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Bailout dealership cuts did their job as profits surge

Almost five years after US taxpayers bailed out General Motors and Chrysler, a large majority of their slimmed-down dealership networks are posting soaring profits, Bloomberg reports, and contributing to the US auto industry on track this year to deliver 15.4 million vehicles, the most since 16.15 million were delivered in 2007.
Consider another important figure: Bloomberg says that more than 90 percent of GM dealerships are profitable, compared to about half of them in 2008 and 2009. At the start of 2013, GM had 4,355 US dealerships and Chrysler had about 2,600. Compare that with just a few years ago, when GM had 6,246 dealers in 2008, while Chrysler had 3,200 in 2009.
As part of their bankruptcy restructuring, both GM and Chrysler decided that their retail networks contained far too many dealerships and insisted that they be slimmed down. The resultant dealership terminations followed by a rebounding auto market - in part due to better new GM and Chrysler vehicles - have increased the number of sales per dealership to record levels. Many dealers are taking advantage of increasing profits and investing in facility renovations and updates, such as Chrysler dealership owner David Kelleher. He's spending $2 million to expand his store.

Stellantis and Foxconn will announce a strategic partnership on Tuesday

MILAN — Automaker Stellantis and iPhone assembler Foxconn said on Monday they would announce a strategic partnership on Tuesday. Last year, then-Fiat Chrysler, now part of Stellantis, said it planned to set up a joint venture with Hon Hai Precision Industry, Foxconn's parent company, to build electric cars and develop internet-connected vehicles in China. Fiat Chrysler merged with France's Peugeot maker PSA at the beginning of the year to create Stellantis, the world's fourth-largest carmaker, and relaunching in China is one of its main goals. The two companies will hold a conference call on Tuesday to present the partnership, with Stellantis Chief Executive Carlos Tavares and Foxconn Chairman Young Liu among others, the groups said in a joint statement. In January Taiwan's Foxconn and China's Zhejiang Geely Holding Group said they were joining hands to provide contract manufacturing for automakers. They have said they were in talks to provide contract manufacturing services to electric vehicle maker Faraday Future, while Foxconn will also help building electric sport-utility vehicles in 2022 for Chinese startup Byton. And last week, Fisker Automotive signed with Foxconn to build an electric car at a factory in the United States. Related video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. 2021 Jeep Wrangler 4xe plug-in hybrid powertrain feature walkthrough | Autoblog

Chrysler 'at war' with world's largest Viper club?

The situation was bound to boil over at some point. Grumblings from former and current members of the Viper Club of America, and letters sent from Chrysler to VCA president Lee Stubberfield, allege that the non-profit club is being run illegally as a for-profit business, Jalopnik reports.
The trouble reportedly started in 2007, when VCA member and former club national president Chris Marshall is alleged to have taken a paid position at the club courtesy of the acting board members at the time. By 2010, with the demise of the Dodge Viper looming, the VCA reportedly made a deal with Chrysler to to acquire a stash of old parts and tooling for the Viper. The stash would then be sold by the newly formed Viper Parts of America, a company that was supposed to be run by Marshall, Jalopnik reports.
This sounds like shady business to us - at the very least a conflict of interest. And it's said that the VCA will not hesitate to suspend - for a year or more - the memberships of those who oppose it.