Don Ledford retaining GM franchises

CLEVELAND, Tenn. - Don Ledford Automotive Center employees cheered and applauded at the news the dealership would retain its Buick, GMC and Cadillac franchises.

The Tuesday afternoon announcement was made by Debbie Ledford Melton, general manager and partner; Don Ledford Sr., founder and partner, and GM.

"Customer support was a big part of our success, and we will not forget that as we move forward and give our customers the very best in product and customer service," Ms. Melton said.

A banner announcing "A New Beginning" was unfurled across the front of the showroom building.

"It has been a very hectic few months, but the support has been overwhelming and it has kept me focused and ready to move forward," Ms. Melton said. "It has also given me time to develop a business plan that will give Don Ledford Automotive Center a new dimension when it comes to vehicle selection and service."

Mr. Ledford said the business he started nearly three decades ago received customer support from across the region, including North Georgia and western North Carolina.

"It was overwhelming," he said.

The Ledford announcement came on the heels of news that the Kelly Auto Group, a GM dealer for 71 years, had settled with GM and would not retain its GMC and Cadillac franchises.

According to owner Tim Kelly, the franchises instead will go to Brent Morgan's Saturn of Chattanooga dealership on International Drive, which will be renamed Integrity Automotive Group.

"I'm happy for the Ledfords, but part of the business plan for making Cadillac viable was having a reduced dealer count, so I don't regret our decision to settle with GM in the least," Mr. Kelly said.

The 30-year-old Ledford dealership was among a few thousand across the nation notified in the summer of 2009 that they would lose their GM franchise.

About 2,000 dealers received wind-down agreements, of which 1,300 were complete wind-downs, ending with the closure of the dealership, according to GM spokeswoman Ryndee Carney. Seven hundred were partial wind-downs in which some brands were left intact, she said.

Of those, about 1,160 dealerships filed congressionally mandated arbitration claims, to which GM responded by sending franchise agreement renewals to 661 dealers, she said. The Ledford and Kelly dealerships, along with Chattanooga's Herb Adcox Chevrolet, which also was slated to close, filed arbitration claims.

"When we looked at which dealerships to send letters of intent to, we looked at each case through the eyes that we knew the arbitrators would be looking through," Ms. Carney said. "The arbitrators were asked to balance the needs of the manufacturer, the needs of the dealer, and the needs of the public, so we knew that we needed to look at each case and try to balance those points of view."

Herb Adcox Chevrolet still is in arbitration, according to owner Herb Adcox. He said Tuesday that he hasn't heard anything from GM "for weeks" and was unable to comment on the state of negotiations due to a non-disclosure agreement.

Courtesy Sales and Service in Dalton, Ga., also lost its franchise in the first round of cuts after Chrysler's government bailout in early 2009, but chose not to pursue arbitration, according to manager Floyd Bell.

"We haven't thought about it at all," he told the Times Free Press in January.

He also expressed displeasure with Chrysler, saying that, after giving the dealership a week's notice of its franchise revocation, Chrysler charged his company to haul unsold vehicles from the lot.

He switched to selling only used cars but shut down shortly thereafter, according to surrounding dealerships. A recording at the phone number of Courtesy Sales said it had been disconnected, and Mr. Bell could not be reached Tuesday for comment.

In Cleveland, the 2009 announcement that the Ledford dealership might close brought city and county officials to the company's side, while a customer rally drew hundreds of people.

Thousands more, including customers from counties in the region, signed a petition, asking GM to save the dealership. Local and state government officials sent supportive e-mails and video endorsements to GM.

With its future intact, the dealership will begin a re-design for its lot and showroom in the near future, Ms. Melton said. She unveiled a drawing of how the new dealership showroom front will look.

Cleveland Mayor Tom Rowland said the auto group "has meant a lot to our community."

"It means a lot to our economy," he said. "We are glad GM recognizes that Cleveland is a viable market for their products."

County Mayor D. Gary Davis said he heard that the dealership had been spared Tuesday morning.

"I'm glad we will still be able to buy General Motors products here in Cleveland and Bradley County," Mr. Davis said.

After the announcement that the dealership was scheduled to close, GM stopped all shipments of new vehicles to it. The dealership expects new vehicles to begin arriving over the next few weeks, Ms. Melton said.

Continue reading by following this link to a related story.

Video: Axed by GM, Ledford dealership asks residents to plead case.

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