Monthly Poll - January - Predictions for 2008

[XDCX]

Predictions for 2008

A once proud "AMC/Jeep" sign stands guard over Washington State's most publicized Dealership failure in 2007

While the newspapers and television stations detailed the messy Buy/Sell and eventual closing of West Seattle's GM/Chrysler Dealership, residents across town in Bellevue witnessed the Grand Opening of one of the nation's most luxurious Lexus Dealerships.

The events in Western Washington illustrate the changes that are sweeping through the Retail Automobile Industry nationwide. The Car Business is changing; it's changing fast and there will be a clear set of winners and losers before this whole mess gets sorted out.

DealershipForum.com is a place for the winners. The goal of this website is to become a focal point for Car People; a place where knowledge and experience can be shared for the betterment of all our members.

What are your predictions for 2008? Please join our community, take our poll and share your thoughts.

XDCX

[XDCX]

For those that live in the Seattle area, the photo above is a grim reminder of a depressing story that depicted the Car Business at its worse.

For those that may be new to the story, here's a quick recap:

An elderly man with feces covered clothing entered Huling Chevrolet and told his salesperson that he wanted to buy a new truck - and he had cash. The dealership sold him a Chevrolet Colorado for $30K.

During his time at the Dealership the customer mentioned that he had another $70,000 in cash hidden at home. Incredibly, by the time the investigation was complete, 11 dealership employees were implicated in the crime of breaking into the man's home and stealing the $70,000. It wasn't one "bad apple" - it was eleven!

To add insult to injury, a salesman went to the mental hospital where the man was being held shortly after having purchased the truck and had the customer sign the truck over to him for a payment of $1,200.

That's right, the same truck the Dealership just sold for $30,000 was purchased by a salesman for $1,200 - and the salesman went to the mental hospital to completed the transaction. Yesterday, that salesperson was sentenced to nine months in jail.

If it all sounds too bizarre to be true, here's the link to the story: http://www.komotv.com/news/local/13064417.html

To make the story even more unreal, all of these events took place in the middle of a Buy/Sell.

The Dealer Principal that purchased the Huling Dealerships alleges that he did not receive proper notification about the criminal activity and the bad publicity impacted the Dealership's sales. (The story didn't hit the news until several months after the actual crime took place - in that period of time the Buy/Sell was completed.)

The new owners, the Gee Automotive Group from Eastern Washington, reported that they were losing $300,000 per month and had to close the dealerships. Both parties are suing each other at this time.

I'll continue to update this story as events warrant.

[XDCX]

OK, the fact that the Huling Group sold their GM/Chrysler Stores to the Gee Automotive Group is widely known - in fact, if you live in the Seattle area and read the newspaper or watch the news it would be hard not to know about the Buy/Sell.

But as a trivia question: What was the name of the AMC/Jeep Store that the Hulings purchased in the late 80s?

The first person to post the correct answer in this tread will receive a

FREE $25 Starbucks Gift Card

Good luck - it will be interesting to see if anyone remembers some old AMC/Jeep history?

[WillSD]

My guess would be Hieb AMC/Jeep.

[XDCX]

Congratulations WillSD - you're 100% correct. (You even got the spelling correct.)

Hieb AMC/Jeep was sold the the Hulings in the late 80's - it had been a fixture in Seattle for decades.

I was certain that one of the local Seattle area dealers was going to be the first to answer that question, but I will happily send a Starbucks Gift Card to an East-Coaster.

So WillSD, how did you know the answer? Did you once live in the Seattle area? Are you a full-time AMC Historian? Or did you just use the power of the Internet and performed a quick Google Search?

Please send me a PM (Private Message) and let me know where you want me to send the $25 Gift Card.

Thanks for participation and please be sure to let us know how you knew the answer.

[XDCX]

I guess when I read your post this morning I was thinking SC as in South Carolina. I just looked and saw that it's actually SD - that's more like West or Mid-West.

Thanks again for posting your answer and I hope that you're staying warm up there.

[XDCX]

As I wait for WillSD to claim his coveted $25 Starbucks Gift Card I'm wondering if it's clear how to send a Private Message. (PM)

It's very easy. Since PMs are for members only, you must be logged on with your User Name. All you need to do is go to post where the individual's User Name is displayed, click on the User Name and then select "Send Private Message" from the drop down box. In WillSD's case, just click on my User Name "XDCX" and select "Send Private Message."

The Private Message is just like an e-mail but you have the convenience of being able to access it anywhere you have Internet access. Additionally, some people don't like to have their work e-mail cluttered up with extra messages and the PM System can help reduce unwanted e-mails.

[XDCX]

Well the good news is that WillSD has responded with his contact information and we've determined that the Private Message System at DealershipForum.com is working perfectly.

The bad news is that it appears that the closest Starbucks Coffee Shop is about 42 miles away from WillSD's location. I guess you could always "re-gift" the Gift Card?

Concerning how WillSD knew the answer - he used the power of the Internet. Believe it or not, there are quite a few websites dedicated to the memories of American Motors. On one site, "The Lost Dealership Project" provides locations and addresses for most of the old AMC/Jeep Dealers and includes photos of what many of the facilities look like today.

Thanks again for participating WillSD - I hope that you can put the Gift Card to good use.

[XDCX]

I just posted a story where a Volkswagen Dealership in the Silicon Valley area filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy.

What makes this news, in my opinion, is that this was the Silicon Valley's #1 new-car dealer in 2001 and had been Volkswagen's #1 Dealer in the Nation.

How is it possible for a store to fall that far that fast? Is it the product or is it the economy?

My guess is that it would be almost impossible to lose money with a Toyota Store right now. By contrast, I bet there are a number of talented domestic dealers that are losing more money now then they ever had before.

Product? Economy? Combination of Both?

What's your opinion?

[NCVW57]

New Country has an Audi store right across from our VW store. When you see a lease for a Passat and a lease for a comparably equipped A6 you will see that they are close.

A4's vs Jettas are rough too. You can get a quattro A4 for just a bit more than a Jetta, and with that you get the revered Audi badging.

People like the product, we just need to show a better gap between brands in the same family.