"The fact that I did not submit arbitration eliminated me from the possibility of getting it back," said Brown. "So this is really totally my mistake by not seeking arbitration."
Catherine Clifford, -
CNN - March 11, 2010
This ought to get interesting --Ed.
The 661 axed auto dealers General Motors is offering to reinstate aren't ready to pop the champagne just yet. They're still waiting to find out about the terms they'll have to meet to regain their franchises.
"Initially, we were excited," said Howard Braunstein, CEO of M&M Auto Group in Liberty, N.Y. "However, I am concerned that GM's offer for reinstatement will mandate requirements that will be difficult or impossible for many dealers to meet, especially in the 60-day timeframe we were given."
GM and Chrysler used their bankruptcy proceedings last spring to thin their dealer ranks and together targeted nearly 3,000 franchises for termination. But many dealers fought back, and Congress ordered the automakers to enter arbitration with dealers who wanted to appeal.
More than half of those eligible did so. On Friday, GM announced a change of heart and said it would reinstate hundreds of those who filed for arbitration.
Braunstein's dad, M&M Auto Group's principal, got a phone call from a GM representative that day indicating that their dealership had been selected. Now, nearly a week later, they're eager to hear more about the terms of the deal. GM plans to begin sending out letters on Friday, according to a company spokesman.
Kossman's Inc., a GM dealership in Cleveland, Miss., is in the same wait-and-see mode. They too got a Friday phone call offering reinstatement, but until they get a look at the written details, they're not sure what to think....
[Read More]
Linear Mode
