Already in bankruptcy, Chrysler has announced it is closing a lot of dealerships and, being a matter of court and public record, this list is available on the Internet here.
GM, which is closing close to 1,100 dealerships by letting their contracts lapse in a year or two, won’t release that list, perhaps can’t release it for legal reasons.
Therefore, of course, partial confirmed lists are circulating on the Web.
The Huffington Post is one of the sites maintaining and updating a “confirmed” listing of dealers who have gotten the bad news.
One reason it isn’t being announced is rumored to be that GM is likely to enter bankruptcy as soon as this week and that would allow the company to drop dealers virtually without notice as Chrysler has done – sticking the owners with the vehicles.
Since the bankruptcy judge could void any contract, there is no guarantee that even those dealerships which have gotten the termination notice for when their contract runs out will actually get that grace period.
Keeping an eye on these lists is important, not just for local businesses, charities, and workers who will find their economic situation influenced by closure of such major businesses.
It is also a guide to those looking for bargains since dealers with only a few weeks or days left to clear inventory or be stuck with them and forced to sell without factory incentives will have enormous incentive to cut list prices by 20 to 30%.