PITTSBURGH -- Chrysler has told a bankruptcy court it plans to eliminate 789 of its dealers -- about 25 percent of them -- across the country as part of its restructuring process.
Several of those locations are in the Pittsburgh area and throughout western Pennsylvania. Here is the list:
- Day Baum Boulevard Dodge, Pittsburgh (Friendship)
- Hollern and Sons Dodge, Windber
- Beckman Motor Co., Mount Oliver
- Burgunder Motors, South Fayette
- Century III Dodge, Pleasant Hills
- Corwin Chrysler Jeep, Hickory
- Golick Chrysler-Jeep, Pitcairn
- Graft Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep, Scottdale
- Kalmar Motor Sales, Leechburg
- Krebs Chrysler Jeep, Shaler
- Krebs Dodge, Richland Township
- Lieberth and Sons Dodge, Oakmont
- Graham Colonial Motors, Ligonier
- Saylor Motor, Somerset
- Tomsic Motor Company, Washington
- Town and Country Chrysler Dodge, Ligonier
- Verona Jeep, Penn Hills
- Wright Automotive Group, Pine Township
- Nationwide List Of Dealerships Targeted For Closing (PDF)
The dealerships likely will have a right to appeal to get off the list. Also, some of them do business with other car brands and they may stay open and continue to sell those other models regardless of the court's decision on Chrysler.
Photo Slideshow: Which Cars Killed Chrysler?We want to hear from you. Please comment on this story in the "Comments" box at the bottom of the page. Corwin Chrysler Jeep is one of the oldest -- if not the oldest -- Jeep dealers in the country.
"It's hard, because you never thought it would come to the day where you just get tossed aside like an oily rag," owner Bo Corwin said.
Other notable dealers on the list include Burgunder Dodge, a family business of more than 85 years that was severely damaged by Hurricane Ivan flooding in 2004, and Graham Colonial Motors, where police say the cash-strapped owner suffered a fatal heart attack two months ago as he set fire to cars on his lot.
According to a 2005 study, new car dealers in the greater Pittsburgh region employed more than 21,000 workers and paid more than $300 million in state and local taxes.
"It's a very sinking feeling to put your whole life into something and then determine, to a big part, whether you go forward or whether you stop. It's very difficult," Corwin said.
President Barack Obama's Auto Task Force backed Chrysler as it crafted the restructuring plan, which the U.S. Treasury Department said will avoid liquidation and allow the company to keep 75 percent of its 3,200 dealers.
The president's task force was not involved in the specific design of Chrysler's plan and did not help decide which dealers would be cut, according to the Treasury Department.
"We understand that this rationalization will be difficult on the dealers that will no longer be selling Chrysler cars and on the communities in which they operate. However, the sacrifices by the dealer community -- alongside those of auto workers, suppliers, creditors, and other Chrysler stakeholders -- are necessary for this company and the industry to succeed. And a stronger Chrysler, supported by an efficient and effective dealer network, will provide more stability for current employees and the prospect for future employment growth," the Treasury Department said in a statement.
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