GM dealers sue GM for $750M

4SPEED427 · A Poncho Legend!

And down comes our GM sign----end of an era

73SC · A Poncho Legend!

Is it for sale? Take pictures !

rabbit64cs · Canadian Poncho Superstar!

sad day indeed...

a friend of mine works in the commercial sign industry, he says the are required to smash them once they have taken them down...??

hope that's not the case,, and you have a chance to hang it on the back wall of your storage garage Carl.

4SPEED427 · A Poncho Legend!

Not a hope of saving it. They take it away and destroy it. Yes, I'm taking pics.

427carl · A Poncho Legend!

Sorry to see that!

-- Edited by 427carl on Thursday 21st of January 2010 12:14:39 PM

427carl · A Poncho Legend!

4SPEED427 · A Poncho Legend!

I've said it before and I'll say it again about my boss.

These guys were 25 miles down the road yesterday taking down the sign at what I believe was the oldest or second oldest family dealership in Canada. Apparently it was pretty ugly when they were doing it.

My boss? He went out there and handed the guys his business card with a note on it to the local restaurant owner. The note says that these guys are having lunch there compliments of my boss. It brings tears to my eyes as I write this, knowing the kind of guy I work for....

67SD396 · Poncho Master!

I just don't understand how GM can think that closing a profitable business will save them money in the long run.

Not a wonder GM is having troubles when you see a management decision like that!

67SD396 · Poncho Master!

Carl Stevenson wrote:

I've said it before and I'll say it again about my boss.

These guys were 25 miles down the road yesterday taking down the sign at what I believe was the oldest or second oldest family dealership in Canada. Apparently it was pretty ugly when they were doing it.

My boss? He went out there and handed the guys his business card with a note on it to the local restaurant owner. The note says that these guys are having lunch there compliments of my boss. It brings tears to my eyes as I write this, knowing the kind of guy I work for....

Having met Mark, I can say that he is great guy and we all can only wish to work for someone such as him. He goes beyond what any business owner needs to do. He could likely teach lessons on being compationate for fellow humans. Fairly obvious why you have stayed working for him for so long Carl.

-- Edited by 67SD396 on Thursday 21st of January 2010 12:32:48 PM

Ghost Post · Poncho Master!

Don't give up on these dealer signs too easily fellas!.
I kept my mouth shut when it happened but figure I'd better speak up now while you guys still have the chance..
They took the signs down from our local dealer here last summer and I managed to end up w/ one of the big face sides (Pontiac/Buick/GMC) also one of the little GM square ones and the individual letters that said Bodyshop too..
The big one is 8'x6' and now hangs from my garage ceiling facing down w/ a florescent underneath!.
The best part is the total cost to me was $20!.

~ smile

Sorry to you and your team Carl..
~

-- Edited by Ghost Post on Thursday 21st of January 2010 01:23:21 PM

CDN2PLS2 · Uber Guru

Yup,I've seen plenty of those in the sign places yards.They don't All get destroyed.

67HEAVEN · Poncho Master!

Sorry about the bad day, C1. You're fortunate to have such a boss.

I know it's ridiculous to think it, but way back in a dark corner of my brain, the hope flickers that the Pontiac marque will come back to life, perhaps as a specialty vehicle brand, sometime after GM's back on solid footing.

Call me crazy, but they tried to sell Hummer, Saturn and Opel. They didn't try to sell Pontiac. Hmmmm. confuse

Ghost Post · Poncho Master!

67HEAVEN wrote:
I know it's ridiculous to think it, but way back in a dark corner of my brain, the hope flickers that the Pontiac marque will come back to life, perhaps as a specialty vehicle brand, sometime after GM's back on solid footing.

Call me crazy, but they tried to sell Hummer, Saturn and Opel. They didn't try to sell Pontiac. Hmmmm.

Ok you're crazy!.
But so am I as I've had the same exact thoughts..
They haven't tried to sell Oldsmobile either have they?.

What's stupid is I can't understand how they'll ever save anything by gassing Pontiac?.
W/ the amount of new Ponchos around here in recent years I wouldn't be surprised if they've outsold Chevys in this area anyway?.
No trucks don't count!.

I'd expect they've long realized it was a mistake but w/ government cash/ownership they've no choice but go along and just see what happens?.

At the very least you'd think they'd have tried a whole Pontiac lineup of badge engineered Chevys for a few years to save their market then rethink it all if/when things improved?.

Salute to the old General..
The days of the the Ed Cole, Alfie Sloan, Charles Kettering, Bunkie Knudson, Bill Mitchell, John Deloreon and Pete Estes type guys are gone for good..
Only Billy Durant could pull things together now!.
~

67HEAVEN · Poncho Master!

Perhaps the only way they could reduce the huge number of dealerships was to (temporarily???) kill some brands, giving them fewer models to design, manufacture and carry parts for while they sorted their self-induced mess out.

Pulling Olds and Pontiac provided the opportunity to cull the number of dealerships way down, thus (hopefully) leaving fewer but more profitable stores in place for the rebuild of GM.

Once it all comes together, and that can only be fully realized when a real car guy is at the helm, they can reintroduce a small number of special versions of Pontiac and Olds to be sold at the remaining GM stores.........where all the GM brands will be sold.

I think that a limited edition of these old brands may have some appeal as the days of plastic body cladding fades into the distant past.

-- Edited by 67HEAVEN on Thursday 21st of January 2010 03:14:01 PM

69-Tin Indian · Guru

A few years back I noticed an awesome sign at the Chevrolet dealership in Wiarton. It looked like
it was from the 1960's and of course had been up on that pole all those years. When my buddy and I would camp right across the road from the dealership on our annual fishing trips, we'd have a few beers and decide just how we were going to steal it and take it home with us. Went by the dealership a couple of years ago and it was gone. I truly hope someone got to take it home with them as signs of that vintage just aren't around anymore, let alone left existing on a pole for over 40 some-odd years. It sure was a classic!

67Poncho · Uber Guru

I wonder if this dealer is part of this group?????

GM dealers sue GM for $750M

Canwest News ServiceJanuary 21, 2010 7:02 PM

Story
Photos ( 1 )

General Motors' former finance arm, GMAC, is set to receive more government aid.

Photograph by: Herald Archive, Reuters, From Herald News Services

TORONTO A class-action lawsuit seeking $750 million in damages on behalf of 215 Canadian General Motors dealers was launched Thursday in the Ontario Court of Justice.

The suit claims General Motors of Canada Ltd. breached franchise laws when it terminated dealers in connection with last year's government bailout of the auto industry.

The suit also names a Canadian law firm, which had been retained in advance to represent dealers in a GM restructuring or bankruptcy, alleging the firm failed to disclose it was also acting for the Canadian government, which had insisted GM scale back its dealership network as a condition for public funding.

"These dealers include some of the best in the country," said David Sterns, lawyer for the lead plaintiff. "The offer they were handed gave them a fraction of what their businesses were worth, but they had no collective representation and precious little time."

jmont64 · Canadian Poncho Superstar!

Sad to hear for sure Carl. I might have missed it but what are your boss's plans and are you going to continue to have employment with him? I sure hope so because those bosses are tough to find.

4SPEED427 · A Poncho Legend!

Luckily we also sell lawn and garden equipment, many lines of farm equipment, Polaris quads, used cars. We also have 4 hoists and about 10 bays. It's a very lively place. My boss is one of the hardest working guys you've ever seen. He drives us crazy he's so hyper! He's just a few weeks older than me (52) but works like 25.

So far it looks good to continue. We can access a lot of the GM stuff through a local AC Delco distributor and the OEM stuff from a local (25 miles) dealer.

November will be 25 years for me. I need a few more and then maybe a couple of years part time doing something till CPP starts up for me...

As of right now, none of us are out of work, no thanks to GM and their best efforts to ruin us.

4SPEED427 · A Poncho Legend!

Carl Stevenson wrote:

I've said it before and I'll say it again about my boss.

These guys were 25 miles down the road yesterday taking down the sign at what I believe was the oldest or second oldest family dealership in Canada. Apparently it was pretty ugly when they were doing it.

My boss? He went out there and handed the guys his business card with a note on it to the local restaurant owner. The note says that these guys are having lunch there compliments of my boss. It brings tears to my eyes as I write this, knowing the kind of guy I work for....

And I feel I should add, I am not talking negative about the dealer down the road being unhappy. He has every right to be. GM made him spend about 300 grand on his building only a few years ago.

4SPEED427 · A Poncho Legend!

Oh and the irony in all this?

I got my letter in the mail today from GM (addressing me as a GM customer) telling me that my local dealer is closed but I can find other GM service at other dealers. Some of you likely got this letter.

The first 3 lines----

______________________________________________________________________________

More than ever, General Motors is committed to giving our customers the best possible service. That's why we believe it is important to advise you directly that Rosenort Motors Ltd is no longer an authorized General Motors Dealer, effective December 31, 2009.

_______________________________________________________________________________

What a crock of you know what. If they were committed to giving their customers the best possible service, they would have polled our customers and asked them how they could serve them best.

Canadian Poncho · A Poncho Legend!

Closing the dealers in London, Ontario sure has helped the other brands get a stronghold on the market- One converted to Nissan, the other Hyundai...

dualquadpete · Canadian Poncho Superstar!

69Laurentian wrote:

Closing the dealers in London, Ontario sure has helped the other brands get a stronghold on the market- One converted to Nissan, the other Hyundai...

Yep, my friend in West Hill, said that since they closed up all the nearest dealerships for him, [3 ] he has to go to Ajax or in to central Scarbough for service on his Bonnivlle, he"s looking at Ford for his next purchase, dealer is close by & no hassle getting shuttle service home & back!!! Does G M expect their remaining customers to go out of thier way to get to service centre. I can imagine the out of city customers expected to drive 50mi. ????

norontcan · Canadian Poncho Superstar!

In Timmins the closed Pontiac/Buick dealer was quick to jump on the Nissan franchise that had been dormant for a few years. Suspect he will land squarely on his feet.

4SPEED427 · A Poncho Legend!

Absolutely, and wishing he had done it years earlier too.

Sad.

73SC · A Poncho Legend!

Well here in Toronto Golden Mile was a Chev olds dealer on Eglinton right next door to the old Van Plant. The Van plant is gone and it's big box stores, Golden Mile got a, wait for it...........Toyota Franchise. So right ther on the same spot right beside the land where the plant that built GMC and Chevy Vans for all of North America is a Toyota store and they fly the biggest Canadian flag I have ever seen