63° Mostly Cloudy
Email
Permalink
Above: Flags fly outside the General Motors world headquarters building May 27, 2009 in Detroit, Michigan. GM announced today that it failed trying to trade its bondholders shares of stock for debt, which makes a bankruptcy filing for the company more likely.
Monday, June 1, 2009
Audio
GM Bankruptcy Affects San Diego Dealers
Aired 6/1/09
The number of GM dealerships in San Diego will shrink as a result of the automaker’s bankruptcy. But the GM dealerships that survive expect to be stronger.
SAN DIEGO — The number of GM dealerships in San Diego will shrink as a result of the automaker’s bankruptcy. But the GM dealerships that survive expect to be stronger.
Two GM dealerships have already closed in San Diego but almost 40 GM franchises still operate in the county.
David Grundstrom is president of Marvin K. Brown Auto Center in Mission Valley. He says some dealerships have already received a letter from GM, notifying them their franchises wont be renewed in 2010.
"We didn’t get the letter," he says,"Unfortunately, for some who did, we feel very badly for them, because they are, for the most part, family owned businesses and they’ve been around for a long, long time."
Marvin K Brown sales included Cadillac, Buick, GMC Trucks and two models GM has announced it will sell: Hummer and Saab. But Grundstrom says he hopes his dealership will continue to offer those cars under new ownership.
He has laid off about 20 percent of his employees in the past two years. But he believes that under GM’s restructuring, pent up demand for new cars will make the remaining franchises stronger when the economy picks up.
Log in to comment:
Forgot your password?