Durbin Urges Auto Manufacturers to Join Dealership Talks

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] – Assistant Senate Majority Leader Dick Durbin (D-IL) sent letters to CEO’s of General Motors and Chrysler today, urging them to participate in talks with the nation’s leading dealership groups regarding the planned closure of over one thousand dealerships nationwide.

“I write to urge [General Motors, Chrysler] to participate in a constructive dialogue with the key groups representing the hundreds of dealerships that received wind-down letters and are scheduled to close by October 2010,” Durbin wrote. “Now that Chrysler has emerged from bankruptcy, it is critical that it return to profitability and viability as soon as commercially feasible. The company’s current employees, remaining dealers, and customers, and the taxpayers who provided critical financial support during the bankruptcy proceeding, are relying on Chrysler to once again be a vibrant, profitable leader in the automotive sector.”

Durbin has been a leading advocate on behalf of the terminated auto dealerships in Illinois and across the nation.