Even though Chrysler LLC's sale to Fiat SpA has been stalled (see story in The Deal Pipeline), dealerships have begun closing up shop. The Detroit automaker is ending franchise agreements with 789 dealers Tuesday. Chrysler is allowing the dealers until June 15 to transfer unsold inventory to its remaining dealers and has announced it will not send new inventory or guarantee warranty protection for the vehicles sold.
Some dealerships the automaker is cutting off contracts with plan to revamp their businesses. Wichita, Kan.'s Steven Chrysler Jeep Dodge will become a used-car dealership and an auto parts store, according to The Wichita Eagle. Other dealerships such as Millerstown, Pa.'s Millerstown Chrysler will sell used cars in order to stay in business, according to MSNBC.
However, many dealerships see no other option but to shut down, as USA Today notes:
" 'I have a Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep dealership with no cars. I can't go
forward with this business plan,' says Howard Sellz, who has been in
the car business 44 years and runs Big Valley Dodge -- now just three
acres of empty lots in the Los Angeles suburb of Van Nuys. His office
is filled with decades of photos showing him with famous customers and
friends such as Jay Leno, Chuck Connors, Sandy Koufax and Frank Sinatra."
The full list of dealerships being shuttered is below. For more check out a video on The Huffington Post. - Maria Woehr
Even though Chrysler LLC's sale to Fiat SpA has been stalled (see story in The Deal Pipeline), dealerships have begun closing up shop. The Detroit automaker is ending franchise agreements with 789 dealers Tuesday. Chrysler is allowing the dealers until June 15 to transfer unsold inventory to its remaining dealers and has announced it will not send new inventory or guarantee warranty protection for the vehicles sold. 
