What that list does not show is the dealers that have closed in the last year. In Toronto I can name Bob Johnston, Golden Mile, Foss in Leaside, Midtown Saturn Saab just off the top of my head.
All of the dealers on the list from BC are what I've heard too, and a couple on the island as well. In a conversation with my local dealer, his feeling is that there are more cuts coming. This is just round one.
The paper yesterday the said Stampede Pontiac, here in Calgary is done. Said he'll continue as a Used car dealer. Was in business over 39 years.
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1960 Pontiac Strato Chief Safari 1960 Laurentian Safari 1960 Laurentian 4door(scrapped) 2001 Grand Am Traded on a '96 Suburban 2WD 2002 Hyundai Accent(SOLD) 1968 Grand Parisienne Scrapped and SOLD
ON- 48 HMP On The Mountain-Pontiac-Buick-Cadillac-GMC 2260 Rymal Rd E Hamilton, ON
As I recall this is where the all Pontiac day was to be held in June. Was not sure about going but might just go out of respect now.
-- Edited by 73SC on Saturday 23rd of May 2009 11:22:55 PM
This is one of the oldest and established dealers in the city of Hamilton. They just built this dealership in this new location about a year ago. The area in which it is located, is the biggest population growth of new homes (and existing) in the city. According to the local newspaper, the cost of moving and building this new state of the art GM dealership was approx. $4 million dollars. The other dealership in Hamilton to close is supposed to be City Chev, the only GM dealership left in the down town core.
Go figure... As for the Pontiac Show, I'll be there.
I was in Kingston on the weekend attending the 25th anniversary reunion of my graduating year and read an article in the local paper about one of their big local dealers, Condie Pontiac-Buick-GMC getting the axe, despite last year being their 5th best sales year in their 38 year history. They sold over 600 cars last year, so obviously sales is not the criteria for staying. They have sold over $1.5 billion worth of GM vehicles over their history, just spent millions opening a brand new showroom, have high customer satisfaction ratings - and this is the present 68 hard working employees get for their loyality and efforts.
One of their principles did mention that their sales split was Pontiac 55%, GMC 35% and Buick 10%, which just goes to show again that no one is buying Buicks except the Chinese. If GM wanted to keep Buick, they should have kept it as a China only brand and kept Pontiac in North America. I think that decision will come back to haunt them...
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Hillar
1970 LS4 (eventually an LS5) Laurentian 2dr hdtp -and a bunch of other muscle cars...
There is speculation that GMC is going too. After all, why maintain two truck marques?
It's not hard to imagine that with the culling of the herd, it also makes no sense to maintain two dealership identities in Canada. I can foresee the surviving dealers getting whichever marques are left......probably Chevrolet, Buick, Cadillac.
The dealers would simply be GM dealers. The addition of the cute little GM door badges on the complete line a few years ago shows they've been thinking along these lines.
Most of the dealers that were cut are Pontiac. A few Che*y ones. The main reason they are being cut is when GM quites making Pontiac they will not have any product to sell. My dad was telling me on Sunday that when he was picking up a truck for a customer that he got transferred from another dealer he was told they are planing to sue GM for breach of contract.
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1957 Pathfinder deluxe 4 door wagon 1961 Pontiac Parisienne bubble top Traded for a Harley sorry guys.
There is speculation that GMC is going too. After all, why maintain two truck marques?
It's not hard to imagine that with the culling of the herd, it also makes no sense to maintain two dealership identities in Canada. I can foresee the surviving dealers getting whichever marques are left......probably Chevrolet, Buick, Cadillac.
The dealers would simply be GM dealers. The addition of the cute little GM door badges on the complete line a few years ago shows they've been thinking along these lines.
I agree, as I've said elsewhere, it makes absolutely no sense whatsoever to maintain GMC and Chev trucks when they are the two most identical brands that GM has. I've also read that the "GM store" is exactly what all the dealers that are left are going to be converted to once all the blood letting is over...
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Hillar
1970 LS4 (eventually an LS5) Laurentian 2dr hdtp -and a bunch of other muscle cars...
Carl sorry to hear about your dealership. Keep your head up, things will work together for good! Our GM in Three Hills is on the list too, and I heard Sundre and Hanna and a bunch in Calgary and Edmonton. Hang tough there Carl !
What is so hard to swallow is that people at the top of industry have reaped all the monetary rewards you can think off and when the crunch comes it is people like Carl and his boss (that ensured that the top people made their small fortunes) that must take the knock!
A similar situation in South Africa has arisen with the high price of food. It was found the the high food prices were due to a single company pushing the price of fertilisers to the limit, forcing farmers to cover the rise in costs and the consumers paying for it all!
The company was forced to pay a fine and yet the prices still go up! The effect lingers on! Government takes no action to force the prices down! The fine (250 Mil Rand) was 2.5% of the net profit the company made and they had the audacity to state that they had made provision for the fine!
