Chrysler dealers happy about halt in GM merger talks

Chrysler dealers aren’t celebrating much with sales falling 35 percent Oct. However, dealers were glad to learn on that GM had called off talks with Cerberus Capital Management for a possible acquisition of Chrysler.

“Being with GM would have been like being an adopted stepchild,” Chuck Fortinberry, owner of Clarkston Chrysler-Jeep in Clarkston, Mich. told Automotive News. “We’re better off if we can get through this on our own than if we get sucked into a big conglomerate.”

Chrysler dealers favor an industry bailout to survive rather than merging with another rival. Nonetheless, Rick Wagoner was clear that he didn’t want to kill the possibility of a GM/Chrysler future. The GM CEO said: “We’ve set aside such (acquisition) actions as a near-term priority.”

Nonetheless, Chrysler dealers will be disappointed to know that Cerberus is also looking to restart talks with Renault/Nissan and has also talked to Korean automaker Hyundai.