http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/080924/deale...oses.html?.v=2

Nation's biggest Chevy dealer closes dealerships
Wednesday September 24, 6:00 pm ET

By Kate Brumback, Associated Press Writer

Nation's biggest Chevrolet dealer closes down all dealerships, cites unfavorable economy

COLUMBUS, Ga. (AP) -- Bill Heard Enterprises Inc., the biggest Chevrolet dealer in the country, said Wednesday it is closing its 13 remaining dealerships, unable to survive in a weak economy with high gas prices and an inventory heavy on trucks and SUVs.

The Columbus-based company said in a statement it tried to avoid the closures, which will affect about 2,700 employees.

"However, the conditions necessary to sustain the business through the current challenges were not present," the statement said.

The difficult sales environment was made worse by the ongoing banking and financial crisis, it said. GMAC Financial Services last month discontinued credit for new inventory for some of the company's dealerships.

Phone calls to several Bill Heard dealerships Wednesday afternoon went unanswered.

One employee at a Bill Heard dealership in Memphis, Tenn., said, "We're closing, that's all I can tell you," before abruptly hanging up. At another Bill Heard dealership, commotion could be heard in the background as an employee said managers would not come to the phone.

The Heard operation was the single largest chain of Chevrolet dealerships in the country, said GM spokeswoman Susan Garontakos.

GM will honor all Chevrolet warranties at other nearby dealerships, which can be found on the Chevrolet Web site, she said.

She would not comment on reasons for the chain closing other than to say it was an independent business with GM franchise agreements.

"GM dealers are responsible for managing and financing dealerships," she said.

GM will work with the Heard chain and do research to decide if any of the dealers will reopen, she said.

The automaker is trying to reduce its dealership ranks as its U.S. market share has declined, and Garontakos said the closure opens an opportunity to look into whether any of the Heard outlets can be consolidated into nearby dealerships.

"Wherever it makes sense to keep a point open, and it's attractive enough for other dealers to take a look at it and keep it operating, we'll be doing that," she said.

The company had five dealerships in Georgia and eight in five other states -- Alabama, Florida, Nevada, Tennessee and Texas. A dealership in Scottsdale, Ariz. closed on Sept. 12.

Late last month, the Governor's Office of Consumer Affairs said in a court filing in Georgia's Fulton County that the company has participated in deceptive and misleading business practices. The company denied those allegations.

Associated Press Business Writer Dan Strumpf in New York and AP Auto Writer Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to this story.

 

hard times to have a business model based on heavy trucks and suvs

 

Sad! I remember when my father bough a v-8 Chevie Bel Air four door loaded off the show room for $2450.00. Wish I had that baby today.

 

I wish I had the mazda 929 my father had when I was in highschool

 

On my way to work today (houston Radio) they said they where closing due to some scandal , or some type of shady business deals something of that sort. i dont know any thing besides that. maybe someone can fill us in.

 

maybe they should stop making garbage. Then they might get more business.

 

The last paragraph of the article talks about the scandal, they just conveniently made the article about the excuse that the dealership is making for their failure. Granted the economy probably wasn't helping them but if they were running a shady business and potentially involved themselves in criminal activity, whelp, thems the brakes. Hopefully a reputable dealer will take their place.

 

the one near my house (next to a ford dealer) already shut down I think

 

I owned a 1990 single over head cam for five years. This was the finest sedan I have ever owned. Made many trips to the mountains with it and traded it when it 180m miles. Solid with plenty of room.

 

Yup.

I must admit, for a basic car I do like the styling of the Impala, and of course I love the Corvette, and the 2010 Volt sounds nice, but other than that there is nothing special about their styling, and although I had good experience with one Chevy product in the 1990's I would be very hesitant about the quality of their cars today.

 

They (GM) bought all those ads during the Olympics - but all they showed was that electric concept car that they....er......don't make.

Good idea.


S

 

Why the GM hate?

The news on the radio here said it was due to slipping truck and SUV sales and bad business practices.

 

GM will be fine. This is just a stupid dealer deciding to stock all trucks and SUVs.

 

cuz those are the most profitable stuff.

but they also forgot to realize that no one really likes Gas guzzling SUVs these days.

Hell some local Chevy dealership offering like 50% off even some are 75% off of their Trucks and SUVs.

 

can they not switch and become a Toyota or Honda dealership? Hard times? You've yet to see the huge storm that is brewing in the US financial sector. Yeow!!!

 

brewing?

my portfolio says its already hitting.

 

^that's why I don't have a portfolio!

don't have any money either...

 

Not to worry. We're giving the automotive industry 25 billion dollars so they can revamp infrastructure.

 

He was out of trust with his floorplan and was facing a fine of over a million dollars from one the states they do business in for deceptive advertising. Believe me that's not the entire story. They had used cars to sell at these stores. Dealers rely on used car sales to keep them afloat, and obviously shop bills too. You can't close up because of the gas crunch when you own stores of that caliber. They do way too much volume. My family met him when we won gmc dealer of the year. Nice guy really sad.

 

Yay, they will finally start building the Trabant in the United States