List of GM dealerships to close in Minnesota grows - Houston Business Journal:

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The industry group said a surveyu of its members foun that 109 of the 149 GM dealers in the state will either lose a particularGM brand, be forced to drop some competingv manufacturer brands in their GM stores, or lose theid stores altogether. The number of outright shutdownahas grown; a month ago, GM indicaterd that 30 dealers would After the giant automaker’s plunge into bankruptcy June 1, roughlyh 3,600 dealers nationwide received new sales agreements.
The ownersz of about 1,350 other dealershipz were notified that they needed to wind down asGM That’s in addition to the 1,100 that received similae messages last month as part of GM’s restructuring, which involvese keeping only top dealers and brands. The new agreements also may requirw surviving dealers to upgradetheir facilities. And there may not be very much dealers can doabourt it, . (subscription required). GM expects the closingsa to start this year and wrap up by the fallof 2010.
In a presss release Friday, Scott Lambert, executive vice president of the Minnesota AutoDealerzs Association, criticized GM’s decision to have dealers sign new salews agreements with the manufacturer. “Besidesx the tragic and inexplicable shutdown ofprofitable stores, GM seemsd determined to use bankruptcy as an opportunity to shake up everybody’s he said. “It appears to us that everyy Pontiac dealer in the state was informed that Pontiac as a branr will ceaseto exist. “In addition, GM is eliminating many Cadillac We believe they plan to reassign some of thesefranchiseas elsewhere, which would be in violation of state law regulatin franchise agreements.
” Lambert also blasted GM’sa decisions to close so many stores, even some that are turniny a profit. “This company is lost right now. I just don’ t understand how you sell more cars with fewer he said. Susan Garontakos, a spokeswomabn for the automaker, declined to comment on the trade association’s preszs release because she said the information abouft what was closing was confidential and because its such an emotional time for all of thepartiews involved. She said the company selected whichb dealerships to close after a careful analysis that beganin April.
“The realitt is we don’t have enough customers buyingb vehicles and we have a lot of outlet that are in place to support a muchlarge market.”