Chrysler-Fiat , Project Genesis

Welcome Back avid blog readers,

A many already know, Chrysler has filed for bankruptcy and just recently terminated close to 800 of their Dealerships across the USA. Here is a link of all of the Chrysler Dodge Jeep Dealers that were rejected…

List of Closed Chrysler Dealers

The actions to slash hundreds of dealers would eliminate 25% of Chrysler’s dealerships across the country and cut 14% of the company’s sales volume. These cuts will also allow Chrysler to consolidate their three brands Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep at many of the remaining dealerships. Currently, all three brands are sold at 62% of the dealerships. Once the consolidation is complete all three brands will be available at 84% of the dealerships.

In assessing Chrysler’s viability, the Treasury Department found the automaker could not survive as a stand-alone company. Chrysler had already been in discussions with Fiat about a partnership. The current plan calls for Fiat to assist Chrysler by providing engineering for small and midsized cars.

Chrysler said in its filing that dealers are not competitive enough with foreign brands. Chrysler sold an average of 303 vehicles per dealer in 2008, according to its filing. By contrast, Honda Motor Co. sold about 1,200 vehicles per dealer, while Toyota Motor Corp. sold nearly 1,300 per dealer.

Chrysler Reconstructing Plan FAQ’s

From a personal point of view, coming from a Parts Advisor in what is now called a “Tri-Branded” Dealership… Even though the Dealership I work in was safe from being terminated, we all still have a 90 day window before another closing announcement is made. By we, I mean all of those Dealers that breathed a sigh of relief on Thursday. This was just “Round 1″ of the elimination process.

The way I see it, Chrysler has said that they want all 3 brands under 1 roof as to eliminate competition amongst themselves. So how is it, there are still 5 Dealerships standing in an 8 mile radius. The franchise I work for owns 3 of the 5 in the area. I happen to work in the only Dodge Chrysler Jeep store, while the other 2 are Chrysler/Jeep. The remaining 2 Dealerships just have Dodge under their roof. Even though it looks like Western Massachusetts lucked out in “Round 1″, I have a feeling that we’ll see at least 2 more stores closing in the near future.

I remain optimistic with the Chrysler- Fiat partnership, also known as Project Genesis. Click here to see what Chrysler has in store for 2010/2011. The New Chrysler

It’s not the “END” for Chrysler, it’s just time for something NEW!

April 27th- May 4th

Welcome Back,

The last week for me has been a busy one. I made the drive up to Canada last Sunday to spend the night with James and we drove back down on Monday. Finally after 2 years I was able to spend his birthday with him! With that said I wanted to do my best to make it as memorable as possible. Luckily the Circus was going to be in town the weekend after his birthday… Knowing that James has never been to the Circus, I didn’t waste any time buying 2 tickets online.

Yesterday was the last day and we attended the last showing at 4:30pm. There were plenty of clowns including Bello Knock, who was just delightful to watch. There were many great family “acts” who put on a great performance as well. Of course the Circus experience is never complete unless you wait in the long line for 2 foot long hot dogs and 1 soda. Which really was a treat for James, as we were working our way through the crowd during the intermission, the Tigers were being brought in and he’s never been that close or seen a tiger before… With that said he was happy to go back through the crowd and exchange our soda… We asked for Sprite and got Club soda instead. That gave him a chance to walk passed the Tigers again and he even brought back 2 boxes of popcorn :) All in all we had a great time, all the better knowing James enjoyed his first Circus experience!

On another note… referring back to my last blog entry. I just called Persels and canceled my plan with them. of course they tried to sweet talk me into a “different” plan that would pay my creditors each month, but I declined. The lady I spoke with said that the plan would be canceled as of today and that the payment scheduled for the 17th would NOT be taken out. In fact the $33.20 held in “my account” would be returned to me with in 2 weeks and she waived the $150.00 termination fee!

From this point on, I guess I’ll be handling my debts and paying them what I can afford each month… I should probably call my bank and make sure nothing shady happens and let them know that Persels is NOT to take any money out.

Moving right along…

I also called the doctor today and scheduled my Immigration Medical Exam… A part of me is excited while the other part of me is dreading the whole thing…

After talking with James last night, we may try to make a weekend get away out of it… The last time we went to Boston and came across a hotel that had a restaurant inside. Let me tell you, OMG! they served the BEST burgers we have ever had… So now it’s a must! Anytime we go to Boston, we have to stop in and experience that delicious sirloin burger. Now comes the task of figuring out where the doctor’s office is, and how far from the Science Museum is (as the Best burger ever is just around the corner).

As for today, well I have a few things I have to tend too… Such as getting my finger prints done AGAIN! Yes again, as I received the FBI package the other day and their computer could not read my finger prints. At least they waived the processing fee and also sent 2 more cards. I also have to get laundry done and stop at the grocery store for the usual touch up shopping… Things are coming together… Not as fast as I would like, but at least they are moving forward.

Getting the medical exam and those finger prints are the last things we really need to get out of the way before turning in our paperwork. Once that’s done and the paperwork is in…. We wait for an answer and hope that there are no more hoops to jump through.

Seems I’ve rambled on long enough… It’s already 11am and I should get started on my day…