http://directorblue.blogspot.com/ Item 1: Using the list of all 789 dealerships to be closed, WND found that owners contributed $450,000 to GOP presidential candidates; $7,970 to Sen. Hillary Clinton; $2,200 to John Edwards and $450 to Barack Obama. For the "progressives" out there, that's a 1000-to-1 ratio of GOP-to-Obama donations for closed dealerships. Item 2: Dealership conglomerate RLJ is owned by Democrat bigwigs Mack McLarty and Robert Johnson. RLJ magically happened to keep all six (6) of their dealerships while its competitors were shuttered. McLarty is a former Clinton chief-of-staff and Robert Johnson (founder of BET) is a major Democrat fundraiser. Item 3: Democratic donor Sidney Deboer is Chairman of Lithia Motors. He donated over $14,000 to Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY). Lithia Motors lost only two of its 29 dealerships while gaining as many as five additional ones in the resulting carnage. Item 4: White House car czar Steven Rattner is married to Maureen White, the former national finance chairman of the Democratic National Committee. And before Rattner became a major player on Wall Street, he was a New York Times reporter. Item 5: An anonymous source emails the following message: Simao, it turns out, is a major Democrat contributor. In the last election alone, he sent the maximum contribution ($4,600) to Hillary Clinton's campaign. A quick review of the Dealmaker Auto Group reveals the following, uhm, issues: * Watertown Daily Times: HSBC: dealer owes $10.2m: Lender says DealMaker Auto Group defaulted on loans, notes from 2006... A commercial lender is seeking a $10.2 million judgment against DealMaker Auto Group, claiming that the car dealership defaulted on a series of loans and notes provided in 2006. * Watertown Daily Times: DealMaker implements companywide procedural training: In the wake of an investigation by the state attorney general that cost the company $2 million in payments, DealMaker Auto Group has begun an aggressive training campaign to standardize and improve operating procedures at all seven dealerships... * Trading Markets: GMAC suit seeks DealMaker assets: The company that provides financing for vehicle inventory at DealMaker LLC's Seaway Chevrolet has begun action in state Supreme Court to take control of the business's assets after claiming it defaulted on a financing agreement. General Motors Acceptance Corp., Cranberry Township, Pa., filed its suit Wednesday at the Jefferson County Clerk's office against DealMaker, seeking a judgment of nearly $2.4 million. It claims, among other things, the Theresa dealership violated its wholesale floor-plan financing agreement. Well, that's precisely the kind of dealer that I'd keep open. If I were a Chicago pol trying to follow in the footsteps of Blago, that is. Paging Nate Gold... Nate Gold, over at 531.com: can you explain that data? ***Chirp*** ***Chirp*** ***Chirp**** Whoa, are those crickets chirping? And... check it out! Is that a bindle of tumbleweed rolling by? http://chryslerdealershipshutdown.blogspot.com/ Thursday, May 28, 2009 Robert Gibbs Press Conference (Chrysler Closings) From May 28th, 2009 (Washington, D.C.; Fox News): The White House denied Thursday charges by conservative bloggers that President Obama's Auto Task Force, which is overseeing the restructuring of the U.S. auto industry, targeted for closure Chrysler dealers who have contributed to Republicans. "We don't make those decisions. Ok?," said White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs. "Chrysler makes those decisions. So I am sure you can send Chrysler the address of the blog that you refer to. ... We're not involved in making those decisions I would think your question would be appropriately dealt with by the company that is." http://www.foxnews.com/politics/200...-task-force-playing-politics-chrysler-dealer/ NEW YORK, May 26 (Reuters) - A lawyer for Chrysler dealersfacing closure as part of the automaker's bankruptcy reorganization said on Tuesday he believes Chrysler executives do not support a plan to eliminate a quarter of its retail outlets. Lawyer Leonard Bellavia, of Bellavia Gentile & Associates, who represents some of the terminated dealers, said he deposed Chrysler President Jim Press on Tuesday and came away with the impression that Press did not support the plan. "It became clear to us that Chrysler does not see the wisdom of terminating 25 percent of its dealers," Bellavia said. "It really wasn't Chrysler's decision. They are under enormous pressure from the President's automotive task force." http://www.reuters.com/article/rbssConsumerGoodsAndRetailNews/idUSN2632731920090526 FYI...Here is a link to the members of the Obama Auto Task Force. http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5i7ORYP1a2TWJA9E71sPD6Iuasc9gD98EPH1G0 Posted by Joey Smith at 5:11 PM 1 comments Labels: Chrysler, Obama Auto Task Force, Robert Gibbs
