Thursday”s announcement from Chrysler that it will eliminate 789 dealerships soon will have an impact on a longtime local company.
The Columbus Motor Co. on Highway 182 near Propst Park is losing its support from the nation”s third largest automaker. The local company has been in Columbus for more than 45 years, and has been an authorized Chrysler dealer for nearly 33 years, said dealership owner Tom Younger.
“Chrysler has been getting weaker and weaker each year for several years now,” said Younger, explaining he learned through a letter of the automaker”s decision to cut its support from his dealership. “They didn”t even have the respect to call me or send one of their representatives down here to tell me they were cutting support.
“But, I guess everything will work out for the best,” Younger added.
The Columbus Motor Co. is one of six Mississippi dealerships selected for elimination by Chrysler, it was announced Thursday. The automaker, which filed for bankruptcy April 30, notified 789 of its nearly 3,200 Chrysler dealerships across the nation after it filed an exhibit in a New York bankruptcy court outlining its plan to pull franchise licenses from the dealers.
Chrysler dealerships in Tylertown, Greenwood, Booneville, Southaven and Flowood also were chosen for termination by the automaker.
But while the announcement may serve as a nail in the coffin for many dealerships across the nation, Younger said he does not plan on laying off any of his about 15 employees.
“Every one of my employees is going to keep their jobs after Chrysler pulls its support,” Younger said. “We are just going to focus more on selling late model cars and trucks. I”ve even had some other people coming to me wanting me to sell their line of vehicles as well, but I can”t really go into that right now.
“We will continue to take care of our customers just like we always have, and we will continue to offer service to everyone,” Younger added. “We haven”t relied too heavily on Chrysler for some time now, so I don”t think it will affect us too much. Literally the only thing that is going to change is that we are going to take that Chrysler sign down.”
Carl Hogan to keep Jeep, Dodge
Carl Hogan Automotive on Highway 45 North, an authorized dealer of Chrysler subsidiaries Jeep and Dodge, will not be affected by the automaker”s announcement.
“Chrysler hadn”t told anyone anything until they mailed out the notices and published the information today,” said Clyde Rhea, general manager of Carl Hogan Automotive. “They mailed us a notice basically saying that we would still be authorized and that nothing would change for us.
“I really do feel bad for Columbus Motor Co. We have a good relationship with them, and I hate that this is happening to them,” Rhea added.
Chrysler”s decision to cut its dealership ranks nearly mirrors a plan many economists believe U.S. automaker General Motors soon may implement as it works to cope with a struggling national economy.
Although many GM dealerships, including Larry Clark Chevrolet in Aberdeen, last month were closed and consolidated with other GM-owned dealerships, the nation”s largest automaker may soon cut its national dealership numbers by as many as 2,000.
“The word is that GM will start letting dealerships know tomorrow if they are going to be closed,” said Rhea, whose dealership also is authorized by GM. “But I think what you”ll mostly see is GM focusing on metropolitan areas that contain several GM dealerships relatively close together.
“They look at your customer satisfaction ratings and sales figures when they”re trying to decide who they will shut down,” Rhea added. “There may be a few dealers around here that don”t meet those criteria, but there”s really just no way to tell until they make the announcements.”
Not all doom and gloom
However, it isn”t all doom and gloom in the automotive world. This afternoon Carl Hogan Toyota, located at 3907 Highway 45 North, will have an official grand opening ceremony beginning at 2 p.m. The facility has been open since Dec. 26.
“Toyota”s been experiencing growth with us for several years. We”d outgrown our old facility and we didn”t have room for inventory,” said Carl Hogan Toyota General Manager Tony McCombs. “People in the business today have to come to the realization the customer is the boss and take care of the customer. If you do that the rest will take care of itself.”
McCombs also said business has been booming due to the excitement surrounding the ribbon-cutting ceremony.
“The funny thing is in trying to get prepared for it, business has been better in the last two weeks than it has since we”ve been here,” he said. “We had one of the highest percentages of Toyota growth in moving to our new store. We”ve been blessed.”
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