When General Motors announced the completion of the dealer arbitration process last week, it most likely hoped that the rather unpleasant trimming operation was a thing of the past. Alas, that’s not the case, since Rally Auto Group of Palmdale, California is not giving up without a fight.
Before GM’s decision to decrease its dealer count by nearly 2,000 stores, Rally carried The General’s Chevrolet, Cadillac, Buick, Pontiac, and GMC brands. However, the arbiter in Rally’s case decided to give its Chevy franchise to a nearby Saturn store, allowing Rally to continue selling the Cadillac, Buick, and GMC brands.
According to Rally, the arbiter erred in splitting the franchises: under the dealer arbitration law passed by Congress last year, the judge should have either kept the whole dealership intact or ordered the entire operation to be closed completely.
As of this writing, Rally Auto Group is the only GM dealer to sue in the aftermath of the dealer arbitration process. You can bet we’ll be following this one closely.
[Source: Automotive News (sub. req.) via Autoblog]
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