(Letter from a Dodge dealer)
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
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18 comments:
Sad story! Wecome to Socialism!
Our prayers are with you,family,
and associates.
I don't really have sympathy for these people. Anyone with a little sense saw this coming from a mile away. Its no secret that US auto makers have been in trouble for awhile. Maybe this dealer should have switched to Toyota or Honda a few years back. American built cars are just inferior, period.
U = United
S = Socialism (of)
A = America
G = government
M = motors
it's only going to get worse.
when do ya think we will be paying over three dollars for a gallon of gas again?
gas demands go up = raise prices
gas demand goes down = raise prices
somebody farts in the middle east = raise prices
memorial day holiday = raise prices
4th of july holiday = raise prices
2Centz put it best on another post .. Welcome to Government Motors, how may we help you?
This country has been living on credit for the last eight years. Spending on two wars and giving tax cuts.
what other car companys are out there willing to take dodges place?
kia, mini cooper, vw, ect.ect.
sounds to me like you already put the "for sale" sign on your dealership.
8:44 said it best, and now we owe the chinese money from getting them to finance our wars. I'm sick of people bitching about government but never offering a solution. Its not the governments fault that this individual will lost his buisness. Unfortunate..yes, but I'm sure he was one of the first people in line blasting the government about bail out funds. Now the auto industry is starting to hit rock bottom and we see who has there hands out now. I say cut your losses...sell as many of those vehicles for half price as you can...something is better then nothing, which from the sounds of things you will have allot of sooner then later. 8:10 I with you on this one!
yes it is the governments fault, I dont blame these people for losing their own business, but i am sick of the government bailing them out, thats our tax dollars going to waste
Some find it real easy to scream socialism at every turn. Those who do not understand economics and how all of this didn't start with our current President. These problems have been going on for some time and now it's catching up to everyone.
Let's look at this more closely.
This stems from BAD MANAGEMENT by the car manufacturers. It's not the government's fault their in financial ruins. The government didn't put them there, they put themselves there. The unions had a hand in it too, but it's not all their fault either.
When my money is tight, I don't have the ability to run to the government and ask for a bailout, so why should they be able to? When mine gets tight, I tighten the belt and do what needs to be done to make it through the tough times.
Somebody KNEW the retirement pensions and other benefits were going to take them down. Why didn't that person or those people scream this out loud?
Or, did they and some chose not to listen?
I feel bad for local dealerships who are being punished by another CORPORATE problem but when you enter into franchises, this can happen.
lets bail out more credit cards so more little guys like Mr. Joseph can fall by the wayside! this is disgusting. its sad that the car companies can just bail out and kick a man while he's down.
8:10, they been in business since 1974. It was not bad. Your a punk
9:38. I am glad to hear that when things get tight you tighten your belt and do what needs to be done. Now if only the governments that are taxing us to death would do the same instead of continuing to spend in the name of the children and some companies are too big to fail, etc.
This is a sad story. Welcome to Socialism...where it does not pay to work. This is totally a problem that was created by this Obama administration. No....DOnt even think about blaming Bush on this one. This is Obama. Bush was for a free economy. Obama is the one who created this Socialistic movement. I have been toi other countries and see how they live under Socialism. There is a reason why the US is number one (was number one). There were people out there who were not afraid to take a chance and work their tails off. But they dont work like that in Socialism. Everything is given to them. So that means some other country has to R&D something, make all the money then sell it to the US so we can have it. Socialism sucks!!!!
*sigh* This isn't "socialism". This is a PRIVATE company dispensing with their franchises as they see fit in an economic downturn.
Why is this so hard for some of you to understand?
This man/family paid for a franchise and they are pulling it from him with no compensation-and giving it to someone else. There are contracts and legal precedents here that scream SOCIALISM, and people are saying, you knew the car American car companies are crap. Obama pushed the auto industry into a bailout and then now says they are going bankrupt but this dealership doesn't seem to be one of the ones having problems unloading their vehicles if he didn't sell it off on his own. It was his to run, not the gov't or Dodge's to run off with and then give to someone else. Why doesn't anyone get that? As far as tax cuts and paying for two wars, go back and check the IRS stats, Bush made more tax revenues with those cuts. Obama is promising everyone a tax cut-we'll find out in 2010 if we get one, and we're still paying for two wars. WAKE UP, more spending isn't going to fix this, many people felt that Chrysler should have gone bankrupt, but that's not what the Dems thought, so they said let's pour billions of other people's hard earned money in there.
Moves like this are how Chrysler/Dodge/Jeep will survive, maybe.
If a franchise carries all 3 models, they are not taking away their franchises.
Only the dealers who chose to sell only 1 or 2 of their models.
It actually makes business sense even though it may not be "fair" to all.
You get rid of the ones not making you the money and focus on going back to Chrysler/Dodge/Jeep all at one location.
And you can't blame either Bush or Obama or Clinton for this, you really can't.
Like someone said earlier, this has been coming for a LONG time.
A lot of the economic woes in this country have been coming for a LONG time and just now people are starting to wake up and see what has been there for some time.
Just like the real estate bubble.
Hell, I knew it was a fake bubble when it was going on and chose not to participate in it.
But others?! They chose to go all out and now their realizing they got burned and values are not plummeting. That's because the values were not true values to begin with.
I don't feel sorry for any of the people that jumped on that bandwagon. Not one!
Bet you're wishing you had stayed in that modest 1800 sq.ft. rancher instead of moving up to the 5000 sq.ft you now cannot afford the payments on or afford to heat and cool it.
Its not just the owner losing out,all his employees and vendors employees will suffer too.Thanks BO,for the "reverse trickle-down economy".
What a shame.
The last pickup i looked at was $40,000 no wonder your out of business.
Who can afford those kind of prices.
America is dead, it is gone and now the rich want help from the poor.
Boo Hoo
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