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Backseat Driver: Speedcraft closes Chrysler-Dodge dealership, keeps service department

Speedcraft has closed the Chrysler-Dodge new car and truck dealership next to its Volkswagen shop on Old Tower Hill Road in Wakefield, according to General Manager Harry Garabedian.

But it is keeping the service department open and will continue to sell pre-owned vehicles out of the location, he said.

"We have closed the Chrysler-Dodge (new car) dealership, but will continue to service Chrysler-Dodge cars with our factory trained technicians," he said.

"We're still selling pre-owned (vehicles) and still servicing our customers," he said. "But we are no longer selling new Chrysler-Dodge (vehicles)."

Meanwhile, Speedcraft's Volkswagen dealership has just had an extensive makeover and Garabedian and owner Lisa Lichtenfels are bullish about the new products the German auto maker is bringing in this year.

As we recently reported in a profile of the dealership, VW could rack up strong sales with its new vehicles, especially with its clean diesel technology which is due with the new Jetta range of sedans and wagons, starting in August.

However, Chrysler has been hard hit with the surge in gas prices, having only a limited number of small cars on its books. The company's sales have fallen nearly 20 percent so far this year compared with the first five months of 2007, including a drop of nearly 25 percent in May.

Garabedian declined to comment on Speedcraft's decision to shutter the Chrysler-Dodge dealership, but it is hard to believe that Chrysler's declining fortunes did not play a part.

Meanwhile, he said, Speedcraft is "always looking for other opportunities."

- Peter C.T. Elsworth

Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth  at 4:05 PM to Local dealerships | Permalink | Comments 0

Drivers slow down as costs accelerate

Some drivers across the nation apparently are cutting their speed slightly to squeeze more mileage out of $4-a-gallon gasoline, according to a USA Today review of preliminary state traffic data for the first five months of 2008.

Average speeds along some stretches of interstate highways were down in Tennessee, Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin and unchanged on others, electronic monitoring showed.

Of 20 states providing data on speeding citations issued by state troopers, the number of tickets was down in 13 states — Arkansas, California, Delaware, Iowa, Kentucky, Montana, Nevada, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Washington — and up in seven — Alabama, Connecticut, Idaho, Mississippi, New York, North Carolina and Ohio.

The state agencies emphasized that the data are preliminary and apply only to roads patrolled by state police.

Transportation experts and some law enforcement professionals caution that it's too soon to establish a link between gas prices and driving speeds.

Posted by Peter C. T. Elsworth  at 3:51 PM to Gas prices , Safety | Permalink | Comments 0