That situation could be one or all of the six small towns around me. Atwood being one of them, about 45 miles from me. In fact if they took US 36 going back west they would of passed both my farms. I should take pics of the one closed down service stations, like five sided with all glass tilting out. Big news in the local paper when someone stole the empty phone booth.

It is sad... many of us live well in very rural America but when the big city prices and expenditures come here it makes it really hard.

I'm betting that hasn't been an active Chrysler/Plymouth/Dodge dealership for decades. Chrysler cut dealers that were huge not too long ago that were nicer than that so I'd say they would have been gone by then. Would you take your Hellcat to them for service? The place is a dump IMO. But it makes for a good "poor little guy versus the big bully manufacturer" youtube hits video. I don't know if I even saw a current Chrysler car or product in that video? BS IMO. Ok just me having a bad day

They gave up their franchise earlier this year. I honestly don't know how they made it through the Bankruptcy, probably because they were the only dealer in the northwest corner of Kansas. They didn't even have a website, sold less than 10 new cars a year.

I dont think its that cut and dried, they are required to have dealers strategically placed in certain areas, its not just a fluke. I've done lots of work with dealerships and some way out in the middle of nowhere and that was the answer I was given when I politely asked why it was even there. Unless there is another dealer close by, then it wouldn't matter, but if they needed a store there they probably would have just provided the EV charger to them I'd think

Hergerts are insane in a good way...

I've heard the same sort of issues are affecting larger city dealers too that are more family owned. Some are starting to close or being sold to franchises who can take on the risk better.

I'd love to see what all these older dealers have stashed away especially the old manuals and paper work.

You his video is more about the "stash" he bought then about the dealership.

I'll bet there's a gold mine of parts and equipment hiding in there. Have they auctioned the stuff yet? that 340 barracuda looked interesting

We have a huge conglomerate locally named Woodhouse that has been quietly buying up all the smaller privately owned dealerships they can. Can you say price fixing and monopoly?

Forty years ago my town of 3200 people had a Chevy dealership and a Ford dealership. Now it has neither.

Still got a mopar and chevy dealer in a town of 2300 30 miles north of me.... and a good many other businesses.

Me too. Not trying to be mean and believe me I know about "mom and pop" shops versus sales and marketing plans of big corporations as they were the heart and soul of the manufacture I worked for, for over four decades but sometimes you have to step up a little or move on. "THEY" gave up their franchise from what hergfest posted NOT that Chrysler came in and took it away..........or is that not the case? Hamburger franchises expect more than what it appears here. "Less than 10 cars a year" I guess the Family and Friends discount was about it for sales.

A few of the small town dealerships seem to have used the “lifetime Powertrain Warranty” idea to draw in a particular type of buyer.

I telephoned a small town dealership service department during the pandemic and was told by a service manager I knew that:
I can only schedule work on a vehicle that has a lifetime powertrain warranty that we sold previously,
and more than half of my mechanics are working solely on broken down junkers that we are buying, fixing up, and selling as used automobiles with 2 year warranties.
The profits from those used cars are making up for the lost profits from new vehicles that we cannot get because the factories are short certain imported parts.

I was kinda taken aback upon hearing that survival strategy,
but the more I thought about it,
the more sense it made.

If only new EV’s will be coming from factories
and new customers decide not to spend great sums on those,
perhaps smaller dealerships will resort to fixing up IC engined vehicles for profitable sales on their used car lots.

My Chrysler dealer is in a town of 4000. There is also have a GM and a Ford dealership, plus a used car lot.

Ive met Woodhouse himself and worked for a group that owned 60 stores, ours ran off volume, the profits were shown and they were minimal ( $300 per car ). They'd buy a new store and the profits would be WAY high ($1500) but they'd drop after the "culture" set in. Keep in mind, a store that flogs away X amount of cars gets bonus checks from the manufacture, in the 6 figure range - thats how they make money. If you want a deal - you go find the big corporate volume store, and you avoid the mom and pop shop. If I got into the game it wouldnt be cars/trucks, I'd open an RV dealership...40-50% profit on that stuff. Slower pace, rent storage, pick and choose what you carry as the market sloshes around, diesel pushers or tent trailers

Dealerships make most of their money on the "back end": service, parts, and bodyshop depts.
New Car depts aren't the actual profit center, though they do get mfr incentives, but volume is a big deal.
Insurance cos have pretty much killed bodyshop profits, and the internet has educated (and/or misinformed) car buyers.
Big chains, more beholden to insurance companies, have been buying private bodyshops for many years.
So, one of the problems small and small-town dealerships have is service & parts money.
Used cars might be more profitable than new ones nowadays, but that's also driven by volume.
Think of it like a bank or other huge institution: 2-4% of a billion dollars can work, but on less than a million, not so much.

Thanks for posting.

Where I live - a lot of small town Chrysler dealerships have closed. These dealerships are in towns where the population is under 2000 people.

I remember going to several of them. It was like walking back in time. One dealerership I went to had originally opened in the 1930s

Southey, Saskatchewan (population approx. 800 people) still has a Chrysler dealership. They host a Mopar show every year.

https://www.southeymainline.ca/

Here's a link to the history of the dealership: https://southeymotors.shopsask.ca/history.htm

I have bought a few Super Dutys from Woodhouse over the years. Always had the best prices

When the local Chrysler dealership went out of business in the mid '80's I inquired about the sales records for a car I own. On the advice of counsel, unless a record had to be kept for legal reasons, the advice given was to shred everything. And they did.