A Santa Maria Chrysler dealership can heave a huge sigh of relief after being notified earlier this month that it will not be listed among the nearly 800 national dealers slated for closure in June.
Bruce Porter, co-owner of Iverson Motors Chrysler Jeep and Dodge dealership in Santa Maria, said he is “very happy” to be staying in business.
“We’ve been here over 50 years and we’d like to be here another 50,” he said.
Porter and his partner Alan Claycamp received a letter on May 14 informing them that their contract had been renewed.
“It’s been nerve-wracking,” Porter said. “We’ve known we’d be hearing from [Chrysler] for the last several weeks but we didn’t know if we’d be accepted or rejected.”
Some of the Central Coast dealers weren’t as lucky, however,
Three tri-county dealers—Kirby Oldsmobile-Jeep-Eagle-Suzuki in Ventura, Ted Miles Jeep in Atascadero, and Perry Ford Lincoln-Mercury Jeep in San Luis Obispo—will lose their franchise agreements in June.
This article appears in May 21-28, 2009.