Even though Sorg South is targeted for elimination as part of Chrysler's bankruptcy proceedings, President Toby Sorg said Thursday the dealership will remain part of the community.
"Obviously, we're floored," Sorg said. "But we'll move on. We're going to be part of this community."Sorg said the dealership will remain open and will continue to service all its Chrysler customers.
"We're still around," Sorg said. "We'll be looking at other franchise opportunities."
Chrysler says it is seeking to close 789 dealerships by early next month. That's nearly 25 percent of its 3,200 U.S. dealerships. Chrysler says its dealer network is antiquated and has too many stores competing with each other.
The list of dealerships targeted for closure was released as part of Chrysler's ongoing federal bankruptcy proceedings.
Sorg said his dealership's appearance on the list caught him off guard.
"We're still finding out all the specifics, but our facility was above Chrysler standards. Our customer satisfaction numbers were high. We have a strong presence in the community. We were headed in the right direction. We just got the rug pulled out from under us," he said.
Sorg said the decision to eliminate his dealership was based mostly on "minimum sales responsibility" numbers.
Chrysler told Sorg that, based on the market, his dealership should have sold 220 new vehicles during 2008. The dealership sold 84. Sorg said the 220 MSR was high and doubted the dealership ever sold 220 new units per year - certainly not during a soft economy heading into a recession.
There is a process of appeal for dealerships targeted for elimination. Sorg said while he was looking into the possibility of an appeal, he wasn't highly optimistic that Chrysler would reverse its decision regarding Sorg South.
Some aspects of Chrysler's dealer network strategy had Sorg scratching his head. He noted that there will no longer be a Chrysler dealer in St. Joe County, yet there will be three in Elkhart County.
All three dealerships in Holland, Mich., were eliminated.
"I can't imagine them giving up on markets like that," Sorg said.
He felt the same way about Kosciusko County.
"I think people in this town need to let Chrysler know the mistake they've made," he said. "They've (Chrysler) truly underestimated this county."
