Silicon Valley HUMMER dealership closes ... for now
The anti-icon of the green transportation movement is about to lose a sales outlet in the home of the American high-tech industry. With sales of HUMMERs down 22 percent in 2007 and gas prices well on their way to $4/gallon and more it's understandable that a dealer might be reluctant to spend several million dollars on a new showroom and off-road test track. Ron Battistella, owner of Silicon Valley HUMMER, stopped selling new vehicles early this month and will shut down the service department at the end of March after GM decided to take back his franchise. Even though Battistella won't be selling the big SUVs anymore, the area likely won't be without their military poseur fix for long. There are several other GM dealers in the area, one of whom will likely take over the franchise soon. The question is will any other dealer be willing to invest the money in the kind of dealership that GM wants.
[Source: San Jose Mercury News, thanks to Steve for the tip]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Peekoyle 10:06AM (3/12/2008)
'Bummer' lol
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Tim 10:47AM (3/12/2008)
For GM to take back the franchise, there is much more to this story than is being reported here.
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1985 Gripen 11:40AM (3/12/2008)
General Motors has discovered they have WAY too many dealers in the U.S. What they're doing is trying to consolidate Cadillac, HUMMER, and Saab, what they consider their "premium" brands, into a single dealership. This is happening nationwide.
For example, Saab of Santa Monica (California) was closed-down and opened as Saab of Beverly Hills at a nearby existing Cadillac dealer.
GM feels the customers of these three brands don't cross-shop and aren't likely to cannibalize each-other's sales.
Even if gasoline sells for more than $4 a gallon the kind of people who drive HUMMERS do so for the image of excess. They'll happily fill their HUMMERS with $4 gasoline while showing off how much money they have to burn.
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why not the LS2/LS7? 3:47PM (3/12/2008)
I'm sure part of it is GM wants dealers to remake their dealership with these fancy quonset hut buildings. Dealers are probably reticent to spend this money at a time when HUMMER sales are dropping. Besides, the buildings aren't even an asset, since if you close the dealership (or move), the new owner of the land wouldn't really be able to reuse the building.
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Carlos Ferreira 4:11PM (3/12/2008)
I see 2 advantages in this move: first, they make their cars more scarce, increasing their perceived value. It will be harder to buy a HUMMER in the area, so people will want them some more.
Second, the image of GM won't be hurting by closing a dealer in California, which sounds a lot like the place you want to look green and concerned.
So, it looks like a good move1
Carlos Ferreira
http://www.greencarvalue.blogspot.com
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Wildgoosechase73 5:03PM (3/12/2008)
I wonder what will replace it? Mahindra & Mahindra will be importing trucks from India by the end of the year, and several Chinese automakers will enter the US market soon.
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jim 5:50PM (3/13/2008)
Here is a nice relevant site....
http://www.fuh2.com/
good riddance
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