Rose Chevrolet, a Hamilton dealership, said it is among those pursuing arbitration. Hearings are to take place from late February until mid-June, with arbitrators required to issue their rulings within seven days of hearings. The decisions are binding on both the dealer and the automaker, said India Johnson, a senior vice president of the American Arbitration Association.
Some longstanding dealerships, including Harmon Cadillac of Dayton and Salem Chrysler Jeep of Trotwood, have closed. Others are adjusting to GM’s decision to close or sell its Saab, Pontiac, Saturn and Hummer brands.
The former Saturn dealership at 995 Miamisburg-Centerville Road now operates as Subaru of Dayton. Another dealership at 8560 Old Troy Pike has become a Kia franchise, operating as Kia of Dayton.
Miami County’s largest new and used car dealership, Arbogast Buick Pontiac GMC in Tipp City, is losing its Pontiac franchise, which had accounted for nearly 50 percent of the dealership’s new car sales. Dave Arbogast, the dealership’s owner and president, said the dealership sold its last Pontiac in late December, thanks to aggressive rebating by GM.
GM expects to roll out several new Buick models. As a result, Arbogast said he hopes to recover about half of the lost new-car sales through the dealership’s remaining Buick and GMC franchises. By 2012-13, he expects the dealership to offer the same number of models through two franchises instead of three.
Some dealers have reported improved sales as the economy begins to show at least modest signs of recovery.
CarMax, a national seller of used cars, still plans to open its store in West Carrollton in late June, said Elia Imler, a spokeswoman for the Richmond, Va.-based dealer. The chain likely will set up a hiring center for the facility in May, she said.
Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2242 or jnolan@DaytonDailyNews.com.
About the Author