MENU
SEARCH
Colleen McDonald of Northville won one arbitration case to reopen her Livonia Chrysler-Jeep dealership, but lost her bid to reopen Century Dodge in Taylor, the Detroit Free Press reported.
“It’s bittersweet,” McDonald said today after learning of arbitrator Tracy Allen’s split decision. “I am excited about winning one, but I though we could win both of them.”
McDonald becomes the third former Chrysler dealer to prevail through arbitration. The other two are Bill Hahn of Village Chrysler-Jeep in Royal Oak and Bruce Campbell, who plans to reopen his Dodge showroom in Redford Township.
The only woman owner of a Chrysler, Jeep or Dodge franchise in metro Detroit, was among the 789 dealers Chrysler terminated in June as part of its government-backed restructuring. She also had closed a Chevrolet dealership in Farmington Hills.
She said she employed about 125 people between her Chrysler-Jeep and Dodge businesses. Initially she plans to hire between 40 and 50 to reopen Livonia Chrysler-Jeep on Plymouth Road to get sales and service departments up and running.
Chrysler said that of 418 arbitration cases initiated, more than 125 were dismissed or withdrawn and 150 were settled. Of 97 arbitrators’ decisions rendered so far Chrysler prevailed in 69 cases, dealers won 28. Nine decisions are pending, including that of Joe Ricci, whose Dodge dealership in Dearborn has closed. Only one case has yet to be heard.
“The decisions of a great majority of the arbitrators validate that our dealer network plans are not only appropriate, but essential to Chrysler's future success,” the company said in a statement.
From 3,200 dealers before it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on April 30, 2009, Chrysler now has 2,315 dealers, said spokesman Mike Palese. The automaker intends to have 2,300, each selling Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep and Ram truck models by the end of 2011.
The American Arbitration Association has said it wants to resolve all Chrysler dealer arbitrations by the end of July.
Wholesale auto conversion rates dropped slightly as auction buyers proved picky last week, analysts observed.
Read More →
Fast charging of electric vehicles provides a solution for range anxiety, but it also poses a risk to battery cycle life due to increased temperatures, according to an EV supply chain data provider.
Read More →
Expanding Midwest automotive group picks up three stores as part of the robust transaction activity early this year.
Read More →
Stellantis is adding a third end-of-life vehicle dismantling facility to feed its growing reuse business sparked in large part by autos’ growing lifespans.
Read More →
Cox Automotive data shows Americans doubled down on big-is-better despite price increases. Slightly higher incentives helped fuel the demand.
Read More →
The automaker says its movement of some electric-vehicle work to the S.C. factory is part of a more tailored product focus. It also plans to add a new hybrid model to the plant’s itinerary.
Read More →
Last week's wholesale automotive auction activity continued in a healthy mode, though buyers practiced selectivity.
Read More →
CarGurus’ first quarterly review of 2026 shows that affordability concerns are continuing to drive consumer purchases with a shift to more fuel-efficient options.
Read More →
JD Power analysts see auto retail faring this year’s storms well through various means, though it acknowledges conditions are challenging to accurately predict.
Read More →
Car insurance premiums have continued to decline so far this year, the overall national average settling at $138 per month in March, according to Insurify data.
Read More →