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The Adtimes Newspaper - AUTOMOTIVE
July 16, 2010
53
Two Auto Dealers Saved From GM, Chrysler Closures
MIAMI (CBS4) — A pair of longtime South Florida auto dealerships put on the chopping block last year after the financial meltdown at Chrysler and General Motors are being given a second chance. Last summer GM, in an effort to avoid bankruptcy, announced it would close nearly two thousand of its six thousand dealerships nationwide. It was similar story over at Chrysler which announced that it planned to close nearly 800 of their 32 hundred dealerships.
On the list of dealers scheduled for closure were William Lehman Buick Pontiac GMC on the Miami-Dade/ Broward border and Phil Smith Chevrolet in Lauderhill.
Last month GM announced that 900 dealers off their closure list; one of those is Pines Pontiac GMC Buick on Pines Boulevard in Pembroke Pines which is waiting to hear if it will survive.
Now both have received word that they will remain open for business, according to CBS4 news partner The Miami Herald, and many other dealerships slated for closure are hoping for the same fate.
One of the reasons why the Lehman dealership succeeded in remaining open may have been their long history in South Florida’s business community. A number of influential community and business leaders, including Miami Gardens’ Mayor Shirley Gibson argued on their behalf.
William Lehman Buick won their reprieve through arbitration which was required by Congress last December for all dealerships who wished to fight the closure orders. Slated for shutdown in October, the William Lehman dealership now plans to open a new Buick and GMC showroom and hire as many as 30 new employees. Monarch Dodge in Lauderdale Lakes wasn’t so lucky. It appealed its closing in arbitration after it shut its doors. It lost.
Being a strong influence in the city and the city’s tax revenue also helped the Phil Smith dealership in arbitration. Another factor that played into their survival is the jump this year in car sales, especially in South Florida. While sales of Chevrolets are up about 16 percent nationwide wide over last year, in South Florida sales are up 35 percent. Sales of Chrylers sales were also up 35 percent in June compared to last year.
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