In Dan Kiekenapp’s 15 years at Tacoma Dodge, the dealership had never had a month where its finances were in the red – not even in the lean times of the current recession.
But Tuesday afternoon Kiekenapp, the dealership’s general manager, his eyes reddened and his voice cracking, sat glumly in the dealership’s quiet South Tacoma Way showroom talking about the end of auto store’s days as a Dodge dealer.
“This has been the worst day of my life,” said Kiekenapp, recalling a meeting with his 65 employees just concluded. “I had to lay off people, good people, who were loyal and who had worked here for years.”
“It is just devastating,” he said.
Tacoma Dodge and its employees were part of the collateral damage done as an ailing Chrysler Corp. reorganized its finances and culled its dealer network in federal bankruptcy court in New York.
Tacoma Dodge and 788 Chrysler Corp. dealers nationwide sold their last cars to the public Tuesday as the nation’s third-largest automaker tried to put its financial house in order.
Among those dealers were three locally that lost their franchises, Tacoma Dodge and Larson Automotive Chrysler Jeep in Tacoma, and Milam Jeep in Puyallup. One dealer, Larson Chrysler Dodge Jeep in Puyallup, will be the sole remaining Chrysler outlet in Pierce County.
Kiekenapp terminated 40 of his 65-member work force Tuesday afternoon as he downsized the dealership to a used car-only operation with a service department shrunk to fit the new business. The business will be reborn today under a new moniker, Tacoma Auto Mall.
Chrysler had to reduce its capacities. It wasn’t selling as many cars as it used to, said Kiekenapp. But he never would have guessed even three weeks ago that the 50-year-old dealership would become a victim.
That was when the company informed 25 percent of its dealers nationwide that their franchises would be terminated Tuesday. There was no appeal of that corporate decision, nor any particular reasons enumerated why Chrysler dropped the dealers it did.
Kiekenapp said he never even considered that Tacoma Dodge would be among those selected for termination. “Even last month with some $40,000 in legal expenses, we were still profitable,” he said. The dealership earned high marks for service and customer service, and it had a loyal corps of customers, many of whom had bought multiple vehicles from the Dodge store, he said.
After it received the termination notice, Tacoma Dodge hired a New York law firm and Kiekenapp flew to Manhattan to fight the termination, but to no avail. The bankruptcy judge denied dealers’ motions Tuesday to halt the terminations, and the Supreme Court allowed the purchase of part of Chrysler by Italy’s Fiat to proceed.
Customers like Karl Calhoun, whose family had bought five vehicles from Tacoma Dodge in the last seven years, said he too didn’t understand the logic.
Calhoun, by the dealer’s reckoning, was Tacoma Dodge’s last new car customer. He drove away in a dual rear wheeled heavy duty silver Dodge pickup just as the store was locking up for the night.
“We like the folks here,” he said, as he signed final papers to buy his new truck. “We wouldn’t have come back if we hadn’t been treated so well,” he said. “The entire experience was enjoyable.”
“I think it’s ridiculous that it’s come down to this. Chrysler will be missing a good dealer.”
Meanwhile at Milam Jeep Mazda in Puyallup, another franchise was shutting down. The Milam dealership was losing its Jeep franchise in the Chrysler bankruptcy proceedings.
Ken Dinsmore, the dealership’s president, said the last few weeks have been “a rollercoaster ride” for him and his employees.
“Our customers and our employees rallied around us, and we thank them for that,” he said. Milam will continue selling Mazdas and preowned cars and an expanded line of used trucks.
Dinsmore questioned whether a truncated dealer network would be good for Chrysler or its customers.
“I don’t think they’ll be saving much money,” he said. ‘We haven’t had anyone from Chrysler call on us for three months.”
The two dealerships had disposed of most of their new Chrysler cars in the three weeks since the termination notice, some to customers and others to surviving dealerships. At day’s end, Tacoma Dodge had reduced its new Dodge inventory from 65 cars and trucks to 16. Milam had no new Jeeps in stock.
But both stores are left with big stocks of parts.
Tacoma’s Dodge’s parts inventory is worth some $750,000. Milam Jeep’s is valued at about $80,000.
“Of the 3,200 Chrysler dealers in the U.S., we were among the top in parts sales,” said Kiekenapp.
Both dealers will continue providing maintenance for their customers, but no Chrysler warranty service.
The former Tacoma Dodge may seek another new brand to sell in its 40,000-square-foot building that it remodeled just eight years ago.
“We’ll do whatever it takes, to keep us going,” he said.
“The way I look at it,” said a philosophical Paul Guetle, Tacoma Dodge sales manager, “One door closes and another door opens.”
John Gillie: 253-597-8663
john.gillie@thenewstribune.com