Local GM dealers spared first round of cuts; positive about futures

Even though almost 20 percent of General Motor's dealerships are being cut around the country, it appears that the two local dealers will come out relatively unscathed.
    John Wentling, co-owner of G & G Supercenters in Dodge City, told the Daily Globe on Monday that just like other dealers around the country, G & G awaited a certified letter in the mail Friday saying it was on the list of now-defunct dealers.
    Thankfully, that letter never came.
    "We always felt confident that our sales effectiveness was strong," Wentling said. "We've always met and exceeded expectations."
    General Motors Corp. on Friday told about 1,100 dealers across the United States that they would be fired late next year because their sales were weak.
    While GM doesn't own the dealerships, according to the Associated Press, its network is too big, causing dealers to compete with each other and giving shoppers too much leverage to talk down prices and hurt the company's future sales.
    FedEx letters bearing the bad news began arriving Friday morning at GM franchises around the country. The letters stated that dealers were judged on sales, customer service scores, location, condition of facilities and other criteria.
    "Based on our review and current foreseeable market conditions and your dealership's historical performance, we do not see that GM have a productive business relationship with (your dealership) over the long term," according to the letter, a copy of which was obtained by The Associated Press.
    However, Wentling and co-owner Greg Goff both said they were confident that the larger dealers in southwest Kansas — specifically Dodge City and Garden City — would stay relatively protected from any cuts.
    "Sales have been outstanding," Goff said. "We think we have seen some insulation out here."
    The news was also good for Dodge's other major GM dealer.
    Brent Magouirk, owner of Magouirk Chevrolet-Cadillac, told the Daily Globe during a Friday interview that there wasn’t much of a danger that he would be closing down.
    "The first bunch of letters went out to non-conforming dealers," he said. "In our case, we cover our market, plus then some."
    Magouirk said that his dealership's sales had remained strong throughout the auto crisis, so he was relatively certain that Magouirk's wouldn't be in this, or any other, round of cuts.
    "We're not going anywhere for a while," he said.
    Friday's cuts will not be the last. GM said it expects to lose more dealerships through attrition. Ultimately, about 90 percent of the remaining dealerships will stay with GM, the company said.
    Both Magouirk and Wentling expressed optimism that they would be among the 90 percent.

EDITOR’S NOTE: The Associated Press contributed to this story.

Reach Mark Vierthaler at (620) 408-9908 or e-mail him at mark.vierthaler@dodgeglobe.com.