Minority Dealers May Be Slammed by Closings - Black Enterprise
  • Entrepreneurship
  • Money
  • Leadership
    • Career
    • Education
    • Jobs
    • Men
    • Women
  • Technology
  • Lifestyle
  • Events
    • Black Men Xcel
    • Entrepreneurs Summit
    • TechConneXt
    • Women of Power
    • American Black Film Festival
    • ABFF Honors
  • Lists
  • Magazine
  • Videos
  • TV Shows
    • Our World
    • Women of Power
25 black women who are changing the world

January/February 2018

Black Enterprise
  • Entrepreneurship
  • Money
  • Leadership
    • Career
    • Education
    • Jobs
    • Men
    • Women
  • Technology
  • Lifestyle
  • Events
    • Black Men Xcel
    • Entrepreneurs Summit
    • TechConneXt
    • Women of Power
    • American Black Film Festival
    • ABFF Honors
  • Lists
  • Magazine
  • Videos
  • TV Shows
    • Our World
    • Women of Power

Minority Dealers May Be Slammed by Closings

Marcia Wade Talbert
by  Marcia Wade Talbert
June 4, 2009
Gregory Jackson, owner of five General Motors dealerships believes that as GM whittles down the number of franchises in bankruptcy “those last men standing should do well.” But when the smoke clears, no one is sure how many minority dealerships will be left standing.

Page: 1 2 3

gm_carsGregory Jackson, owner of five General Motors dealerships believes that as GM whittles down the number of franchises in bankruptcy “those last men standing should do well.” But when the smoke clears, no one is sure how many minority dealerships will be left standing.

“I would say there is a lot of anxiety on the part of the entire industry,” says Jackson, owner and CEO of Prestige Automotive Group (No. 1 on the 2009 BE Auto Dealers list with $646.2 million in revenues).

The bankruptcy proceedings of Chrysler L.L.C. and now GM could trigger adverse consequences for minority-owned dealers and the communities that they reside in, says Damon Lester, president of the National Association of Minority Automobile Dealers.

If the shakeout at Chrysler is any warning, there could be a disproportionate amount of black-owned franchises closing this year. Of 19,000 new automobile dealerships, less than 1,200 or 5% were owned by ethnic minorities, said Lester in a testimony before the House Judiciary Committee in May. Chrysler’s termination of 800 dealer contracts that month condensed ethnic dealerships by 25%. GM, which had about 40 black-owned dealerships before the closings, says they will reduce their dealer body by about 1400 to 3600 businesses.

While Chrysler sought to close dealerships in less than four weeks, GM will be giving approximately 1,400 dealerships 18 months to unwind and sell-off their inventory and parts. However, GM has not spelled out how much money it will use to assist in the dissolution of dealers, and bankruptcy law gives them the right to reject dealers sooner if they choose to.

“It is very ambiguous,” says Marjorie Staten, executive director for General Motors Minority Dealers Association. “We don’t have the details of whether [GM] will buy back every single vehicle and every single part. [If not] that could leave some dealers exposed.”

Those dealers, whose contracts were not rejected, will fall under the “new GM” during the restructuring process; terminated dealers will remain under the “old GM.” This will produce two classes of dealers that will both continue to operate their companies under extreme duress as they try to sell off a glut of inventory.

Page: 1 2 3

Join the Conversation


MORE ON BlackEnterprise.com
segregation was never good
Lifestyle
Segregation Was Never Good For Black People. Not Even A Little Bit [Opinion]
Marcia Wade Talbert
by  Alfred Edmond, Jr.
Career
The Inside World of Black Sports Agents
Marcia Wade Talbert
by  Samara Lynn
ancestry,com uses term migrants for slaves
Lifestyle
Ancestry.com Sparks Outrage for Using the Term ‘Migrants’ to Describe African Slaves
Marcia Wade Talbert
by  Selena Hill

BETV

TRENDING

  • Baltimore May Sell Homes for $1 to Revive Neglected…
  • Spotify is Looking for New Female Podcasters of Color
  • Meet Melissa Harville-Lebron: The First Black Woman to Own a
  • Free Money? The Top 10 Grants Available to Black, Minority…
  • 7 Top Grants Or Free Money For Black Women Entrepreneurs
  • U.S. Small Business Administration and Milken Institute…
  • 5 Books Every Millennial Entrepreneur Must Read
  • Top WNBA Salaries vs. NBA Salaries: Who Earns More? [2017…
  • Meet the Dallas Mavericks’ New CEO
  • Chance the Rapper Hosts Holiday Party to Help the Homeless
Entrepreneurs Summit
Women of Power WOMEN OF POWER SUMMIT
Entrepreneurs Summit ENTREPRENEURS SUMMIT
American Black File Festival AMERICAN BLACK FILM FESTIVAL
Our World OUR WORLD WITH BLACK ENTERPRISE
Women of Power TV WOMEN OF POWER TV
25 black women who are changing the world
SUBSCRIBE
GIVE A GIFT
CUSTOMER SERVICE
  • © 2018
  • BLACK ENTERPRISE
  • Management
  • About
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact
  • Site Map
  • Masthead
  • Media Kit