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Britt Chrysler Jeep was told by letter of the change. |
Britt Chrysler Jeep on U.S. 1 in Fredericksburg is among 789 dealers across the nation that would lose their ability to sell new Chrysler vehicles under part of a restructuring plan filed yesterday by the bankrupt automaker.
The list includes 26 dealers in Virginia that sell Chrysler, Jeep and/or Dodge vehicles. It would take effect in about a month if a bankruptcy judge approves the plan.
Eddie Arnold has owned the Fredericksburg dealership for 23 years. He said the uncertainty surrounding Chrysler's bankruptcy filing has caused "tremendous disruptions" in the sales process, especially for Chrysler-brand vehicles. He said Jeep has been less affected. He also said Chrysler has been very secretive throughout.
Arnold noted that his dealership will conduct business as usual, selling and servicing new Jeeps and Chryslers, for the next month. He's not sure what will happen on his property after that, but he said it could morph into a used-car sales and service center. He'll also look at selling a different brand of new cars.
The announcement has no bearing on the Mazda, Volkswagen and Suzuki dealerships in Spotsylvania that bear the Britt family name. Those are owned by Bill Britt, who is Arnold's brother-in-law.
Some of the rejected dealers also sell products other than Chrysler, and yesterday's filing by Chrysler LLC in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in New York has no bearing on that. A bankruptcy court judge must first approve Chrysler's request before the dealerships are closed.
Rejected Chrysler dealers will be under court review for the next several weeks, said Michael Allen, spokesman for the Virginia Automobile Dealers Association.
HARD CHOICES, NO APPEAL
The 789 on the list represent about a quarter of Chrysler's 3,200 U.S. dealerships. Chrysler LLC said in the filing that the network is antiquated and has too many stores competing with each other.
Chrysler Vice Chairman Jim Press called the cuts difficult but necessary. He said the list of dealers is final and there will be no appeal process.
Chrysler has received $4 billion in federal loans and has been operating in bankruptcy protection since April 30. Its sales this year are down 46 percent compared with the first four months of last year; it reported a $16.8 billion net loss for 2008.
Rejected dealers will receive assistance in redistributing their vehicles and parts inventories, according to Chrysler's letter to approved dealers. Chrysler will also help customers make a "seamless transition" to a new servicing dealer.
Customers who purchased vehicles from the affected dealers will be notified about the closings and their warranties will still be honored, said Chrysler Vice President Steven Landry.
BETTER NEWS FOR OTHERS
Randy Modesitt, who owns Rappahannock Motors Inc. in King George County, got the news he wanted about his dealership of 22 years. He sells all three Chrysler brands, along with Ford and Mercury.
"This is our livelihood," Modesitt said, adding that he thinks it's unfair that some dealers were cut despite costing Chrysler little.
Modesitt said he thinks it helped him that he sells all three of Chrysler's brands. The company is trying to reduce the number of single-brand dealerships.
Safford of Fredericksburg, which sells Dodge vehicles but not Jeep or Chrysler, made the cut despite that. However the Safford Automotive Group sells all the brands at its locations in Springfield and Warrenton.
Safford Dodge General Manager Coley Dize said, "We're looking forward to being a Dodge dealership in Fredericksburg for some time."
Chrysler of Culpeper also got good news yesterday. That eliminated "all kinds of angst" at the dealership, said general sales manager Steve Rainger.
Chrysler dealerships aren't the only ones scheduled to get bad news this week. General Motors Corp. says it is notifying 1,100 dealers that it will not renew their franchise agreements when they expire at the end of September 2010.
John McEleney, chairman of the National Automobile Dealers Association, said about 187,000 jobs could be lost from the closing of GM and Chrysler dealerships.
A copy of the letter Chrysler LLC sent to dealers that survived the cut can be found at fredericksburg.com/blogs /bizbrowser.
--The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Bill Freehling: 540/374-5405
Email: bfreehling@freelancestar.com
CHRYSLER CUTS Here is the list of the 26 Virginia dealerships that will lose the ability to sell new Chrysler vehicles if a bankruptcy court judge approves a request by Chrysler LLC: Britt Chrysler Jeep, Fredericksburg Darcars, Fairfax Davis Dodge Chrysler Jeep, Kilmarnock Edinburg Motors, Edinburg John P. Hughes Motor Co., Lynchburg John Sutton Chrysler Dodge Jeep, St. Stephen's Church Lawrence Motor Co., Richmond Scott Newcomb Chrysler Jeep, Bassett Waverly Motors, Waverly Battlefield Jeep, Charlottesville Berrang, Waynesboro Cowles Nissan Chrysler, Woodbridge Dominion Dodge, Salem Dulles Jeep Kia Subaru, Leesburg Duncan Jeep Isuzu Pontiac GMC, Christiansburg Family Ford Chrysler Dodge Jeep, Marion Grafton Dodge, Grafton Kern Motor Co., Winchester Manassas Dodge Subaru, Manassas Nelson Dodge, Martinsville Obaugh Ford, Staunton Ourisman Chantilly Dodge, Chantilly Parsons Chrysler Kia, Winchester Pearson Dodge, Midlothian Pohanka Chrysler Dodge, Leesburg Tysinger Motor Co., Hampton --Source: Virginia Automobile Dealers Association |
