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@ The Leader
In May, Covington auto dealer Phil
Huffman found out his dealership was
one of 1,100 being closed as General
Motors restructured and last week
closure became official.
Huffman said when the GM sign
came down, it was the end of an era.
“It was kind of like losing a family
member, it was my baby,” he said. “It
was tough, but you get over things like
that.”
The GM dealership closures
announcement came in mid-May and
by June 1, after years of declining
sales and shares, the corporation filed
bankruptcy protection.
With $172.8 million in debt, GM had
the fourth largest industrial corporation
bankruptcy filing in U.S. history.
What has been called a “landmark “
government bailout, GM exited
bankruptcy in July and the U.S.
Treasury now owns more than 60
percent of its stock.
Huffman said he wasn’t as upset with
his dealership’s termination as he was
with the bankruptcy filing.
“By them taking bankruptcy, they
were able to eliminate a lot of the laws
that provided us with protection as
franchises,” he said.”They were able
to side track (Tennessee laws) and not
have to live up to the things they
would have normally lived up to”.
Instead of GM regaining control of
Huffman’s inventory and buying back
parts and tools, Huffman has had to
sell his vehicles and has taken a loss.
“I had to get rid of the cars myself, “
he said. “It’s hard to sell a car when a
guy knows that once he buys it here, I
won’t be able to service it.”
“It’s hard to sell a car right now to
anybody, even another dealer
because he’s probably got more than
he wants. I sold the last six to a dealer
in Michigan and that was the end of it.”
Thirty days later, Huffman Pontiac,
Buick and GMC, INC. was no more.
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“I could’ve stayed on until October
2010 as part of the original
agreement, but why would you want to
stay on?” he said. “We weren’t going
to get any new cars, so I didn’t see
any reason for me to be here and
keep paying them sign rent every
month.”
Huffman said he was sent literature
on 2010 models, and even had to pay
for the materials, even though GM
wouldn’t send him any vehicles.
After 18 years, 3 months and 5 days
as a GM dealer, in which, 6,256 new
vehicles were sold, Huffman is now in
the used car business.
“Used cars have always been one of
the best sources of revenue, profitwise,
“ he said. “We have 40 units now
and when times get better I plan to
have 75 units. That’s a big used car
lot.”
Huffman will still provide service. The
company can no longer support
warranty services, but now will be able
to service all makes and models.
“I decided to keep the technicians on.
We had a lot of call for it from our
customers, so we’re going to try it
awhile and see if it works.”
And though the economy may make
the future uncertain, Huffman remains
hopeful.
“A man that’s in the car business
that’s not hopeful for the future won’t
last long,” he said. “You have to be
very optimistic in the car business.”
Huffman Motors is located at
1901 Highway 51 South in Covington,
TN. For more information, call 901-
476-8636.
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