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Old 06-06-2008, 12:34 PM   #16
dealer3100
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Shacos,

Is Duke Owens still in Denver?

How about John Vance, is he still with the company.
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Old 06-06-2008, 01:25 PM   #17
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Yes. Both are still with the company.
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Old 06-09-2008, 05:12 PM   #18
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Default Interesting article on Lithia's Reorganization

I just ran across an interesting article about Lithia's Reorganization - I didn't notice it when it was first released.

Here's the news report: http://www.mailtribune.com/apps/pbcs...6030316/-1/BIZ

The article indicates that most of the personnel cuts will happen at the dealership level with very few reductions at their corporate office. The company indicated that many of its best employees are at the corporate office and they intend to continue with their consolidation plans.

Although Lithia has not indicated which stores would be sold, management indicated that none of the local Medford dealerships were going to be impacted.

The status their new corporate office is currently under review.
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Old 06-16-2008, 08:11 AM   #19
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did the L2 store in Loveland, Colorado close???
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Old 06-16-2008, 09:15 AM   #20
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Quote:
Originally Posted by dealer3100 View Post
did the L2 store in Loveland, Colorado close???
That's a great question.

I first read that rumor on the Yahoo Message Board on June 9th but I didn't think much about it since most of the info on the LAD board is worthless.

I forgot about the whole issue until I saw your post. I just checked the L2.com site and noticed that they do not list Loveland, CO as one of their current locations. Maybe the Yahoo Message Board rumor was correct.

If it is true, I'm surprised there isn't more media attention about the closing.

When Lithia presented their Fourth Quarter results, L2 was a huge part of the presentation. Essentially L2 was the business model that all the Lithia branded stores would eventually adopt. Closing a L2 store would seem to signal a major change in Lithia's strategy.
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Old 06-18-2008, 11:04 AM   #21
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Default Is Lithia dropping the Car Center Appraisal Process?

I tend to read the Yahoo Message Board for Lithia's stock purely for entertainment value - there tends to be little in the way of actual news.

That said, the Yahoo Message Board was the first place I read about the closing of a L2 Dealership in Loveland, CO. In fact, I still have not read anything official that indicates that Lithia closed that L2 location.

Today there was a post that indicated that Lithia will abandon the Car Center Appraisal Process and go back to the system where managers at each dealership are responsible for assessing the ACV of a trade.

If this information is correct, it would signal another huge change in Lithia's direction. As recently as four months ago the Car Center Appraisal Process was cited as a huge success and investors were advised that all of the Lithia stores would be using the Car Center in the near future.

Is the post on the Yahoo Message Board correct? Time will tell.
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Old 06-21-2008, 02:00 PM   #22
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L2 Operation in Loveland

http://www.mailtribune.com/apps/pbcs.../BIZ/806210308
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Old 06-22-2008, 09:36 AM   #23
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Quote:
Originally Posted by dealer3100 View Post
Thanks for the link. That's the first official announcement that I've read that Lithia closed their L2 store in Loveland.

It still amazes me that Lithia would close that store after all the work and money they invested. Was the store even open for a year before they closed it?

How much money could it have been losing? Were the sales volumes so low that they couldn't even cover their variable and semi-fixed expenses?

I think I'll start a new thread on the Loveland L2 store on Monday and see if we can get some comments from some of the Denver dealers.

Here's a link to Lithia's Press Release when they opened their Loveland L2 store: http://www.automotive.com/auto-news/02/30325/index.html
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Old 06-23-2008, 08:41 AM   #24
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Default is Lithia Toyota Vacaville for sale?

I have heard talk that the Lithia Toyota in Vacaville CA is for sale. Has anyone else heard this?
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Old 06-23-2008, 10:18 AM   #25
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Toyota store??

You would think it would be some of their domestics stores like Ford, Chrysler, and some of thier severly under perorming Metro stores like Renton, Cherry Creek..

But, who knows, selling a Toyota store right now would help bring some big time profit into the company
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Old 06-23-2008, 02:27 PM   #26
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I have heard talk that the Lithia Toyota in Vacaville CA is for sale. Has anyone else heard this?
oldschool: Thanks for the post.

Concerning Lithia selling a Toyota store, I would agree with dealer3100 that it would seem unlikely that Lithia would want to sell a hot franchise that's making money when Wall Street is looking for them to dump the domestic stores - especially Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge.

That said, Lithia seems to be taking some serious steps to generate cash and selling a Toyota store would definitely add some cash the Balance Sheet.

I also thought it was interesting that the Sonic Group was looking to sell one of their Toyota stores because the Factory was insisting that they spend several million to upgrade/renovate the dealership. The Sonic Executives indicated that they loved Toyota but that the dealership just didn't "pencil" after you factored in the multi-million dollar investment.

I've never been to the Toyota store in Vacaville - how old is the facility?

Thanks again for the post.
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Old 06-23-2008, 04:17 PM   #27
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Toyota store in Vacaville is 6 years old. Nice facility but it too is facing the Image II face lift that Toyota is requiring.
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Old 06-24-2008, 08:15 AM   #28
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Quote:
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Toyota store in Vacaville is 6 years old. Nice facility but it too is facing the Image II face lift that Toyota is requiring.
I wouldn't think that a facelift would be too capital intensive - especially if the building is only six years old.

It will be interesting to see what Lithia's Management Team says during their Second Quarter Earnings Release.
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Old 06-30-2008, 05:37 PM   #29
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Default Stock Price

Stock price is at an all time low. Does anyone know what is going on?
Closed at 4.92 Monday.
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Old 06-30-2008, 06:39 PM   #30
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No, not a clue.
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