GM Dealer Closing List: 1,100 General Motors Dealerships

lets close them all ! we'll have another 2 million unemployed! no taxes, draw unemployment checks, o well just print more money!!!!!!! thanks obama 

No ford is fine. I work for A  GMC/FORD/NISSAN dealer as A tech and FORD is still in good shape.I think GM will also be O K after restructure(bankrupt or not). The govmnt. has forced A new type of auto industry on the makers and consumers. Now youll be able to buy American thats made in CHINA. thanks to idiots that didnt start drilling for our own oil 5- 8 yrs. ago, now we are crippled relying still on hugo's oil.

                 GOD BLESS AMERICA

GM will be safe.  Ford should of been long time ago.  The quality doesn't stand up. 

No it is not George Bush's fault. It is the greed of the UAW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

No, it's actually thanks George Bush!

I have been in the car sales business since 1985. Raised two children, put them through college and at the same time I put lots of money away.

For many years we in this industry have complained about having a GM dealership on every corner. And I've heard the same thing about ford.

Now that the reality of the situation is upon us, many are crying the blues. We as americans have to accept the responsibility of this sorry situation that we are now in. We all stood by and did nothing as we went on a witch hunt for the weapons of mass distruction in Iraq. Little did we know that those weapons of mass distruction lived and breathed in Washington DC. Bush and Cheney. The two of them invested in oil and allowed the prices to climb while filling their cars and planes using our government issued credit cards. And supplied our troops with supplies that are manufactered by their own companies. And only God knows what else they have gotten away with over the last 8 years. It will all come out in time.

Let's not now place the blame on Mr. Obama. Let us move forward just like Toyota, continuous improvement. Stopping the assembly line of waste, fraud and misuse of power. We must invest in America now, now matter the dollar amount because once we are back on top, and we will get there. Our children will prosper and smile knowing that we made the sacrifices for them today.

We'll get through this and on the otherside, we'll be stronger and more productive than we have ever been.

We have witnessed more history in this year than any other Americans before us. It takes gutts to move in the right direction during troubled times. President Obama is a symbol of how much we are willing to take the difficult road in order to get through the rough waters.

Learn from the past. We Americans will all grow stronger, together as one nation. No longer divided.

If you have lost your job with a GM or Chrysler company, remember that many soldiers, sailors and marines and their families have lost much more than you will ever give. You can still survive and you will.

Bryan

The unions are only part.  Probably not the big part. 

Poor management with short time objectives are a major part.

Think about this. For about 100 years GM made BILLIONS of profit.  Where did it all go?

Answer: union pay, excess labor, non productive assets, exec bonuses, more dividends than should have been paid in order to jack up the stock.   In summary poor management.

They should have saved some for a rainy day.  Invested better. 

Well, the Fusion and Milan that are getting great ratings are made in Mexico, not America like most Camrys and Accords.  It's the engineering, not where the made.  Sadly, Ford will also assemble the new Fiesta in Mexico.  Buying Ford doesn't mean American workers will benefit.

I called many of the Chrylser dealerships because I thought I could help out at least some of the people loosing their jobs as I myself am looking to hire people into my company. All and I mean all of them said they're not going anywhere and everything is perfectly fine. Are they bluffing or what?

Anyone have any idea why GM won't release a complete listing of dealerships losing their franchise contracts?  What's the big secret anyway?  Kind of like not telling someone you are pregnant..... gonna find out eventually.  Why wait?

Oh, and btw....who cares whose fault all this is?  Water under the bridge.  Instead of blaming and pointing fingers, how about the taxpaying public come up with solutions?  I think it boils down to one thing and one thing only.  Greed got ALL of the failing industries where they are.  They need to do what the average person does.  Live within your means and PAY your friggin bills YOURSELF.

You obviously have never worked in a factory. Whatever they are paid it is not enough to turn off your brain for 8-10 hours a day. The work isn't hard, the monotony and the conditions in a factory are why they are paid so well. And besides, the UAW invented the weekend and helped build a decent middle class in this country. You sir are an ignorant maroon who knows not of what he speaks.

Yesterday it was Chrysler and today GM. 

Is Ford going to make an announcement Tomorrow? 

From what I read so far, I think they wont follow suit. 

Frank Heeter said:

"thanks to idiots that didnt start drilling for our own oil 5- 8 yrs. ago, now we are crippled relying still on hugo's"

Americans do not see any urgency when oil prices are low, but only are willing to do something when they rise.  Eventually, all of the oil (or cheap oil) will be gone.  We can keep drilling, but that is only a short term outlook.  Sacrifice any environmental concerns for cheaper oil.

It's easy to blame the government for everything, but the truth is that everyone wants something for nothing (or for cheap).

How does closing a dealer help GM?

All joking aside - it is sad to say that it has come down to this folks!  I will guarantee that in 10 yrs  America will not be a maker of anything but misery and sorrow.  America will become the greatest TV makers of all time, wait we tried that, American will become the greatest car maker of all time, wait we tried that, America will become the greatest .... wait for it................

Hey Sam.  Closing a dealership itself does not help GM.  But it doesn't hurt GM either.  It is necessary for what GM plans on doing next...which is get smart about marketing.  GM has had the philosophy of "build it and they will come...and when they don't we'll offer them $10,000 and they will come."  You never hear about Honda or Toyota giving huge rebates.  It's because you can't give those rebates, pay $40 - $80/hr to workers, and be profitable.  Honda and Toyota build for the demand.  It's what GM plans on doing from here on out.  But they still want "full lots" for people to browse in.  With fewer dealerships, they will still have full lots and they won't have to offer huge rebates to move them.  Dealers will still want to order more inventory.  And this train will keep chugging along.  I am a Chevy salesman so this isn't some outsider opinion, but it is still my opinion.  It makes sense, even though my job is on the line.

I don't understand how closing dealerships will help GM or Chrysler. Yes they'll have to make less cars, but will also have less dealers selling products! It's like eliminating sales people, you might save some hard cost, but in the long run you've got less people selling! And it will cost twice as much to reopen them..The idiots rule again..

Its sad to see so many lose their jobs, but it is necessary to reduce the overindulgence that has been GM.  Once they are lean and mean again, they just might make it.  I only fear they will move too slow.  States should tax based on the size and MPG of the car, not on the value.  It makes more sense and then GM can move to smaller, better cars than foreign.

 Chop, Chop, Chop should be the rally cry!

Bush was part of the problem, but it goes back to Clinton and all the idiots in congress that wanted to give out loans that people couldn't afford. The banks went along with it and now here we sit.  I am a GM die hard but if they ever went under I would switch to Ford before I will ever own a foreign car or pick up. Ford and GM did have there share of qaulity issues and do deserve some blame, but their new cars and trucks are just as reliable as the toyota and honda's out there. 

I am semi-retired from my own businesses ( yes, plural) and work part-time at a GM Dealership in service as well as with a HUGE retailer. Both are on shaky ground and, while I'm at both places for "something to keep me occupied", I feel bad for ones who depend on these places for their living.

 This is NOT going to get any better... and Obama, Bush, even Clownton are not to blame. All 3 inherited a mess that they couldn't deal with and it will only get worse.

 The real culprit??? Greed.

 I'm only glad that I'm closer to the end than the beginning in age. I feel especially bad for the 0-35 crowd. They are about to get a wake-up call to hard times. The fun days are over.

Clarification:  Ford mortgaged their assets in 2004 for fantastic rates and built a huge cash war chest for the future foreseeing the inevitable downturn the Big 3 were facing.  For the record investment bankers priced and closed those transactions.

Watch out who you throw in the firing path the next time you complain about bankers.  They have kept Ford alive.

sKOBS:

I congratulate you on your decision making ability.

Moron.

According to recent auto test and ratings, Ford has surpassed Honda and matches the quality of Toyota.  The new innovative products are creating a lot of hype.  It is time to abonden the old "american is not as good as an import" because it is no longer true. If we spent more time test driving the vehicles and reading consumer reports none of our American auto makers would be in trouble.

Historically, it's the dealers that deserve the blame. Back in the 80's the quality SUCKed -- even Lee Iacocca admitted this (in his book).  I've been in the car business for 30 years, and back then the factories DID build cars that had not been ordered by dealers,  and factory reps would pressure dealers to take them.  It kept the factories humming, but led to a glut of inventory.

Here's what you DON'T hear much about.  The under-funded pensions !!

How did GM, Chrysler (and I assume Ford but I have not heard confirmation) get $20+ BILLION behind in pension contributions?  I beleive GM's is TWENTY BILLION.  How did this happen?  OTHER industries are REQUIRED to make payments into their pension plans !!

The auto manufacturer's didn't make the payments...and the Government over several administrations ALLOWED THIS TO HAPPEN.  This is a DISGRACE.

If the manufacturers had made the payments when they were supposed to:

1) they wouldn't be in financial crises today (at least not as much)

2) their financial difficulties would have been dealt with in the past

3) the financial futures of there workers and retirees would not be in doubt

The UAW took over a lot of this...but with GM and Chrysler 'bailing' what's likely to happen sooner or later, is this immense obligation is going to fall on the Taxpayers to clean up.

Yes, the automakers did this to themselves.  Partially by not reacting quickly enough to changing markets.  Partially by not paying into pension/healthcare funds as they went along.  Partially by having too much duplication among brands (i.e. Chevy Vega; Pontiac Astre -- Ford Maverick; Mercury Comet).   But to a degree...the goverment ALLOWED this to happen.

Closing dealerships doesn't help the factories much.  They'll need fewer field people to work with fewer stores in a geographic area...that's not much.  Who will benefit will be the dealers that survive.  They'll have greater volume (hopefully!) and can benefit from efficiencies of scale in advertising costs, etc.

I work for a Toyota Dealer in California.  Closing Dealerships are going to hurt their Bottom line.  Yes those dealerships may not be performing to the standards that the factories think they should, but what they dont realize is those dealers are still selling cars, parts and services.  They need to look inside the UAW and have the union take some consessions.  Until they do this, the domestic dealers are not going to get any better. 

All of the years of mismanagement and GM management burying their heads in the sand have finally come home to roost. I worked in a GM dealership for 15 years. GM was foolish to bury the electric car they developed called the EV-1

GM had the technology long before anyone else. They made foolish and costly moves like car leases with inflated residuals, vehicles that totally sucked like the AZTEK...ack....And tried to inflate sales and profit numbers by selling massive amounts of cars to fleet accounts.

Remember all the earnings re-statements in 2001-2003....red flags??...Yep....

For years, analysts predicted GM's downfall if the market dropped below 16 million units per year. WHat did GM do to prepare?? Nothing. They hoped SUV's would continue to sell and they hoped they could catch a break from the uinons. Dream on. Too many brands and too many dealers. They knew this for years and did nothing. Now they have to fix it all in a few months. It will not happen. GM as we know it is dead. Break the UAW, and bring back a much smaller and more efficent company. Thats the only way it will work.

i used to work in the parts dept of a chrysler dealership back in the early 90s and that

same dealership is now targeted for closure. I now work in the parts dept of a Chevy

dealership and concern is high in the entire building. We work hard , we give it our

best effort to keep business rolling and customers happy and returning.

who knows whats going to happen but we have to play a waiting game. And

unemployment is never a happy thought , but its a sad possibility.

I am so bummed....

Who are these morons trying to say Geogie boy bush is not at fault in any way?  You feckless pieces of texas cow crap! this guy had no domestic financial policy till August or 2008!  You feckless pieces of Cheny used tissue paper!

did ford get the money from the government? we the people are the government. the gov. does not own part of  ford. the reason i buy ford & gm is because they have dealerships every 20-25 mi. i live in a rural area & it is 60-100 mi. to foreign dealers. if gm & ford put their dealers every 60-100 mi. then i may have to look at buying a  foreign car made in the u.s. toyota has a plant in princeton indiana & georgetown ky. i am confused about what is domestic & what  is foreign. canadian gm, mexican ford? ross perot should have gotten elected.