‘Black Wednesday’ for seven

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 22/05/2009 (5951 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Two of Winnipeg’s oldest Pontiac dealerships and at least five other rural Manitoba dealers were among the casualties in Wednesday’s dealership purge by General Motors Canada.

Bruce Giesbrecht, president of the Manitoba Motor Dealers Association and owner of Giesbrecht & Sons GM in Gimli, called it "Black Wednesday" for GM dealers.

"It was probably the worst day I have spent at work in 32 years. I felt like getting sick all day," he said in an interview Thursday. "They may have been competitors but they were all personal friends."

"The worst thing is that all these dealers that went were all such huge community supporters," he added. "Everyone goes to car dealers for everything and anything — charities, events, vehicles. Now they will be gone."

GM has refused to release the names of the estimated 245 dealers that received letters Wednesday saying their sales and service agreements with the automaker will not be renewed when they expire at the end of October 2010. So it’s been difficult to determine how many of its 33 Manitoba outlets have been affected.

The seven dealers who confirmed Thursday they were on the list include Birchwood Pontiac Buick GMC and Park Pontiac Buick GMC in Winnipeg, one of Brandon’s two GM dealers (Fowler Pontiac Buick GMC), and four in rural centres.

But while their GM signage will be disappearing, five of the seven vowed Thursday to reinvent themselves and remain in business.

"I told my employees in six months it won’t be Birchwood GM on the door, but it will be Birchwood something," Birchwood Automotive Group president Steve Chipman said. "We have a building we have to find a use for."

Birchwood has eight other dealerships in Winnipeg, including a Kia store that was just converted from Saturn, which is also being divested by GM. Chipman said the Birchwood group has experience in winding down dealerships and plenty of experience in acquiring others.

"As my father always told me for every challenge there is an opportunity," he said. "There are other brands out there."

That’s the approach the Dveris family is taking with Park Pontiac, the firm probably best known for its former "Wicked!" advertising slogan.

"We have too much invested here not to stay in business," vice-president Jeff Dveris said, adding he’s already looking for another auto manufacturer to hook up with. And if he can’t find one, the company will focus on selling pre-owned vehicles and doing repair and maintenance work.

He said GM Canada has offered to buy out the family’s dealership if it agrees to wind down its operation by the end of this year. It has until early next week to decide whether to accept the offer or stick it out until October 2010.

"I think the key point here is to make the public aware that we’re still in business," he said. "We’re still a GM dealer and we still have all the warranties and everything."

Fowler Pontiac Buick GM general sales manager Rob Fowler said it’s received a similar offer.

He said the Brandon dealership, which has been in operation for 27 years, will consult with its lawyers before deciding the dealership’s future.

But until then, it will be business as usual for both the dealership’s staff and their customers, he added.

Chad Gillis, of Gillis Service Garage of Elie, said he expects to keep his family’s 72 year-old GM dealership open until the end of this year and sell off the 100 cars it has in inventory. Then they’ll convert it to a pre-owned car dealership and service centre, which he hopes will enable them to retain their 20 employees.

Mark Thiessen, who owns the 47 year-old Rosenort Motors in Rosenort, also intends to stay open and serve the local market in other ways. He said he understands GM might have singled out his dealership since their market was shrinking even though they still had some decent years.

"We had already diversified into recreational vehicles and agricultural equipment and used cars and trucks," he said. "At this point I think we will be able to retain our 15 employees."

The Winnipeg-based firm that owns Manitoba’s largest GM dealer network — The Murray Group — escaped largely unscathed.

All but one of its 20 GM dealerships in Canada, including all six in Manitoba, will be retained by GM, company president Dan Murray said Thursday.

Murray said it’s a relief, but he’s saddened to hear that at least seven other Manitoba dealers weren’t so lucky.

"I’ve grown up in this business. I know a lot of these guys and I know a lot of their staff. So I really feel for them."

Those sentiments were echoed by Jim Gauthier, whose two Winnipeg GM stores also survived the purge.

"All of these dealers were personal friends. We went on trips together and we knew their kids, so it’s a shame," Gauthier said.

Many dealers who received termination notices suspect they were targeted is because they were Pontiac-Buick specialists. GM is phasing out the Pontiac brand next year.

Chipman said Pontiac vehicles accounted for about half the sales for most Pontiac-Buick specialists, "so you only need half the dealers (once Pontiac is gone)."

 

— with files from the Brandon Sun

murray.mcneill@freepress.mb.ca martin.cash@freepress.mb.ca