Chrysler to revive 50 dead dealerships

By Blake Ellis, staff reporter


NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Chrysler Group will offer to reinstate 50 of the 789 dealers terminated last year as part of the automaker's bankruptcy, the company said Friday.

Half of those Chrysler shut down -- nearly 400 former dealers -- filed last month for an arbitration hearing to appeal their termination. The 50 chosen by Chrysler to rejoin its network are among those who had appeals pending. The automaker said it will send them letters of intent offering reinstatement as "full-line" representatives.

"The 50 dealers are in locations that offer customer service benefits and will have limited adverse impact on the dealers within our current network," Chrysler said in a statement.

These dealers should receive their letters "within the next few days," according to a company spokeswoman. Under the terms of the agreement, the dealerships will need to meet "standard conditions" for capitalization, facility buildout and management, she said.

Chrysler gave the almost 800 dealers it targeted for termination just 30 days to cease operations, shutting them down in June 2009. But the company has since reconsidered some cases, and has over the past eight months offered to reinstate 36 dealers. Friday's decision brings the total number of dealerships being revived to 86.

The National Automobile Dealers Association said it is pleased with Chrysler's decision to restore these dealerships, calling it "a move in the right direction."

"NADA views this as a good faith effort, and hopes that this carries forward in Chrysler's continuing settlement and arbitration discussions with the other terminated dealers," the association said in a statement.

In its statement Friday, Chrysler said "discussions to find mutually beneficial alternatives to arbitration with other dealers are under way." More than 300 former dealers are still in the queue for arbitration hearings, to be held over the next three months.

Chysler's offer to resurrect some of its axed dealers echoes one made earlier this month by General Motors, which moved to reinstate 661 of the dealerships it cut from its network last year. To top of page

Just the hot list include
Frontline troops push for solar energy
The U.S. Marines are testing renewable energy technologies like solar to reduce costs and casualties associated with fossil fuels. Play
25 Best Places to find rich singles
Looking for Mr. or Ms. Moneybags? Hunt down the perfect mate in these wealthy cities, which are brimming with unattached professionals. More
Fun festivals: Twins to mustard to pirates!
You'll see double in Twinsburg, Ohio, and Ketchup lovers should beware in Middleton, WI. Here's some of the best and strangest town festivals. Play
Questions & Answers



QHow does a florist sell more in this economy? We changed our business to designing weddings and events only, as the everyday flowers are not selling. We had to throw out too much product at the end of the week -- flowers are perishable! More
Get Answer
- The Flower Lady, Suwanee, Ga.
Overnight Avg Rate Latest Change Last Week
30 yr fixed3.80%3.88%
15 yr fixed3.20%3.23%
5/1 ARM3.84%3.88%
30 yr refi3.82%3.93%
15 yr refi3.20%3.23%
Rate data provided
by Bankrate.com
View rates in your area
 
Find personalized rates:
Sponsors

Sections

Bankrupt toy retailer tells bankruptcy court it is looking at possibly reviving the Toys 'R' Us and Babies 'R' Us brands. More

Land O'Lakes CEO Beth Ford charts her career path, from her first job to becoming the first openly gay CEO at a Fortune 500 company in an interview with CNN's Boss Files. More

Most stock quote data provided by BATS. Market indices are shown in real time, except for the DJIA, which is delayed by two minutes. All times are ET. Disclaimer. Morningstar: © 2018 Morningstar, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Factset: FactSet Research Systems Inc. 2018. All rights reserved. Chicago Mercantile Association: Certain market data is the property of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. and its licensors. All rights reserved. Dow Jones: The Dow Jones branded indices are proprietary to and are calculated, distributed and marketed by DJI Opco, a subsidiary of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC and have been licensed for use to S&P Opco, LLC and CNN. Standard & Poor's and S&P are registered trademarks of Standard & Poor's Financial Services LLC and Dow Jones is a registered trademark of Dow Jones Trademark Holdings LLC. All content of the Dow Jones branded indices © S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC 2018 and/or its affiliates.