More dealerships for cars closing

[kenshirley]

After Chrysler announced BK they are closing 789 dealerships.
Now GM is stating that as of 10/2010 they are closing 1120 dealerships in addition to the closing of dealerships that carry products that are no longer going to be offered such as Hummer, Pontiac and such.
About 50% of GM's contract dealerships will close.

[dingdong]

I saw that on the news. They are closing three in my area. Really sad, these people have had these businesses for decades and all of the sudden, bam, you are out of business.

Chrysler won't even accept the return of cars and parts, since they will be in BK.


I feel for all the families affected by this, from the biz owner to the guy that washes the cars, there are going to be quite a few more job losses due to the closures.

[kenshirley]

I know that many have lots of money tied up in their buildings and such not to mention the employees.
It's a sad state of affairs for many.

[HRx]

Truly unbelievable....

[JRScott]

Unfortunate, but sadly probably necessary.

Rather than forcing them out of business it would have been nice to have allowed folks to merge at their discretion though.

GM is phasing them out from now til Oct 2010, so they are taking more time. Chrysler is planning to shed theirs by June 9th of this year.

I think the politicians, car companies and unions just don't get it though. With so many well paying jobs having gone overseas in the last 2 decades many Americans simply cannot afford cars that start at 20k or higher. What the American automakers need is a basic car that gets good gas mileage, is durable, and low cost around 5-7k retail kinda like the Volkswagon bug of the 60s and 70s.

Personally living in the south and having seen the furniture and textile industries leave with little to know sympathy to the southern states I've been somewhat disgusted at Washington wanting to throw my money to save their Unionized industries to save their purses.

[kenshirley]

Well not that cheap but I got a 2008 Corolla (AC, PW, PDL, Cruise Control~everything but an auto trans which I did not want) for just under $12K plus tax and such on a closeout last year.
It will take 4 people in comfort and has a good sized trunk. It's certainly all I need.
I get 39-41 MPG with it on the road and 32+ around town here.
And where was it made?? At the old GM plant in Fremont, CA. I think GM still owns the plant and just lease it to Toyota.

[JRScott]

You can still get good deals on manual transmission cars, however the majority of Americans do not know how to drive a manual transmission car. The same car with an automatic transmission would cost around 20k probably.

But that does raise an interesting point, perhaps we should move back to manual cars. If the auto transmissions cost that much more perhaps we should look to train those in driver's education to drive manual transmissions.

[kenshirley]

Wrong, the transmission added another $800 or so was all to the base car. My car stickered for $14,210. Toyota made the mistake of taking $2500 off the price of the left over 2008s in Feb just before they brought the 2009 new body style out. So I got the car for under $12k. And as stated the Corolla CE with the same equipment was only another $800 or so if I remember right. That would have put the same car at some $15k for just less with the Auto.
I like manuals and needed the it for towing 4 down with my RV at the time. Now that's long gone too in my BK
I bought the base CE model and it's fine with me. Most want the fancier trimmed models with leather, sunroofs and all.

[JRScott]

Still that's a Toyota , I bet a similar American made car with auto would run closer to 20k , it goes back to my idea that cars are just overpriced considering wages in the US.

Personally I drive a car that is 19 years old. I hope to upgrade a little in a couple years. I just don't make the kind of money to buy a new car even when I upgrade it'll probably be something 5-10 years old.

I still think perhaps teaching more folks to drive manuals might be a way to get more affordable cars into the hands of consumers .

[FLBK7]

Still that's a Toyota , I bet a similar American made car with auto would run closer to 20k , it goes back to my idea that cars are just overpriced considering wages in the US.

Personally I drive a car that is 19 years old. I hope to upgrade a little in a couple years. I just don't make the kind of money to buy a new car even when I upgrade it'll probably be something 5-10 years old.

I still think perhaps teaching more folks to drive manuals might be a way to get more affordable cars into the hands of consumers .

Toyotas and Hondas are generally quite more expensive than similar American makes. But then again, they have been consistently more reliable than their American counterparts for at least 20 years, if not longer.

Manuals are not for everybody. In large cities where there's a lot of stop and go driving, manuals are actually a pain in the rear to drive. The average upgrade to automatic transmission costs less than $1K and I am certain that it will always remain a popular option among consumers.

[kenshirley]

I have to agree somewhat.
But I am old enough to remember when you could buy a good American car (if you considered them good at the time, I did) for $2500-4000.
That seemed like a lot of money at the time but not even close compared to today.
I hope to drive my $12k Toyota for a long time as replacing it in retirement is not something I look forward to.

[Peevee]

My dad still has the window sticked from his 1972 pontiac lemans.
$3279 and it was a fine automobile at the time. I wished I still had it.

[kenshirley]

I bought a new Chevelle SS 350/3OO HP with a 4 speed and pretty much full optioned at the time for around $3400.
It got 17-20 on the road and about 12 in town if I kept my foot out of it which was hard to do.
I sold it with some 180K miles on it and never really had a problem with it.

[FLBK7]

I have to agree somewhat.
But I am old enough to remember when you could buy a good American car (if you considered them good at the time, I did) for $2500-4000.
That seemed like a lot of money at the time but not even close compared to today.
I hope to drive my $12k Toyota for a long time as replacing it in retirement is not something I look forward to.

American cars excelled in quality and reliability in the 50's and 60's. Sometime in the 70's quality started going downhill and the Japanese seized the moment to vigorously promote their cheap (compared to US-made cars back then) Corollas. As the decline in the American automobile industry continued, the Japanese solidified their position in the market. As much as I believe in the "buy American" philosophy, I gave up on American automobiles in 1982. I don't have the luxury of time and money to have my vehicle always in the shop!

I'm told that quality-wise American cars have improved since then. I hope so. And besides, I'd like to think that every single segment of business that my bailout dollars have gone to, has showed at least some signs of improvement!!!

[kenshirley]

I hate to tell you but Corollas were much later.
The first car that they really marketed in numbers was the Corona. 4 cyl, 90 HP 4 door sedan. It got 28-30 on the road at 75-80, was water cooled and much quieter and smoother on the road than it's air cooled competition, the VW beetle. The price of the base car was under $1900 in 1965.
I know, my Dad was one of the first dealers for them at the time.
PS, GM reps came with them to to lot to show there cars trying to convince dealers to take the line a the time. GM had some interest at least in them at the time.
My Father took them on not realizing the Corona would sell so well (people lined up for them in fact). He was interested in the Land Cruiser which was a very HD jeep type product at the time. It sold very well too.
They had a 3rd vehicle at the time, a Crown, which I don't think they ever brought over. They had one with them but I don't remember Dad having those.
I knew the Corona well. In high school my Dad made me drive one for publicity for the lot. I did not think they were cool at all compared to the Fiat Spyder I had been driving for dates. I think it was a 124 if I remember right at the time.