GM’s Reuss says dealer disputes a top priority

[NINETY EIGHT REGENCY]

GM’s Reuss says dealer disputes a top priority

02/10/2010, 5:58 PMBY MARK KLEIS

Prior to the media explosion surrounding the latest developments with Toyota, it was GM and Chrysler in the hot seat as they faced off with over a thousand canceled dealer franchises. Speaking at the Chicago Auto Show, Mark Reuss, North American president for GM, said that GM is putting resolution for dealers seeking reinstatement as a top priority.

GM is currently tasked with settling disputes by 1,160 dealers nationwide regarding GM’s decision to discontinue their contracts. All 1,160 dealers have filed for arbitration to challenge the decision by GM to cancel their contracts and permanently close their dealers.

When speaking with reporters at the Chicago Auto Show earlier this morning, Reuss said that the simplest way to manage the situation would be to develop a universal set of criterion and put all dealers against that list. However, Reuss also said that GM has no intention of doing that, and they will instead deal with each case on an individual basis – hoping to find a resolution before having to go to a third-party arbiter to produce a ruling.

According to the Detroit News, after his appearance at the Chicago Auto Show Reuss will be heading to National Automobile Dealers Association convention, where he hopes to make amends with the dealers.

The deadline for all cases needing arbitration is June, 2010.

link:

http://www.leftlanenews.com/gms-reuss-says-dealer-disputes-a-top-priority.html

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