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Old 02-25-2009, 09:20 AM   #1
XDCX
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Default Is the entire Superior Auto Group shut down?

We had a thread about the closure of Superior Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge in Southern California last week. Now it appears that the entire Superior Auto Group may be closed down.

News reports indicate that Superior has closed their Toyota Dealership in the Bay Area because of "financing" issues. The $35 Million dealership is only a few months old.

Here's a link to the news report: http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?sec...bay&id=6677200

Have the rest of the Superior stores been closed?
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Old 02-25-2009, 02:49 PM   #2
squish
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the article referenced 11 sister stores in california closing as well. i don't know how many they had, but that is huge.

how about that locksmith saying the local sheriff is evicting 500 people a month out of their homes or businesses. sad times
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Old 02-25-2009, 03:02 PM   #3
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The HUGE Superior Nissan showroom off the 405 in Carson has been closed. Interesting that he just had this article in the Automotive News last October. http://www.autonews.com/article/2008...NA06/810200341
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Old 02-25-2009, 05:26 PM   #4
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Originally Posted by squish View Post
the article referenced 11 sister stores in california closing as well. i don't know how many they had, but that is huge.
I watched the video and heard about the 11 stores, but I'm surprised that it's not bigger news - that's why I was wondering if it was correct? I just checked Automotive News and there's nothing about the Superior Auto Group.

To the extent the media made such an issue about the closing of the Bill Heard Chevrolet stores, to me, this seems like a much bigger story. It's one thing to fall upon tough times and have to close a Chevrolet dealership, but Superior had mostly Toyota and Nissan stores.

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Originally Posted by squish View Post
how about that locksmith saying the local sheriff is evicting 500 people a month out of their homes or businesses. sad times
It really is sad. I was watching a CNBC Special Report where they interviewed a County Sheriff in Northern California who was responsible for handling evictions. She told a story about evicting a family just before Christmas and the family's little boy asked her how Santa was going to be able to find them now.

I try to remember that story whenever I'm having a bad day and remind myself that there are others that have it much worse.
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Old 02-25-2009, 05:38 PM   #5
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Originally Posted by dealer3100 View Post
The HUGE Superior Nissan showroom off the 405 in Carson has been closed. Interesting that he just had this article in the Automotive News last October. http://www.autonews.com/article/2008...NA06/810200341
Thanks for the link, that was an incredible story.

The headline alone appears to have sealed his fate:

To move the metal, Mike Kahn moves the store

In almost every instance the dealer would relocate the store he purchased and build a new facility.

It seems to be another example of how high rent factors kill stores in tough times. How many cars do you need to sell before a $35 Million Toyota store pencils?

Even if you had access to 6% money, that's $175,000/month just to service the debt.
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Old 02-26-2009, 05:02 PM   #6
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Default Still no coverage in Automotive News?

I'm surprised there's still no coverage about the Superior Auto Group shutting down in Automotive News.

In my opinion, the fact that Toyota and Nissan stores are closing down in a state that's 70% import is newsworthy. Especially since this is a dealer they've already featured in one of their stories for his growth strategy.
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Old 03-02-2009, 09:57 AM   #7
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Default Automotive News has covered the story

Automotive News covered the closing of the Superior Auto Group stores in their current edition.

While most of the story was rehash, it was interesting to learn that Toyota Financial initially passed on the deal to finance the $35 Million Toyota Dealership in the Bay Area. That's why Nissan funded the deal.

According to the story in Automotive News, Kahn and Toyota Financial are having conversations regarding the future of the dealership.
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Old 03-03-2009, 06:00 AM   #8
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There has to be more going on in the background. I find it strange that Nissan would step all over a $35 mil facility loan and then do a complete reversal only a few months later. Something serious must have happened to Kahns financial situation to warrant this.

When I initially posted about Burt being sold the Superior name was being thrown around as the buyer. If that is true then something dramatic changed.

Last edited by okcarl; 03-03-2009 at 06:02 AM.
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Old 03-03-2009, 09:41 AM   #9
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There has to be more going on in the background. I find it strange that Nissan would step all over a $35 mil facility loan and then do a complete reversal only a few months later. Something serious must have happened to Kahns financial situation to warrant this.

When I initially posted about Burt being sold the Superior name was being thrown around as the buyer. If that is true then something dramatic changed.
The story in Automotive News indicates Nissan pulled their floorplan loans for several stores, so it has to be more than just the $35 Million Toyota facility.

It's interesting that Superior was a name thought to be in contention for the Burt Auto Group. I'd been hearing rumors about the pending closure of Superior's CJD store for months so I thought they were in a weakened state - I had no idea the entire operation would go down, however.

That said, if a Honda store in Southern California can lose $120K in a month can you imagine how big the losses must have been for some Nissan stores with brand new facilities?
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