Open Letter From A Dodge Dealer

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TrainTrac

TrainTrac

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GM planning to import Chinese-made cars, filing for bankruptcy and then selling to the U.S. gov't, and Chrysler dealers getting their franchises yanked with no warning or recourse... also by dictate of the Imperial Federal gov't.



Yep, "change" we can believe in...:blink:



May 19, 2009



Letter from a Dodge dealer



letter to the editor



My name is George C. Joseph. I am the sole owner of Sunshine Dodge-Isuzu, a family owned and operated business in Melbourne, Florida. My family bought and paid for this automobile franchise 35 years ago in 1974. I am the second generation to manage this business.



We currently employ 50+ people and before the economic slowdown we employed over 70 local people. We are active in the community and the local chamber of commerce. We deal with several dozen local vendors on a day to day basis and many more during a month. All depend on our business for part of their livelihood. We are financially strong with great respect in the market place and community. We have strong local presence and stability.



I work every day the store is open, nine to ten hours a day. I know most of our customers and all our employees. Sunshine Dodge is my life.



On Thursday, May 14, 2009 I was notified that my Dodge franchise, that we purchased, will be taken away from my family on June 9, 2009 without compensation and given to another dealer at no cost to them. My new vehicle inventory consists of 125 vehicles with a financed balance of 3 million dollars. This inventory becomes impossible to sell with no factory incentives beyond June 9, 2009. Without the Dodge franchise we can no longer sell a new Dodge as "new," nor will we be able to do any warranty service work. Additionally, my Dodge parts inventory, (approximately $300,000.) is virtually worthless without the ability to perform warranty service. There is no offer from Chrysler to buy back the vehicles or parts inventory.



Our facility was recently totally renovated at Chrysler's insistence, incurring a multi-million dollar debt in the form of a mortgage at Sun Trust Bank.



HOW IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA CAN THIS HAPPEN?



THIS IS A PRIVATE BUSINESS NOT A GOVERNMENT ENTITY



This is beyond imagination! My business is being stolen from me through NO FAULT OF OUR OWN. We did NOTHING wrong.



This atrocity will most likely force my family into bankruptcy. This will also cause our 50+ employees to be unemployed. How will they provide for their families? This is a total economic disaster.



HOW CAN THIS HAPPEN IN A FREE MARKET ECONOMY IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA?



I beseech your help, and look forward to your reply. Thank you.



Sincerely,



George C. Joseph

President & Owner

Sunshine Dodge-Isuzu

[Broken External Image]:
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Though I feel a little sorry for Mr. Joseph above, and those like him, so goes the franchise business. Sure, these dealerships are independently owned and operated, but they are selling a product that is in large part subsidized by a parent company. They can't survive without the parent company, and when the parent company decides to contract (get smaller), or in this case, go bankrupt and liquidate, then there are those retail and service locations that will effectively get placed on the "chopping block."



For those that are getting axed I don't see how they didn't see the hand writing on the wall. Should have sold the dealership in the early 90s when the minivan was still hot.



Hindsight is 20/20.



TJR
 
My main point is that all of this is happening because of gov't unconstitutionally meddling in the affairs of the private sector.:angry:

 
TrainTrac,



We fell down that "unconstitutionally meddling" slippery slope with the first round of Detroit bailouts. We got fully pregnant then...there is no such thing as "half pregnant". What I mean by that is the government was "all in" at that point. Either we give bailouts, but then hold these companies accountable, with deadlines for turn-around in order to avoid throwing good money (tax payer dollars) after bad; OR we give no bailouts in the first place.



Did you support the bailouts?



TJR
 
Im with you Trac, I understand the economic disaster that would occur if and when any large auto maker goes under, and the need for someone or something to jump in, but it should not have been the government to 'take over', instead, come beside and help through financial with a return if succesful, and through consulting and advising on ways to reduce loss, increase revenues, and provide products that are not only 'cost effective', but wanted by the general public. I know its an oxymoron, but it should have been 'were from the government, were here to help', not 'were here to take away'.



Gotta be careful when you vote for change! You might just get what you want!
 
Another letter that should be written.



Dear CEO,



I am an hourly worker producing the products we, as a company, produce. I work 40+ hours a week in a hot factory. I drive a 6 year old car with 100,000 miles on it. I have a wife and 2 children. My children are only 7 and 9 years old.



I am writing this letter because I am upset with the decision to eliminate my job. I understand that bad decisions made by you and your staff has caused the loss of sales resulting in the loss of my job. The only recourse I have is to file for unemployment and start looking for another job.



I do understand that these cuts must be made so that you can ensure your performance bonus will happen this year, again. I know this is above you base salary. I could not imagine having to work in a climate controlled environment every single day. I am sure your fingers hurt from using all those ink pens. I hope the IT department was kind enough to supply you with an ergonmic keyboard to help prevent Carpal Tunnel Syndrome.



So I respectfully ask that while you are making more of your "wise business decisions" out on the golf course, please think of me.



A Laid off worker
Click to expand...





Tom
 
TJR said:

We fell down that "unconstitutionally meddling" slippery slope with the first round of Detroit bailouts.
Click to expand...



Actually, that Pandora's box was opened in the early part of the 20th century with Supreme Court decisions regarding the Commerce Clause after FDR threatened to pack the court to force his desired rulings on New Deal-related cases. And it's only gotten progressively worse since then, and gov't became increasingly intrusive into the private sector.



I was not in favor of any gov't bailouts whatsoever. The failing companies banks, automakers, or whatever, should've been allowed to fail if that's what was going to happen. The market should've been allowed to follow it's natural course. It would've turned itself around on its own. History shows this.



New Deal programs and other gov't meddling in the private sector didn't bring our economy out of the Great Depression. It only prolonged it.
 
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Caymen,



Class envy is alive and well I see.



I love it how in faux letters like this (and in many people's mind) the typical CEO is a buffoon worried only about himself and his next golf game, and all workers are selfless, hardworking, dedicated paupers.



What is TRULY wrong with the country, IMHO, is this entrenched bias that polarizes and demonizes. We see it in the class envy that is going on; we see it in our two political parties; we see it in the way people blame the other guy for the problems in our economy.



This widespread inability of people to be moderate in their viewpoints and their inability to seek a common middle ground along with an understanding and recognition of the values provided on all sides has become horribly divisive. It has bred a hateful, unAmerican trend that more than CEOs, terrorists, or our economy will be the downfall of this great nation.



This mentality has become a beastand I see it fed here everyday.



The first step in this divisiveness is to blame the other guy ALONE for your situation.



TJR
 
I love it how in faux letters like this (and in many people's mind) the typical CEO is a buffoon worried only about himself and his next golf game, and all workers are selfless, hardworking, dedicated paupers.
Click to expand...



I guess you did not read the letter from the point of view of someone that has been laid off because of a CEO's bad decisions while ensuring his own bonuses.



I do not have class envy as you like to assume I do. I like to see someone succeed. I hate to see someone succeed by destroying others to do so.





Tom
 
Caymen,



I read it from that point of view. We are covering old ground here.



Today's CEO of a public company has an obligation first and foremest to Wall St and shareholders. Worker retention is not as high as it should be in the list of priorities. You and I may not like that, but that IS the reality, and blaming a CEO for working within that reality is like blaming the tiger that almost ate Roy of "Siegfried & Roy" for being a tiger (thanks to Chris Rock for that analogy).



If a CEO closes a plant, and it inches the stock price up a few dollars, and that secures him or her his bonus then that tiger is simply being a tiger.



Don't be a player hater. Hate the game, not the player.



TJR
 
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Let's also consider in this hypothetical case the point that the worker also made the career choice to work at said plant, rather than choosing other training/education towards a different profession. And when the layoff occurs, they again have the choice to consider another profession, often with subsidized training/education.



I worked at a state UI office for a brief period in which we dealt with a plant closure. In addition to Unemployment Insurance, the laid-off workers were offered free training programs, grants/assistance for college tuition, and other options to assist them with re-employment. But it was up to them to choose to partake of what was offered. Some chose not to do so, and just take their UI check. I saw others who decided to go back to school to learn a new skill and ultimately became successful in a whole new career.
 
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TrainTrac,



Exactly. The letter from a worker in this hypothetical situation doesn't mention any of that. it doesn't mention the life's choices that put the worker into the position they are, and the choices while employeed that kept him or her there. It also, as you say, doesn't discuss what might be a very shiny "silver lining" to the lay-off.



Playing the part of the victim and blaming the other guy...that's what I said above.



TJR
 
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Let's also consider in this hypothetical case the point that the worker also made the career choice to work at said plant, rather than choosing other training/education towards a different profession. And when the layoff occurs, they again have the choice to consider another profession, often with subsidized training/education.
Click to expand...



The same can be said bout the original letter that started this thread.





Tom
 
True, Tom. To a certain degree. But, an owner of a dealership franchise is affected on a much larger scale than a single laid-off factory worker. Apples & Oranges.



Also, the closure of dealer franchises, along with the sale of Chrysler to Fiat, and Chrysler's bankruptcy filing were dictates of the Obama administration as conditions of a gov't bailout.



More examples of gov't meddling in the private sector and mucking things up with a major ripple effect, in my opinion.



 
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True, Tom. To a certain degree. But, an owner of a dealership franchise is affected on a much larger scale than a single laid-off factory worker. Apples & Oranges.
Click to expand...



Depends. I take my personal life pretty seriously. An owner of a franchise is just another "working man" like you and I do. Is his personal life worth more than mine is? Is yours worth more than mine is? If you ask me, I will say mine is worth more than yours because it is my life. You would say the opposite because you care about your life.



In the end, it is equal to each other. While I do feel sorry for the franchise owner, but if he felt he needed to lay off his employees, he wouldn't have written a letter like this and most of us wouldn't care.





Tom
 
Caymen said:
In the end, it is equal to each other.
Click to expand...



You are right there, they are both the same. In both letters someone is trying to blame others for a situation that they are a part of; a situation they are not powerless to have changed before the fact; and a situation that they should have seen coming.



TJR
 
I may be completely ignorant of the situation, but isnt part of the problem the UAW and other unions not making consessions and giving up some of what they currently have to help out? The Explorers are made here in Louisville and I realize some have taken voluntary lay offs and furloughs/early retirements, but from what I have read they dont want to give up their $20+ hr pay. Like I said, I may be ignorant, but is this not part of the problem? Other companies have left the US due to the pay required for our workers and its hurting everyone. Something has to change to get those business' back to our own country to put our people back to work so they can have the money to go out and spend to "jumpstart" our economy. More business leaving + more unemployed = no money going into the economy, forcing other companies to close Just my Opinion, like it or not
 
Sad to say, but this dealer would have been out of business anyway. Without gov't intervention, Chrysler would have probably gone Chap 7 bankruptcy and been liquidated to pay of their creditors. Try selling the cars if the manufacturer no longer exists.
 

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