With car dealerships going bye bye…do we all start walking now?
The news is bleak and and what is being touted as a cost cutting measure is going to royally screw us. Chrysler announced yetserday that nearly 800 dealership franschises agreements would be ending. This doesnt mean that all dealers who sell Chryslers will close, it simply means they wont be selling you one anymore.
Bigger dealerships will feel the pain but won’t all together die because of this decisions. Smaller family owened businesses that only sell Chryslers are finito.
Just today GM has announced a similar kick in the ass. So where does that leave us? Not sure considering that nobody is buying cars or else these closures would not be occuring and GM would not be about one month from bankruptcy protection.
I have this fear that the car buying experience is going to get worse rather than better. I mean worse in the sense that so many other outlets are opening up for people to buy cars that the process of buying one is going to change.
But that’s is a good thing right? Well yes and no…depends on who you are. I like the advent of online car buying but like I have mentioned in other posts, some buyers don’t. Dealerships suck that’s a given, but it’s hard to throw down cash on a vehicle you cant plop your ass into.
This is a sickening feeling watching these dealerships go up in smoke. Lost jobs, lost profits, loss of competitive advantage pricing, what else?
I’ll be anxious to see what the 2009 Auto Shows will be like this year. Will that many people get all giddied up over $250, 000 concept cars when they can’t afford to visit a dealer and buy a sedan for $15000? Enough with the hype of super, jetsetting sports cars and uber tekky, GPS synched computers on wheels. How about coming out with affordable, eco friendly cars which don’t break the bank of the manufactures (thank you UAW!!!!!!) and…do not put the average car buyer into a high percentage loan they can’t afford.
Have you noticed a lot of people riding busses and buzzing around on scooters? So have I.
As big as the industry is, it’s hard to gauge how all of us will truly feel the effect but we will soon, before the summer is over I bet.
Comments
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
