June 27, 2008
No sooner did I blog the decision by Speedcraft to close its Chrysler-Dodge dealership, than Paul Bailey Chrysler-Dodge takes out an ad in the South County edition of The Providence Journal welcoming “the customers of the former Speedcraft Chrysler-Dodge.
“We invite you to bring your vehicles to our totally renovated facility in North Kingstown for service, maintenance and collision repairs,” the ad reads.
Actually, Speedcraft general manager Harry Garabedian said the Chrysler-Dodge service department will remain open to service customers.
Speedcraft may lose some customers, but it would probably not begrudge Bailey the business. Speedcraft, after all, has just made over its Volkswagen dealership and that is where its focus is now directed.
And with five new models coming out this year, including the exciting clean diesels Jettas, there is good reason to believe that VW sales will be up as the year progresses.
But what of Chrysler?
The company is crippled with almost no small cars at a time when they are what people want, and has been offering all sorts of promotions – including the famous $2.99 a gallon gasoline for 12,000 miles for three years – in face of awful sales declines and rumors of imminent bankruptcy.
So good luck to owner Maureen Bailey and general manager Larry Cronin, good folks we profiled back in February of last year. I fear they may need it.
- Peter C.T. Elsworth
Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth 
at 1:03 PM | Permalink
June 25, 2008
Speedcraft has closed the Chrysler-Dodge new car and truck dealership next to its Volkswagen shop on Old Tower Hill Road in Wakefield, according to General Manager Harry Garabedian.
But it is keeping the service department open and will continue to sell pre-owned vehicles out of the location, he said.
"We have closed the Chrysler-Dodge (new car) dealership, but will continue to service Chrysler-Dodge cars with our factory trained technicians," he said.
"We're still selling pre-owned (vehicles) and still servicing our customers," he said. "But we are no longer selling new Chrysler-Dodge (vehicles)."
Meanwhile, Speedcraft's Volkswagen dealership has just had an extensive makeover and Garabedian and owner Lisa Lichtenfels are bullish about the new products the German auto maker is bringing in this year.
As we recently reported in a profile of the dealership, VW could rack up strong sales with its new vehicles, especially with its clean diesel technology which is due with the new Jetta range of sedans and wagons, starting in August.
However, Chrysler has been hard hit with the surge in gas prices, having only a limited number of small cars on its books. The company's sales have fallen nearly 20 percent so far this year compared with the first five months of 2007, including a drop of nearly 25 percent in May.
Garabedian declined to comment on Speedcraft's decision to shutter the Chrysler-Dodge dealership, but it is hard to believe that Chrysler's declining fortunes did not play a part.
Meanwhile, he said, Speedcraft is "always looking for other opportunities."
- Peter C.T. Elsworth
Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth at 4:05 PM | Permalink
June 24, 2008
We recently profiled the Speedcraft Chrysler-Dodge-Volkswagen dealership on Old Tower Hill Road in Wakefield and focused on the smart redesign of the VW shop which was just being completed.
Now it seems Speedcraft is closing its neighboring Chrysler-Dodge dealership, although the company declined to comment on the possible development.
But with just a few new Chrysler vehicles outside and the Chrysler-Dodge brand names removed from Speedcraft’s Web site, it would seem the small dealership is being shuttered. The dealership is still signed Chrysler-Dodge.
Indeed, the only Chrysler vehicles listed for sale on the Web site are in the pre-owned category, although there do seem to be a bunch of new Dodge Nitros parked round the back.
Speedcraft, which is owned by Roderick and Lisa Lichtenfels, acquired the Fred W. Smith Chrysler-Dodge dealership, which had a long history in South County, along with its 30 or so employees in December 2005. The plan called for operating both dealerships alongside each other.
But both Chrysler and Volkswagen have been navigating declining sales.
With some exciting models coming out this year, VW could be on the verge of a comeback, especially with its clean diesel technology which is due with the new Jetta range of sedans and wagons, starting in August.
Chrysler, on the other hand, has been hit in the chops with the surge in gas prices, having only a limited number of small cars on its books. The Dodge Caliber may be holding its own, but even the PT Cruiser is not selling well, with sales down nearly 40 percent in the first five months of this year compared to last year, according to the latest edition of Automotive News.
Indeed, as I reported in last week’s blog, Chrysler has seen overall sales drop nearly 20 percent so far this year compared with the first five months of 2007, including a drop of nearly 25 percent in May.
As a result, it has made a number of moves to push sales, including the grand offer of guaranteeing $2.99 a gallon gasoline for 12,000 miles a year over three years for each new vehicle, and a decision to follow General Motors and sell certified used Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep vehicles on eBay.
The company also announced it plans to undercut GM in the pricing of its hybrid SUVs – the Chrysler Aspen and Dodge Durango – but does anyone want such oxymorons anymore?
As for closing dealerships, all three Detroit manufacturers have been moving toward cutting costs and increasing profits by closing small shops and bringing all corporate brands under one roof in the remaining ones.
- Peter C.T. Elsworth
Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth at 12:55 PM | Permalink
June 18, 2008
It has been an open secret for quite some time: with skyrocketing gas prices, small, fuel efficient cars – new and used – are all the rage.
And as for hybrids, forget about it. As my colleage Bruce Miranda found out in his search for a Toyota Prius, the few used ones entering the market are snapped up right away and buying a new one means a wait of two to three months.
So credit local auto dealer Ernie Boch for having the foresight to see where gas prices were going and the moxie to buy up some $2 million’s worth of small Hondas from dealers around the nation, according to Automotive News.
“We could see it coming,” he told the authoritive industry trade paper of the run on small, fuel efficient cars.
As a result, sales at Boch’s Honda dealership in Norwood, Mass., which is the top-selling Honda store in the nation, are “brisk” while many other dealerships are staring at clogged lots and little foot traffic.
“Civics are going like crazy,” Boch is quoted as saying below a front-page photo of him leaning out the front window of a Civic with a big grin and a thumbs up.
- Peter C.T. Elsworth
Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth at 12:14 PM | Permalink
March 26, 2008
JOHNSTON — A Mack Truck dealership — Ballard Truck Center — has negotiated a tentative land agreement that would allow it to move into the town’s industrial park on Shun Pike, according to Mayor Joseph M. Polisena, reports The Providence Journal.
Apparently, Mack likes the idea of being neighbors with A. Duie Pyle and FedEx. The basic idea is to provide service to the two trucking companies, Polisena said.
“They feel very good about coming,” Polisena told the Town Council at a recent meeting. “It’s almost like an ice cream shop opening across the street from a playground.”
The dealership has a tentative purchase and sales agreement with the overseer of the Shun Pike industrial park, the Rhode Island Resource Recovery Corporation, Polisena said.
At present, Ballard Truck Center is operating in Worcester, Mass., and in Coventry at 80 Centre of New England Blvd.
Once it moves into the local park, Mack would sell Mack trucks, as well as parts for the big rigs. It would have a service department for repairs, Polisena said.
Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth at 10:42 AM | Permalink
February 22, 2008
JOHNSTON — The town has headed off a potential legal battle with two local auto dealers who had hoped to avoid paying property taxes on their Hartford Avenue buildings over the next 10 years, according to The Providence Journal.
After filing legal claims last year, the dealerships have agreed to forego the litigation and the town has agreed to permit the tax breaks over a five-year period, a town lawyer said yesterday.
Both Chris S. Hurd, of Hurd Hummer, and Michael Grieco Sr., of Metro Honda, had negotiated 10-year tax treaties with the administration of Mayor William R. Macera and the Town Council.
Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth at 1:07 PM | Permalink
May 22, 2007
After 38 years of being locally owned, Anderson Chrysler Jeep on Pleasant Street, Attleboro, Mass., is being sold to Tarbox Motors of North Kingstown, according to the Sun Chronicle. Tarbox will take over the business tomorrow, and will retain the 30 employees who work there.
The reason for the sale, General Manager Gerry Farinelli, 66, said, is that "some of us are getting old. We want to enjoy other pleasures in life."
Posted by at 2:16 PM | Permalink
