Seven Tampa Bay Chrysler dealerships on the bankruptcy-closing list; Congressman Vern Buchanan affected
May 15, 2009 at 6:37 am by Wayne Garcia
The shockwaves from the government-labor takeover at Chrysler is reverberating in the Tampa Bay area, as seven dealerships are set to be closed as part of nearly 800 dealer closings across the nation.
The local dealerships are:
Venice Nissan Dodge
Bob Boast Dodge, Bradenton
Tarpon Springs Dodge
Winter Park Dodge
Regal Pontiac Jeep, Lakeland
Sarasota Chrysler
St. Pete Jeep Chrysler Plymouth
(UPDATE: A seventh Chrysler-related Bay area dealership, Fitzgerald Countryside Jeep, is also on the closing list.)
Here’s the political angle: Republican Congressman Vern Buchanan has one of his dealerships on the block, and he’s not happy about it. Michael Hinman of The Business Journal reports:
Hours after Chrysler LLC asked a bankruptcy judge to let it part ways with nearly 800 dealerships nationally; one of the owners of the affected dealerships is utilizing his soapbox to protest it.
U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan, R-Longboat Key, called the dealership closings “arbitrary” and would do nothing to make car manufacturers more viable financially.
“Last year, I opposed the auto bailout bill before Congress because the automakers failed to develop a restructuring plan,” Buchanan said in a statement. “Now instead of a responsible plan to address the industry’s core economic problems, the automakers are arbitrarily closing hundreds, and possibly thousands of dealerships across the country.”
