Just updating the MOPAR fans...

http://money.cnn.com/2009/05/14/auto...ion=2009051410

 

Gotta cut back. Warranty service will become that much harder to get for folks who don't have 3 Chrysler dealers within about 35 minutes (like me). I have a feeling the one in my town might be on the ropes.

There was another news article describing affadavits from Chrysler engineers and managers that implied a post-bankrupcy startup would be equally as painful, since no new product development is going on, and new models will take significantly longer to design if/when this is all over. And 18 months minumum to see little Fiats running around with the Ram head glued to the grill. It's going to cost Chrysler $2,000,000 just to store PAINT. Disposing of it and buying new would cost **$15 mil!**. Huge costs everywhere.

It's an awful situation to be in. A strongly supported view among economists and industry experts is that there is room for 1, maaaybe 2 major auto manufacturerers in each world region. The US supports 3, Japan somehow supports 6 if you count Suzuki, a ton of clone brands in Europe, etc. Consolidation will be the name of the game for a while. It'll be interesting to see how it all shakes down.

 

Archer Dodge seems to be getting the axe.

 

This is hart breaking IMO. I would like to go back and live in the early 60s when a hell of allot less **** was constantly hitting the fan. You can thank Washington for 90% of the crap that’s happening and I mean from both crap hole parties. The oil situation is what started the death nil and all our patriotic neighbors who by foreign vehicles.

 

Here's the full list:

http://assets.bizjournals.com/cms_me...er_closing.pdf

The Central Texas dealers being closed are:

Chuck Nash Jeep Eagle, 1035 N State Highway 123, San Marcos
Allen Samuels Dodge Chrystler Jeep, 1625 N Valley Mills Dr., Waco
Immel Motors, 1279 S. US Highway 87, Fredericksburg
Jeff Hunter Chrysler, 1440 W. Loop 340, Waco
Kirk Jackson Motor Co. 1130 S. Colo. St., Lockhart
Waco Dodge 1220 N Valley Mills Dr., Waco

Luckily none of those are in Austin, so it has no effect on me. Poor Waco.

 

Ugh.

That post reveals a really awful yet popular American attitude. It's "The Government's" fault. Not "Our Government", or "The Government created by, selected by, and operated by Americans". It's "The Government"...like aliens visited one day and "The Government" fell out of the flying saucer as it flew away. By being "The Government's" fault, it's completely our fault. Big dumb white (and black and latin and asian) Americans.

But this is a Dodge forum, so I'll keep it on point

The Government didn't design the Chrysler Sebring or Dodge Caliber or Jeep Compass, awful cars that poisioned their once respected brands and drove down sales. The Government didn't penny pinch on a decade of transmission, suspension and brake, aesthetic and interior design, building an almost universal reputation for bad reliabilty and premature failure. Nor did Washington mandate full-steam-ahead production of trucks and fullsize SUV's, when the strongest competition had at least a few high MPG, well reviewed vehicles in their back pocket.

Chrysler is showing that it had, despite its best intentions, an awuful grasp on the direction of the auto market. I feel bad for the trench workers, the engineers and their managers, who are surely as competent than their counterparts at Nissan or Ford or Toyota, yet were hamstrung with bad marketing feedback and budget constraints that yielded far below average products.

And finally, I hope someday this jingoistic crap about "Buying American" will stop. For one, it's a global economy. VW's built in Mexico, Dodges and Fords build in Canada with parts from China and Japan and Taiwan. Toyotas and Nissans built in the Midwest. The arguement doesn't hold water anymore. When "Foreign" cars were strictly imports, it made sense. Nowadays, the abscence of overseas car manufacturers in the US would mean tens of thousands of lost jobs. And when it comes down to it, true or not, the foreign makers have convinced the American majority that their product is better. And competition that's what Capitalism is all about, our American Bread & Butter.

 

Sabomaster, are you sure these are the only closures in central Texas. Under the dealer name column, I see:

ALLEN SAMUELS ENTERPISES
ALLEN SAMUELS AUSTIN DODGE

INC

 

I work at one in pittsburgh thats done... kinda somber mood around here, whats worse is that there are 16 dealers closing in pittsburgh area. Trickle down effect to other businesses will also show up.. Just hopeing that i can get unemployment and that the autogroup i work for doesnt offer everyone a crap job at another one of the stores an hour away......

 

Yes, but under the address in the same line it says:

DBA ALLEN SAMUELS DODGE
301 OWNE LANE
WACO, TX 76710

The Allen Samuels in Austin owns the one in Waco.

 

But, many facets of the 'Gubment' DID (and continue to) support and coddle to the corrupt auto unions. Yea yea, I know I know, I'm gonna' get a lot of sh*t for my take on unions. Trust me, I'm used to it! Either way, they are a large reason the American auto industry is in the mess it's in. Agree with me or not, the facts are there for the finding without a whole lot of effort searching for them. Ridiculous payscales/benefits packages alone have been a cancer in the American auto industry for more than a quarter century. And it DOES suck for the rank and files, but they've also benefited from the union's lobbying and stranglehold on the auto companies for years, and weren't willing to see or speak up against what was going on because being a union member benefited their bank accounts.

With THAT said, I scanned the list quick and saw about 30 dealerships in NJ alone. With 2/3 or more of those within an hour of me. And probably another half-dozen or more in east central PA (also within an hour or so drive). The crazy thing is NJ isn't even as big as central TX. Just populated as hell. Neither one of the 3 dealerships I have dealt with is on the list though. It sure has to suck to work for Dodge at this point.