biggest banks in the US get unrestricted bail outs while the government plays hard ball with the auto industry smells of class warfare, not to mention the auto executives get multi million dollar pensions and parachutes all the while they blame the hourly auto worker for GM and Chrysler’s demise smells of hypocrisy. God Bless the UAW and other labor unions that help to protect those that cannot otherwise protect themselves against the executive abuse… Those that blame the middle class must be in fear of losing their own parachutes.
- Posted by Robert Slezak