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Why the Chrysler dealers are angry

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by Gene Veith on June 24, 2009

in Economics

More details on why the Chrysler dealers who found their franchises taken away from them believe they were ill-used by the company that is now part of the portfolio of the federal government. From Dealers Say They Were Led Astray in Chrysler’s Final Days – washingtonpost.com:

They still remember the Call. It came on Thursday, Feb. 5. Thousands of Chrysler dealers across the country dialed in to hear another in a string of pitches from Press and Steven Landry, Chrysler’s executive vice president.

With the passion of a street preacher, Press implored the dealers to order as many cars as possible to help the company as a deadline loomed to prove its viability to the U.S. government.

“You have two choices,” Press told the group, according to reports. “You can either help us or burn us all down.”

Many dealers would long remember the warning that followed to those who refused to order their whole allotment of cars: “If you decide not to do that, we’ve got a good memory.”

Many of the dealers complied with this threat, buying up lots of cars for their lots, only to be stuck with them when the company, despite its “good memory,” shut them down.

Chrysler is now saying they will try to help the former dealers distribute their inventory to surviving dealers

{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }

1 kerner June 24, 2009 at 12:36 pm

I know I keep harping on this, but I believe it’s important. Our president is pushing a number of programs that add up to a Fascist economic system. Maybe nobody (particularly his supporters) cares about this, but I think a system that controls economic freedom is bound to try to control other types of freedom. Read here:

hppt:///www.econlib.org/library/Enc/Fascism.html

2 kerner June 24, 2009 at 12:38 pm

well, read here:
http://www.econlib.org/library/Enc/Fascism.html

Someday I will learn to type.

3 DonS June 24, 2009 at 12:45 pm

I’ve already posted my two cents on past threads, including this issue of Chrysler demanding that dealers increase their orders in February, a scant three months before severing the franchise agreements with 25% of them. Obviously, the injustice of what Chrysler did do these dealers caused public repercussions which have now caused Chrysler to promise to help these dealers redistribute their excess inventory, since they can no longer sell it (at least at new car prices). I hope they mean it, and that they follow through. If you are a small business or an investor, beware of contracting with or purchasing the secured bonds of unionized companies.

4 rlewer June 25, 2009 at 10:11 am

Does anyone know exactly which persons made the choices and what their criteria were?

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