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Old 08-20-2010, 12:42 PM   #1
XDCX
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Default Jack Carroll's Automotive in Lynnwood closes down

I heard that Jack Carroll closed his used car dealership in Lynnwood a week or two ago.

While most members wouldn't care, it was significant to me because Jack Carroll's Lynnwood Dodge was the first dealership I ever worked at. I was a salesperson there during the summer when I was going to college.

What is relevant to our members, in my opinion, is that Jack Carroll represented everything that was great about Chrysler in the past and it represents many of my concerns about Chrysler's future.

Jack Carroll was a General Manager at a Ford store when he entered Chrysler's MID program and re-opened Lynnwood Dodge in 1983. The old Dodge dealership sat empty for a number of years when the former owner went bankrupt and closed the store. Back in 1983, the "M" in MID stood for Marketing Investment Division - the program was open to anyone who wanted a chance to buy their own store. Ethnic status was not an issue.

Mr. Carroll worked hard and eventually bought out Chrysler's interest and became a successful dealer principal who held high ranking positions on Dealer Council and the DAA. Jack Carroll was living the American Dream and represented the greatness of Chrysler that so many of us remember.

Perhaps a visionary, Mr. Carroll sold his franchise to the local Chrysler/Jeep store owned by AutoNation when Chrysler was just starting their Project Genesis initiative. I have no idea what the terms of the sale were, but I hope Mr. Carroll got a nice check.

For the last two years he's run the store as a used car dealership. The fact he decided to close down reminds me that even smart, talented and hard working dealers have a tough time making an independent used car store work in this market.

I'm told the old location sits empty again, just like it did 30 years ago, a daily reminder to customers of what Dodge once was. And not surprisingly the Project Genesis consolidation did nothing to increase Chrysler's sales and market share. The AutoNation store only sold 14 Dodge and Rams last month, a fraction of what Lynnwood Dodge use to sell as a stand-alone dealer.

In the event he ever reads this, I hope Mr. Carroll is enjoying his retirement in a sunny location and knows he was an inspirational role model for a lot of people - myself included.
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Old 08-24-2011, 04:24 PM   #2
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Unhappy Detroit Auto Works closes down too

During my recent trip to Seattle I drove by the old location of Jack Carroll's Lynnwood Dodge and noticed the facility was still empty and there was a For Lease sign on the lot.

I also noticed that Detroit Auto Works had closed down just a half mile South of Lynnwood Dodge on Highway 99. Based on the signage in the windows it appears Detroit Auto Works closed down and filed bankruptcy.

Detroit Auto Works used to be one of the largest used car dealers in the state. Their location was a former Safeway Grocery Store and they filled the building with offices and cars and filled the entire lot with used car inventory - they must have had 500 - 800 cars in inventory at any given time. In the boom times their lot was filled with high-line BMWs, Mercedes, Hummers and fully loaded SUVs. The dealership appeared to be a gold mine.

I don't know what happened or how long they've been closed but if a dealership like Detroit Auto Works is forced to close down it highlights how challenging the market still is for car dealers.
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