George Joseph Sunshine Dodge – Here is the letter sent by George Joseph Sunshine Dodge Isuzu owner in Melbourne Florida to American Thinker – it will chill you to the bone.
George Joseph Sunshine Dodge
My name is George C. Joseph. I am the sole owner of Sunshine Dodge-Isuzu, a family owned and operated business in Melbourne, Florida. My family bought and paid for this automobile franchise 35 years ago in 1974. I am the second generation to manage this business.
We currently employ 50+ people and before the economic slowdown we employed over 70 local people. We are active in the community and the local chamber of commerce. We deal with several dozen local vendors on a day to day basis and many more during a month. All depend on our business for part of their livelihood. We are financially strong with great respect in the market place and community. We have strong local presence and stability.
I work every day the store is open, nine to ten hours a day. I know most of our customers and all our employees. Sunshine Dodge is my life.
On Thursday, May 14, 2009 I was notified that my Dodge franchise, that we purchased, will be taken away from my family on June 9, 2009 without compensation and given to another dealer at no cost to them. My new vehicle inventory consists of 125 vehicles with a financed balance of 3 million dollars. This inventory becomes impossible to sell with no factory incentives beyond June 9, 2009. Without the Dodge franchise we can no longer sell a new Dodge as “new,” nor will we be able to do any warranty service work. Additionally, my Dodge parts inventory, (approximately $300,000.) is virtually worthless without the ability to perform warranty service. There is no offer from Chrysler to buy back the vehicles or parts inventory.
Our facility was recently totally renovated at Chrysler’s insistence, incurring a multi-million dollar debt in the form of a mortgage at Sun Trust Bank.
HOW IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA CAN THIS HAPPEN?
THIS IS A PRIVATE BUSINESS NOT A GOVERNMENT ENTITY
This is beyond imagination! My business is being stolen from me through NO FAULT OF OUR OWN. We did NOTHING wrong.
This atrocity will most likely force my family into bankruptcy. This will also cause our 50+ employees to be unemployed. How will they provide for their families? This is a total economic disaster.
HOW CAN THIS HAPPEN IN A FREE MARKET ECONOMY IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA?
I beseech your help, and look forward to your reply. Thank you.
Sincerely,
George C. Joseph
President
Sunshine Dodge-Isuzu
We’re with you buddy. Here is 411chatter spreading the word for George Joseph Sunshine Dodge.
Tags: auto bailout, george c. joseph, george joseph sunshine dodge, isuzu, sunshine dodge isuzu, sunshine dodge melbourne fl
May 21st, 2009 at 4:16 pm
Mr. Joseph doesn’t sound like an astute businessman. He is either leaving out something regarding Chrysler dropping him as a dealer OR he really didn’t do a very good job at reading his agreement with Chrysler. Why would anyone with half a brain for business enter an agreement allowing the other party to take away your franchise with less than 30 days notice, not buy back your inventory, and require you to take out a million dollar mortgage for facility upgrades?
May 21st, 2009 at 5:18 pm
RV, Its called bankruptcy. Chrysler filed bankruptcy. The judge can take everything and anything and demand whatever they want.
May 21st, 2009 at 9:58 pm
“HOW CAN THIS HAPPEN IN A FREE MARKET ECONOMY IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA?”
There seems to be nothing un-free-markety about this occurrence, except perhaps the very existence of the bankruptcy safety valve.
May 22nd, 2009 at 8:12 am
In bankruptcy all contracts are canceled by the court! What a sweet deal for Fiat.
May 24th, 2009 at 2:25 pm
This is what you get from a chicken s*it’s administration. Weep America, you elected him.
May 25th, 2009 at 8:44 am
Let’s see. If Mr Joseph decided he didn’t like Florida, he didn’t like the automobile business any longer or any other scenario where he was going out of business there would be no letter and his 50+ employees would be out of work.
But isn’t it convenient that he can blame Chrysler. A good business man would be hedging if was in business with Chrysler because they have not been financially stable.
Yet, for the sake of the almighty dollar Mr Joseph kept going.
A good business man would question a renovation that cost millions whenever “recently” was. And, interestingly, why the renovation. Was Mr Joseph facility never kept up? Did Mr Joseph never invest in remodeling or upgrading with his profits but just used them for his own purpose?
Businesses come and go Mr Joseph. Suck it up
May 26th, 2009 at 11:34 am
I suggest a letter to Mr. Obama, the chief executive over all the US car companies. He hires and fires and probably is the only one that can influence the bankruptcy judge and Fysler(Fiat-Chrysler). But be careful, he is only interested in the businesses that are too big to fail.
May 28th, 2009 at 10:05 am
I’m sorry for Mr. Joseph, but I notice his dealership also sold Subarus. Maybe if he (and all the other dealers) hadn’t been so eager to jump on the Japanese and Korean bandwagon and open their dealerships to those cars, we’d still have a auto industry here. They saw the quick buck and jumped at it, so the Japanese never had to establish a dealer network in this country. It would have taken them 20 years to do that. Instead they just waived some dollars in the air and Mr. Jonhson said, ” Hey, I’ll sell your cars. My franchise agreement says I can’t sell Fords or Chevys but I can sell foreign cars. Give me the money.”
May 30th, 2009 at 10:58 am
In these times of fear and uncertainty we must come together as a country and demand that the government. Who through their inability to act to help the people who make this country great. The people who get up every morning and work their jobs thinking you work hard do a good job and you have a chance to have some type of sercurity. Well the rich who wake up every morning and decide that they can get a larger tax break if they close a plant, division, some sort of branch of the company they own or are paid to run. So they close and lay-off a large part of thier employees, the same ones that woke up that morning like they have so many mornings to go to that job they thought that was secure. Later that day the vworker is home sitting at the kichen table with his wife scared because their American Dream has just became a nightmare the husband with his head in his hands where between two of his fingers hangs a crumpled piece of paper, commonly know as a seperation notice, crumpled because since it was handed to him he has crumpled it up many times just to staighten it out to read it again expecting it to say something differant. His wife has fed the kids and sent them to their rooms to playso they will not see the fear in their fathers face or the tears dripping from his nose.She in a shaky but some what reassuring tone tells her husband,a father, a loyal employee that they will find a way to pay the bills. The rich who woke up that morning and with that one act they made that morning just to payless taxes they are unaware of the lives they pulled the rug out from under. They plan to spend the week end in the Hamptons with Ashley and Chip totally oblivious to the lives that they removed all form of normalancy from. As they plan for a care free weekend Where is the justice in this ? Have we lost sight of kindness to our fellow man. What is happening?
May 30th, 2009 at 3:58 pm
Where does it suggest Subarus?? Isuzu is definitely NOT Fuji Heavy (Subaru). Isuzu hardly sells anything in this country and is into the large work van area and extremely limited. Also, who is Mr. Johnson?? Joseph might be whom you are referring to.
This is a dealership that for whatever reason was singled out among several in the area. I happen to have my work done there and purchase my vehicles there. they are nothing but first rate. Other dealerships in the area are much higher priced and of dubious reputation and the “picking process” is more than a bit questionable.
The dealership has been owned by a family for four decades and much money (personal) has been poured in order to make it successful. This is ludicrous.
This is a harbinger of concern as well it should be. This is just the beginning of the “Messiah’s Reign”.
May 31st, 2009 at 10:55 am
Mr. Joseph, your one mistake was believing that we are still in a ‘capitalist society’. The ‘vote for change’ crowd elected an angry young man-child to change all that. Barry is taking us down the ‘get back at America’ road and we all will pay. Just wait until later 2010 to see the hyper-inflation! You will also find an unusually high ratio of the dealerships that are being closed have owners with political conservative or Republican connections. Coincidence? You be the judge.
June 1st, 2009 at 8:25 am
It is a sad state of affairs when Americans miss the point of this letter completely. His family established this business, ran this business, gave back to the community, supplied jobs for the community, and worked there all hours of operation only to be told that it was not his family’s anymore and the government can do with it what they want. Try filling in the blanks with a business that your own family started and maintained then let’s see how quick you are to judge. How dare you all have the audacity to tell this man to “get over it, suck it up”– people like you frighten me – what has happened to civility and common sense in this country?
June 1st, 2009 at 11:00 am
I own a small business as well and like Mr. Joseph employ both family and friends. I can not believe the audacity of the people in this country today (who are not the majority) who want what other people have worked so hard for! And now have Obama and Biden helping them. They say it’s patriotic to spread the wealth. If you want the wealth you try risking everything you own, you try working 24/7, you give up something so you can make payroll one week!
The severance packages that the big wigs at Chrysler are getting were paid for by people like Mr. Joseph and his employees, and look they get. Wake up America!
June 2nd, 2009 at 11:50 am
Why all the crying? Why worry about what to do?
Read the Chrysler “play book” and save all you worked for!! If Chrysler can declare Bankrupcy, why haven’t you?
These big companies are doing it to protect themselves, why haven’t you? It’ll be 2010 before you even see court, and maybe by then, things will have improved.
While you wait, you could raffle off that inventory to pay the bills. Sell only 1000 tix @ $20 each, and you’ll have a mob down there, to get a car for $20.
Quite Crying, and do what the Biggies do!! BK it!!
June 3rd, 2009 at 2:49 pm
Could it be that we don’t have the full picture from Mr. Joseph’s letter? Is it possible that the dealer is a crappy one and Chrysler decided to chuck it during bankruptcy?
By the way, this has nothing to do with Obama, but bankruptcy laws that were around before him.
June 4th, 2009 at 2:33 pm
It DOES have something to do w/Obama. This is the economy he made worse, and I agree w/what was said above re:inflation. When that spikes (like the last time a socialist experiment happened under Jimmy Carter) we’ll see insane interest rates and unemployment. He took over the bankruptcy from the bancruptcy court and set up the deal where Fiat is given (they had no stake in Chrysler) the stake in exchange for running the company. What happened to him also happened to the shareholders of GM (which is a huge percentage of American’s…many 401k’s had GM stock, which is now worthless) and to Diamler, who Chrysler owed 2 billion dollars. This isn’t bancruptcy law from a court…this is an edict from the President.
The one consistant thing Obama has done is chosen the route of socialism…I’m a democrat and I voted for Obama…but I’m not a socialist. I’m ok with a bigger gov’t for things like welfare, but I’m NOT ok with the gov’t owning the car companies. I’m ok with cheaper (or free) healthcare, but I don’t want the gov’t to take over the healthcare companies or give them to foreign companies either because I want it to be quality, unlike socialized medicine.
GJ can’t “BK” it in Ch 11 and expect to emerge in 2010 without a source of income for his company…and having a massive debt and inventory he can’t sell is only going to prevent the Isuzu sales from saving his company. My heart goes out to him, and all the other Chrysler/GM dealers and employees in the same boat…especially those like me who can’t un-vote for Obama. Bush was terrible to our country, Obama is already worse. At least I had a job when Bush was in office.
June 4th, 2009 at 4:08 pm
You people accuse Obama of being a socialist/communist because as part of bailing out Chrysler he is not bailing out dealerships??? Do you not get that you (and this dealer) are asking for MORE government intervention to save dealers??? I respect people who say we should let the car companies work thru bankruptcy w/out govt. help or let them fail – however, in either event these dealers would be toast. But to argue for a bailout for dealers too – while at the same time accusing the administration of socialism- is ridiculous???
And Budo, Tk – not only are you illogical, but your name calling (”messiah”, “man-child”) confirms your prejudgement of the leader elected by the majority of Americans. How about being part of the “loyal opposition” instead of just a bomb-thrower? (ie, what should we do instead?)
June 4th, 2009 at 6:29 pm
Dr. Geek REALLY doesn’t get it! If you read entry #10 you will see customer testimony that this was not a fly-by-night outfit. I actually think Dr. Cyber makes a lot of sense. This is a tragedy–when Government votes themselves eminent domain these things happen.
June 9th, 2009 at 12:12 pm
I heard today that the Supreme Court stayed the bankruptcy in a rare move. Even if nothing changes at least this will all be reviewed.
I’m not clear on something…why does having many dealerships hurt Chrysler/GM? I mean, I understand why it hurts the dealers to have competition w/each other…but why would it hurt Chrysler? Isn’t it in their best interest to have multiple dealerships pushing their brands…each with their own advertising budgets?
Gov’t dealership bailouts don’t make sense…but then neither does closing profitable dealerships….
June 10th, 2009 at 9:22 am
How utterly naive you are. A 50/50 split is not the Majority. He was elected by a skewed Electoral College that really needs to be scrapped. He is a socialist. I personally think maybe your wealth should be taken and redistributed. Oh wait that is currently in the works. Im at a loss for words on just how clueless you appear to be.
June 13th, 2009 at 1:50 pm
To answer the above: Bankruptcy is what should have happened in a capitalist society IF you really need to be told, ‘you have to be kidding’. I am not really name calling, just being kind in what behavior I see. Man-child, or more correctly, an angry bitter young man with child like and reckless behavior over his contempt for America-Obama, if you want me to say it plainly. I recognize socialism because I have lived in West Germany and Kazakhstan and have spent time in Russia while in Kaz. I do NOT like socialism and you won’t either when you finally get there and understand.
I would like to know how many who disagree have actually had to earn a living in a socialist nation or have been inside the emergency room of a government run hospital? I have. I know socailism knocking on my door when I see it. You can live in a dream world if you wish while sleeping securely under the blanket of freedom that has been provided to you by this nation. That is sooooooooeasy to do. Yes, I see the writing on the wall with Obama, and McCain wasn’t much better, but it doesn’t matter now because the election is over and we will all deal with this mess. Just wait until the wave of hyper inflation hits us in later 2010!!!! We are going to be wishing for the Carter years. Obama bought this economy lock stock and barrel. It’s his mess that we will have to clean up.
June 13th, 2009 at 3:07 pm
Friends,
Auto Dealers commit their lives into building a profitable and successful business from the ground up. I have been in this business for over 25 years working 10 hour days 7 days a week, employing many families sometimes disregarding my own. We sacrifice our own time off dealing with issues which come up daily, we show a deep compassion for the people who work for us, and never turn down a local charity looking for donations. When times get tuff, we dig deep into our own pockets to make up for losses never asking our employees to sacrifice a paycheck. We pay thousands too much for a charitable dinner, never turn down a good Boy Scout golf tournament, enjoy dropping off a dozen cars to our local high school for their homecoming event, unloading a van full of balls at our local soccer field, setting up scholarship funds for our schools, donating CPR manikins which train people to save lives, and spend millions in outfitting our dealerships to go “GREEN”.
Dealerships are not just bought, they are built. We commit to the Factory, our vendors, our employees and our neighbors. We build a partnership with the Factory always doing what they ask us to do even if it costs us millions every few years to refit our dealership to their standards or taking factory overbuilt vehicles when they ask us to. Now they are asking us to give up our business because they are in trouble, over paying their executives, buying multi-million dollar jets, and mis-managing their own funds.
June 16th, 2009 at 6:40 pm
I am appalled at the number of people in this country that have their heads so far up that dark area that they do not see this is becoming a marxist country and this administration means to be the dictator. You people need to read the Declaration of Independence, the US Constitution and Bill of Rights…if you can read. And then read the Oath of Office every President, Senator, and Congress member take when sworn into office. This country is in the grip of the worst corruption in its history. This PRIVATE business was a casualty. Shame on those of you who lack the self-reliance and self-responsibility to live and let live but sit on your haunches and request the ‘gov’mint do som’thin’. Well you can see when some people are in power, it goes to their head and they want it all. Hope you will be a happy serf. Those who trade security for their Liberty don’t deserve to be freeemen. I borrowed that from somehere, but it is the truth.
June 17th, 2009 at 11:09 pm
Sell your inventory. File bankruptsy with your old business. Reinvest into used inventory at the aution. Take your best employees and relocated, establish new rent under a new name. Start up your marketing program again and continue to do what you do. Do not pay any loans. So you get bad credit. Youve got cash to operate on. Become a buy here pay here and take cash payments.
Youre not finished, but your dealership is… move on thats all you can do. Screw paying back the loans, its the American way.
Oh yeah and dont hire mexicans. Between them the Bush Administration and CEO greed that is the reason for our countries downfall.
June 21st, 2009 at 6:03 pm
I am glad to see these chumps that have ripped off the American people for so many years to finally gettin theirs!!!! How many people out there ever get screwed over by some big bad car dealer only to be shown the fine print and the door. If you think the auto industry is even close to being a free market you are ignorant.
June 27th, 2009 at 9:23 pm
I Bought a used pickup and salesman lied about every aspect of the used vehicule. it was ready for the auction and he says it is in good shape. finally found it had bad battery, bad brakes, bad front end, bad alignment and other stuff, later finding this out. they paid some of the repair bug i ended up with five hundred out of pocket and waited five hrs. for repair and could not get a ride home overnight. being eighty five yrs. old on a hot day and five hrs. trying to get home was no fantsy. two days later and after five hundred dollars, got truck back with no apologys. never heard from salesman over this really good truck he told me it was until i found out the truth. cant find him now and truck still has problems. what a rip off. i was told this truck had passed the twelve point safety inspection when it had not even seen the repair shop. where is this salesman to day and my five hundred dollars due me.
August 1st, 2009 at 9:16 am
I affirm the messages in 10. 11. and 12. above. 40 years ago, when Sunshine Isuzu began, it did not seem necessary to plan on the possibility of losing it all due to the possible future deterioration, of America as it was known then. So, instead of broadening a separate investment portfolio, Mr. Joseph chose to keep his dealership current, and to honor the agreement with Chrysler that his family before him had made.
Mr. Joseph’s letter is restrained, factual, and well-composed when one tries to consider what he and his family must be experiencing. Somehow, “Suck-it-up-and-deal” doesn’t make it!!
August 10th, 2009 at 4:14 pm
I worked for George, and have worked in the car business for over ten years, and have been working for over 20 years, George is the best boss that I ever had. most of the people that have bloged on here are idiots, Sunshine Dodge lost Dodge because of politics, pure and simple. George cares about people, and always tried to do the right thing by people, I also bought Three trucks and cars from him, because I knew he would always. he knows he can file, thats not the point. hes concerned about the people who worked for him. and there are many people in Melbourne, fl who are going to miss Sunshine Dodge- Isuzu. Im one of them.
September 7th, 2009 at 8:38 pm
Folks, further evidence that the guy in the White House is nothing more than a two bit crook, worse than a used car salesman!
Subject:
This could be a scandal of epic proportions and one that makes Nixon’s Watergate or Clinton ’s Monica Lewinsky affair pale by comparison. Why was there neither rhyme nor reason as to which dealerships of the Chrysler Corporation were to be closed? Roll the clock back to the weeks just before Chrysler declared bankruptcy. Chrysler, like GM, was in dire financial straights and federal government graciously offered to “buy the company” and keep them out of bankruptcy and “save jobs.” Chrysler was, in the words of Obama and his administration, “Too big to fail,” same story with GM.
The feds organized their “Automotive Task Force” to fix Chrysler and GM. Obama, in an act that is 100% unconstitutional, appointed a guy named Steve Rattner to be the White House’s official Car Czar- literally, that’s what his title is. Rattner is the liaison between Obama, Chrysler, and GM.
Initially, the national media reported that Chrysler had made this list of dealerships. That is not true. The Washington Examiner, Newsmax, Fox New and a host of other news agencies discovered that the list of dealerships was put together by the “Automotive Task Force” headed by no one other then Mr. Steve Rattner. Now the plot thickens. Remember earlier we said earlier that there was neither rhyme nor reason why certain dealerships were closed? Actually there’s a very interesting pattern as to who was closed down. Again, on May 27, 2009 , The Washington Examiner and Newsmax exposed the connection. Amazingly, of the 789 dealerships closed by the federal government 788 had donated money, exclusively, to Republican political causes, while contributing nothing to Democratic political causes. The only “Democratic” dealership on the list was found to have donated $7,700 to Hillary’s campaign, and a bit over $2,000 to John Edwards. This same dealership, reportedly, also gave $200.0 0 to Obama’s campaign. Does that seem a little odd to you?
Steve Rattner, the guy who put the list together. Well he happens to be married to a babe named Maureen White. Maureen happens to be the former national finance chairman of the Democratic National Committee. As such, she would have access to campaign donation records from everyone in the nation, Republican or Democrat. But of course, this is just a wacky coincidence, we’re certain.
Then comes another really wacky coincidence. On that list of dealerships being closed down, a weird thing happed in Arkansas , North Louisiana, and Southern Missouri . It seems that Bill Clinton’s former White House Chief of Staff, Mack McClarty, owns a chain of dealership in that region, partnered with a fellow by the name of Robert Johnson. Johnson happens to be founder of Black Entertainment Television and was a huge Obama supporter and financier. These guys own a half dozen Chrysler stores under the company title of RLJ-McClarty-Landers. Interestingly, none of their dealerships were ordered closed – not one- while all of their competing Chrysler/Dodge and Jeep dealership were! Eight dealerships located near the dealerships owned by McClarty and Johnson were ordered shut down. Thus, by pure luck, these two major Obama supporters now have virtual monopoly on Chrysler sales in their zone. Isn’t that amazing? Go look in The Washington Examiner, the story’s there, and it’s in a dozen or so other web-based news organization, this isn’t being made up.
Now if you thought Chrysler was owned by Fiat, you are truly mistaken. Under the federal court ruling, 65% of Chrysler is now owned by the federal government and the United Auto Worker’s union- Fiat owns 20%. The other 15% is till privately owned and presumably will be traded on the stock market. Obama smiles and says he doesn’t want to run the auto industry.
As horrifying as this is to comprehend, and being as how this used to be the United States of America , it would appear that the president has the power to destroy private businesses and eliminate upwards of 100,000 jobs, just because they don’t agree with his political agenda. This is Nazi Germany stuff, and it’s happening right here, right now, in your back yard. There are voices in Washington demanding an explanation, but the “Automotive Task Force” has released no information to the public or any of the senators demanding answers for what has been done. Keep your ear to the ground for more on this story. If you’ve ever wanted to make a difference about anything in your life, get on the phone to your national senator or representative in the House and demand an investigation on this.
Benjamin Franklin had it right when he said, “All that’s necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing.”
Car Czar No More
An amazing thing happed as this story was going to press. Obama’s Car Czar, Steve Rattner, resigned on July 13 and was promptly replaced by former steel workers union boss Ron Bloom. According to CBS News, Rattner left “to return to private life and spend time with his family.” Treasure Secretary Tim Geithner said, “I hope that he takes another opportunity to bring his unique skills to government service in the future.” By the way, Rattner is under investigation for a multi-million dollar pay-to-play investment bank scandal in New York Uh-oh! But, we’re certain that had nothing to do with his resignation. And, according to several news sources out there, there are rumors he’s being investigated for what could be pay-to-play scandal involving the closing of Chrysler and GM dealerships. Really? Again, that couldn’t have anything to with his resignation- that’s ridiculous! Like CBS said, this guy just wants to spend more quality time with his family. Obama has thirty-two perso nally appointed “czars” that answer to no one but him, all of whom are acting without any Constitutional authority. But hey, we’re sure they all have “unique skills,” as Tim Geithner likes to say.
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September 16th, 2009 at 1:15 pm
George Joseph’s Father is the person who established Sunshine Dodge as a successful dealership. Upon his illness the reins were handed to George who knew little of what it took to succeed. Ultimately his Father died and George took over entirely. Instead of surrounding himself with experienced managers who really know the business George placed inexperienced ‘yes men’ who would do only what George determined to be done. His new car business went from bad to worse as he concentrated on used cars and bigger profits. So when Chrysler deemed it necessary to cut they cut the poor performing dealerships. Just like you would let a poor performing employee go before a good producer. Next door to Sunshine Dodge was Rathman Chevrolet. Always a solid dealership until Daddy handed the responsibility to son Jimmy, who quickly drove the business into bankruptcy. George Joseph is just another son who ruined the family business. George still has plenty of his Father’s money to live well. Save your concern for the employees who put their faith in George.