Letter to the editor
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
(321)724-6611
If you find this article informative? Consider donating any amount you choose.
No related posts.
Entries (RSS)
Not that it would help this poor bastard, but here’s the info on the people you can thank for this debacle and a whole shitload more to come.
CONTACT:
B. Hussein Obama c/o
1600 Pennsylvania Ave NW
Washington, DC 20500
(202) 456-1111
If it’s “pizza” night, you may have to let it ring a while, when the planes deliver the pizza it’s hard to hear the phone.
This letter proves that American automakers do not have extra costs for the dealerships being cut loose. Business sense says that the more sales people you have, the more sales you will have. Dealers are required to get financing for floor plan cars in order that automaker cash flow is unimpeded.
Chrysler is in trouble because of an excessive wage structure, a complex organizational bureaucracy and a three foot high stack of efficiency-preventing work rules. Lest we forget, the excessive legacy cost didn’t help either.
The bankruptcy judge needs to reject this dealer fiasco, fire the union and void its contract. Then and only then will Fiat be able to make a go of it in post-bankruptcy.
As an afterthought, I don’t think Obama has a clue how many of his followers, believers, and even disciples are gonna do an “about face” as all of this economic “redistribution” begins to unfold. There’s a shitload of companies, just like this guys, and a shitload of “unintended consequences” this hack is creating all because he “knows what’s best” for us. Sweet Jesus, we elected a community organizer with the gift of gab, and in 110 days the US government owns the frickin banks, insurance companies and car companies, wake the fuck up already.
I think this letter was probably found in the White House dumpster.
FW Conservative, your post is too funny!
At the end of the day, here’s the important factors to ask, and they’re mostly not political at all:
- Does the franchise agreement allow the franchiser (Chrysler) to end the relationship with the franchisee (the author of the letter) at will, or under certain circumstances? If so, then the author of the letter bought the franchise knowing full well that this was a possibility. (If he didn’t read the franchise agreement, then you get what you deserve when it comes to not reading the contracts you’re signing)
- The author is absolutely right that this is private business (well, mostly right, Chrysler is a publicly traded (NYSE:DCX)). In other words, this is the result of a contract, or provisions of a contract, between two non-governmental entities. His recourse, if he feels his contractual partner is not obeying the contract, is to avail himself of the services of the Judicial Branch. The Legislative and Executive Branches have no sway here.
- Your franchise would have been worth just as little, good sir, if Chrysler had shut the doors like they were going to have to without all the government intervention (so as much as the libertarian anarchocapitalist in me hates it, that intervention is a red herring here that the right is using for their own gain)
Derek….a few corrections..
The franchise agreements are not “at will” agreements, if they were then no one would have ever signed one 80 years ago…There has to be factual and willfull malfeasance (i.e. underperfoming, financially unsound etc) for the manufacturer to pull the franchise….
The dealers that were axed HAD recourse in the civil system prior to the manufacturer filing bankruptcy, however that point is moot now.
Had Chrysler simply filed a traditional bankruptcy when they hit the wall, a plain old bankruptcy judge would have stuck them in a chapter 11 receivership immediately, the plants would have stayed open, and a judge would have given ALL creditors INCLUDING THE FRICKIN UAW a haircut fairly.
The profitable dealers would NEVER be cut in a traditional bankruptcy, it defies common sense. The profitable dealers are what “feed the beast”. A bankruptcy judge trims the NON-PERFORMING assets. This is completely political, the executive and legislative branchs are BLATANTLY socializing the automobile business to force Americans to drive “green” little shitboxes manufactured by the UAW.
It’s social engineering plain and simple and guys like the chrysler dealer above (as well as a huge portion like him to come) are getting fricked big time, as are all their employee’s, their communities, their suppliers, etc. It’s as un-american as it gets. Who the hell will enter into contracts in the future knowing full well some well intentioned community organizer with a new job can pull the frickin rug out from under them at any time??
As I said earlier, these morons have no clue what the ultimate ramifications of all this government take-over bullshit are, but rest assured the end result will be less jobs, higher prices, the same quality of air as now and of course a healthy and vibrant UAW.
It’s frickin’ criminal.
You can bet the remaining dealers will want a steal. The dealers left out in the cold still have to pay Chrysler for whatever amount they floorplanned the vehicles for. In the end, many may simply file BK giving the screws to Chrysler.
Sounds like you anger should be directed at Chrysler. Their cars suck and have sucked for a long time. They could have easily built more fuel efficient cars and trucks but chose not to do so. You stayed in business with them and took that risk. I don’t know if you have grounds for a civil suit but I would consult a lawyer. Blaiming the government or asking how this can happen in America is childish. You are a businessman and you knew the risks. I’ll bet you made a crap load of money, I hope you invested it wisely.
“Blaiming the government or asking how this can happen in America is childish.”
-Can I change that to “Blaming America is childish” and use that on a liberal?
“I would consult a lawyer.”
– Yeah, and sue who? The President? Sorry, but he’s busy spending close to a
million dollars fighting all the present lawsuits against him over a 15 dollar
piece of paper. Leave him a message and maybe he’ll get back with you.
“They could have easily built more fuel efficient cars and trucks but chose not to do so.”
–Because the vast majority of Americans don’t want more efficient cars, they want cheaper gasoline (which they could have had, but chose not to). If it were the other way around, you’d see a lot more of the crappy little econo-cars running around. Americans were free to buy Geo Metros, Chevy Chevettes or Dodge Neons many years ago, but did they do it? No. Like me, most Americans needed (or simply wanted) larger trucks and SUVs and were willing to pay for them. Now, our new fascist government officials will ride around in their huge Chevy Suburbans while mandating that we (the lowly peasants) drive around in one or two seater death traps or be taxed to death.
Yeah, I’m “Childish” because I blame our government for stealing private businesses, firing who they don’t like and now forcing the newly “Acquired” companies to build crappy little eco-vehicles that very few Americans will buy. Starting with GWB, the government should have stayed the hell out of the way and let these companies file for bankruptcy, but hey, you don’t want a good crisis to go to waste, do you?
Love freedom? Buy ANYTHING other than a Chrysler or GM product. I’m buying a Ford Expedition as soon as possible. The hippies can drive their Prius cars off a cliff (or get caught in the tread of my tires).
I’ll buy a new Wrangler- automatic, dark green, with electric windows, keyless entry, and cruise control, for $15,000. Cash up front.
Or I’ll pay the KBB trade in value for a used one. Actually, I’ll buy two.
Seriously.
And also seriously, when a business can’t sell its goods, it has to cut the price, improve the goods, or fail.
Its a shame that hard working, decent people have devoted their lives to a failing business. The Studebaker and DeSoto dealers, or the line workers at the Flint Wagon Works, were equally tragic.
But they made their own decisions, I didn’t.
And Im serious as a heart attack about those Wranglers- post a number in these comments, I’ll call.
Indeed, WHAT is happening to this country? My WWII era father who was shot down and imprisoned in Stalag luft III, and who became a small businessman…dead now for 25 years would never believe that a successful person could be punished and have his business taken from him by the government. He would never have believed a draft dodger and sexual predator could sit in the Oval Office for 8 years.
Everything liberals touch – they destroy.