Comments about ‘Chrysler dealership closures may hurt small-town economies’

There that word is again: "socialism".
Is it just because a democrat is in the White House?
Chrysler was failing LOOONG before Bush made things worse and this guy is using the neoCON buzz word 'socialism' to blame the demise.
Chrysler had way too many dealers. So does GM and they're next in cutting back.
If the US auto industry is ever going to survive they had better look at how Honda and Toyota run things and stop blaming their problems on a democrat in the White House.

The American Auto Industry is a joke. It's not "socialism" that the problem, it's not building what the people want. Honda, Toyota & Subaru build what people want. GM, Chrysler, and Ford tell the people what they are going to buy. It is not a Democrat or Republican problem, it is a company problem. People buy what they want, not what they are told.

I bought a 2004 Dodge Ram 1500 brand new. It has 45,000 miles on it. Since I purchased it, I have replaced the WHOLE steering system, brake system, major emissions sensors and had several electrical problems. The problem is not "socialism". The problem is lack of a quality product. I wouldn't buy another American built car or truck if they were the last ones on Earth.

Let the big three go under. Just maybe, we will get better companies and quality product instead of the trash heaps the big three put out.

So what is going to happen to my bumper to bumper life time warranty? That is the only resin I bought my Chrysler mini Van.

I totally agree with all the comments that have been posted thus far !! However, I must admit, it does seem like socialism when the President is telling the CEO of a company to step down or else they won't get any bail out money !!! But on the on the other hand, I owned a used '92 Chev. Lumina with just under 100,000 miles on it, shortly after I had to replace the computer circuit boards, that car was crap after that !! I won't buy another Chev because of it !! The Japanese auto makers success is built on quality, and the US auto makers have just let it go, in the name of our disposable society !!!

Yeah, socialism. Regardless of bad decisions made at US auto makers over decades past and present, the fix is not now in. You see, do you think the Obama government is going to let Chrysler fully go under? Do you think the government is going to now do away with all those quality control issues? Maybe you think that since that pesky focus on profit is gone in favor of a "car worker's paradise". GM and Chrysler are now going to be government controlled, government subsidized institutions. At some point down the road, heavy taxes will be put on foreign cars because Americans are going to shun the garbage coming out of Chrysler and GM in the coming years. The government and unions cannot, will not be able to compete in the open marketplace, so it will force you and I to buy or pay via our taxes to keep these behemoths afloat. What is happening is disturbing to say the least, and the job-losses at dealerships are just the beginning of a new standard of living coming in this country which, yes, is going down for everybody.

Although the specifics are not know for the choices and who is generating these closures, government or bankruptcy, but it's not because of the auto quality. The biggest reason that many americans have complaints about the american auto industry quality is how dealershiip service departments operate and their technicians. What seems to be a quality issue of the vehicles its more of an issue of technicians upselling repairs and technicians not properly repairing them. Technicians are paid according to how many repairs they can sell a customer, based on the flat rate pay system, which I think should be abolished in the automotive industry. Then vehicle warranty work comes from manufacturers allowing dealers to shotgun and replace parts that are not bad and pay the dealers and technicians to do it. This shotgun warranty work costs the company and adds to the branding of poor quality american vehicles. This happens in all US auto dealerships. I do know that asian and european autos do have their fair share of vehicle problems but how they diagnose and make repairs may be more controlled. But the driving force of costly auto repairs is the flat rate pay system.

What's up with this "socialism stuff"? It looks like the end of corporate welfare to most people who might be paying attention.

Hey, Ernie. Me again, but I left the mammoth in the other commentary area (it needs a bath).

Don't follow our (Honda, Toyota) model so completely, you might want to read about the "Lost Decade" back home. Central planning takes you bad places too if you choose wrong.

Besides, the car industry was just a little thank you for Nagasaki, really, two bombs? We took out Detroit and made you pay for the privilege. Jodan desu! (I'm joking)

Ironically, up here in Canada, all 450 Chrysler dealerships across the country will remain open, despite all the closures in the USA.

have ruined the car industry in the US. I have a friend whose Uncle works at a plant. He gets paid 75$ an hour to drive cars off of the production line onto the parking lot. He is only supposed to drive 6 cars a day. What a joke. Maybe the union should revamp wages. Make an affordable, economic car without having to pay most of the car with wages.

It is socialism! There is no method to the madness why certain dealerships were shut down and others are not. One in NY was even in the top 2 percent in sales in the country, and it didn't take any stimulus money. I would bet that Barber Bros also had a good sales record. Brace yourself, this is just the tip of the ice berg on how the government is going to control our lives.

The gov't is not going to run GM and Chrysler - they have absolutely nothing to gain from it. So don't get too paranoid. GM and Chrysler will restructure and rebound. By the way, Chrysler was the one that made the decision to close these plants, not the Administration. Someone might want to inform our auto dealerships of this fact.

The problem with American cars are that they cost too much and the quality is not there as it used to be. It seems cars are being made to be replaced every five years. The cars in the seventies seemed to last alot longer than and they met the consumers wishes of what wanted.
Foreign cars cost are being subsidized by their government and what our government should do is impose taxes on foreign cars that we know to be subsidized.
I think the government has the right to get rid of bad Ceo's when we have to use taxpayers' money to save them. Why would you leave them in to spend taxpayers' money when they were the ones to cause the problem in their running of the company? Do you think they would change?
I am getting sick of the Republicans using the word socialism as a bad word. How many socialized loans do businesses get from the government to start up and for other uses? How many socialized programs do people use in their daily lives-roads,water/sewer,police/fire,military,etc.
I don't hear the democrats caaling the Republicans Nazis who must follow lockstep.

I owned a 1998 Chevrolet Malibu (I bought when it was 2 years old). It was easily the worst car I have ever owned. Other owners had the same problems I did, so I didn't just get a lemon. Chevrolet knew about the problems but refused to address them.

I haven't bought a Chevy since and I don't plan to buy one in the future. They have created their own problems.

Regardless of what earlier posts have written, this is socialism. When a president can dictate salaries, who stays and gets fired as well as what the company can manufacture you're talkng socialism. Whya are American made cars poorly constructed? It isn't the American worker, but the labpr union business model that has persisted for decades. While needed in the early 1900's it's value to the American worker is minimal. There is a certain price point people pay for autos. When you have huge labor union demands(Insurance, excessive retirement. Recently I was listneing to Dave Ramsey program. An auto worker called expressing financial woes because of some unwise decsions made. His biggest complaint however was he couldn't retire at age 55, becasue Chrysler had made changes in their retirement package. Many who don't have such generous benefits will never retire and he whines. Money to pay for all these benefits comes at the expense of the product. Now Obama wants to give uaw 38 percent ownership. It's all about union pay backs for donating so generously to Obama. Copy Toyupota's business model and get rid of UAW.

It is NOT socialism. There is a method to the madness why certain dealerships were shut down. It's called oversaturation of the market, not government control. A top-producing or selling dealer isn't the problem, ones with high costs are!

READ THE ARTICLE and see the ones they closed in Utah:

Barber Bros. Motor Co. Inc, Spanish Fork

Cutrubus Motors Chrysler Jeep, Layton

Lunt Motor Co., Cedar City

Painter Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep, Nephi

Painters Sun Country Chrysler Inc., St. George

Parkway Motors, Cedar City

Robert H. Hinckley Inc., Ogden

Rocky Mountain Chrysler Jeep, Ogden

Tri-State Motors, Cedar City

Weese Motors, Tremonton

Each of the areas affected has remaining Chrysler dealerships within 1-2 hours drive. So it's not like they are pulling out of Utah completely! It should create demand for the remaining dealers' cars, which will help them sell more than they did previously (300 per year compared to Honda & Toyota selling over 1,200 per year at their dealerships). And having them make better quality cars might help, getting outsold 4-1 means something's wrong with your product!

I read every one of these comments and not a single one addressed the REAL problem--the cost of making the cars by virtue of having to pay thru the nose to the union and its members. Free up the premium wages paid to the union--not the members--the union, and the cost can come back into reality.
Chrysler should have to go thru bankruptcy, sell off the assets and start anew by hiring those needed to build cars and allow real managers run the company.
The extorsion excersized against the debt holders is the most aggregiously illegal action against the capitalists in the history of the US. That's what Castro did in Cuba.
Unsecured debtors being paid while secured debtors get the shaft--That's not socialism that is dictatorship!

Steve, you must be ten years old if you think the cars in the seventies were of better quality. They weren't.

My last two Fords have lasted pretty well. Quality ratings of U.S. cars are not as good as Japanese cars, but still much better than they used to be, and oh by the way, the "Japanese" cars are mostly built here now.

As others have said, the real problem lies with the Union stranglehold on costs. Too many, doing too little, at too high a price, for too few years. The auto unions are corrupt, and bringing us all down.

I had a 1997 Chevy Astro Van that was nothing but trouble. It spent more time at the dealer getting fixed than it spent at our house. I would never buy another GM product. I have friends with Chrysler mini vans who had to replace transmissions several times, some after only 40,000 miles. I've only purchased Toyotas since then and haven't had any problems. I'd buy from the American companies if they could produce a quality product.