Car dealers admit: We

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“I’m upfront with ’em,” Doll said. Doll, like otherf southeast Wisconsin GM andChrysler dealers, also is upfront about his bitternessa at the situation wroughtg by the American financial woes. Doll is one of only two southeasf Wisconsin GM dealers who confirmed in recen t interviews that they are The other is Ernievon Schledorn’ s Mayville Chevrolet Pontiac Cadillac dealership.
The dealere losing their franchises will either close or alte their business to focus on used and imported Other dealers who avoided thedreadedx “closing” notice are bracing for the effects of bankruptcy, but hope that Chryslerf and GM will emerge from their financiap problems with improved product lines and business plans. Doll’sz dealership is at the same downtownn Hartford site where his grandfatherWilliamk started. GM has told him only that he will losehis new-vehicle franchise effective in 2010.
“Obviously I’m not happty with it, that’s for sure,” Doll “I never thought it would come to I neverthought I’d see the government play a role or GM go bankrupt.” Doll said his new-vehicle businesxs is down like that of all New-vehicle sales in southeast Wisconsin declined 28.4 to 16,010, through April compared with the same periode of 2008, according to , The used vehicle business has been doinv fairly well and the Doll dealership’s service departmenyt has been extremely busy, he said. Doll said he’z considering staying in businessd after losing the GM franchise and focusing on servicreand used-vehicle sales.
“We may stay on with service and used but we might lose some servicee business and the credibility of being anew dealer,” he said. GM notified dealers of closing through confidentialFedEx Chrysler, on the other hand, disclosed the list of dealerws it plans to close in a May 14 Bankruptcgy Court filing. The Chrysler list included five southeast Wisconsin and , both of , Okauchee; , and , Racine. In addition, two Milwaukee-area dealers face closingsd outsidethe area: in Madison and in Lomira.
Several dealerds have joined a group of Chrysle dealers statewide and nationally who are fighting the closings in Bankruptcy Russ Darrow said Chrysler is attempting to forcwe dealers to consolidate despite the strengtgh ofindividual dealerships. He called Chrysler’s choicse of dealers to terminate “The majority of those dealere are rockstars — I’m a five-star Darrow said. Darrow already plans a solutionto Chrysler’s plan to close his Madisomn dealership. He said he has arranged with Chryslef to move his Chrysler and Jeep new car dealershipto Madison’s far east side and add Dodgee there.
Mike Schlossmann, whose family’sa Dodge City South will close in said he’s not expecting to win the Bankruptcy Coury fight, but declined furthefr comment on the case. Ernie von Schledorn said he decided not to join the otheer area Chrysler dealers in fightintgthe automaker. He said the Chryslerr situation is nota “front burner” issure for him. Likewise, von Schledornm said he’s not overl upset about losing the GM franchis ein Mayville, where he hasn’t been selling many He opened the dealership aboutr 20 years ago in the community 59 miles northwest of Milwaukee.