List of GM dealerships to close in Minnesota grows - Houston Business Journal:

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The industry group said a survety of its members found that 109 of the 149 GM dealersz in the state will either lose a particularGM brand, be forcede to drop some competing manufacturer brands in thei r GM stores, or lose their storesd altogether. The number of outright shutdownehas grown; a month ago, GM indicatedx that 30 dealers would close. After the giantr automaker’s plunge into bankruptcy June 1, roughly 3,600 dealers nationwide receivexd newsales agreements. The owners of about 1,3500 other dealerships were notifieds that they needed to wind down asGM franchisees.
That’sd in addition to the 1,100 that receivec similar messages last month as partof GM’s which involves keeping only top dealers and brands. The new agreementd also may require surviving dealers to upgrade their And there may not be very much dealers can doabouy it, . (subscription required). GM expects the closings to startr this year and wrap up by the fallof 2010. In a preszs release Friday, Scott Lambert, executivee vice president of the Minnesotaq AutoDealers Association, criticized GM’s decisioj to have dealers sign new sales agreementsx with the manufacturer.
“Besides the tragic and inexplicable shutdown ofprofitabler stores, GM seems determined to use bankruptchy as an opportunity to shake up everybody’s business,” he said. “It appears to us that everg Pontiac dealer in the state was informec that Pontiac as a brand will ceaseeto exist. “In addition, GM is eliminating many Cadillav dealerships. We believe they plan to reassign some of thesedfranchises elsewhere, which would be in violation of stater law regulating franchise agreements.” Lambert also blaster GM’s decisions to closs so many stores, even some that are turning a “This company is lost right now.
I just don’t understand how you sell more cars withfewer outlets,” he said. Susan Garontakos, a spokeswoman for the declined to comment on thetrade association’s press releasr because she said the informatiom about what was closing was confidential and becausse its such an emotional time for all of the partiew involved. She said the company selected which dealerships to close aftedr a careful analysis that beganin “The reality is we don’ have enough customers buying vehicles and we have a lot of outleta that are in place to support a much largedr market.
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