GM says Stateline to stay

By MARK TODD - Staff Writer - mtodd@starbeacon.com
Star Beacon

May 18, 2009 08:28 pm

— ANDOVER — Add Stateline Chevrolet-Pontiac-Buick in Andover to the list of local General Motors dealers that will continue to sell cars for the foreseeable future.
Mike Olesky, Stateline sales manager, confirmed Monday that the dealership was another in the area to survive the auto giant’s hit list. “We’re thankful for that,” he said.
On Friday, GM notified 1,100 dealers that their contracts would not be renewed at the end of 2010. GM, hoping to avoid bankruptcy, based its decisions on a variety of factors, including sales figures and customer service data.
Location was another important point. Stores too close to one another creates competition that drives prices down, GM officials have said.
Great Lakes Auto in Jefferson and Ashtabula Township, along with the Greg Sweet dealership in Conneaut, also made the cut. The status of other area dealers was not immediately known — GM has said it would not release a list of affected stores, leaving it to each location to discuss its future.
Stateline was cautiously optimistic it would find favor with GM, Olesky said.
“We were fairly confident,” he said. “We’ve had some pretty big (sales) numbers and customer service (reports). But you never know.”
Vehicles have been sold under the Stateline name since 2001, Olesky said. The business employs around 40 people, he said.
Staff was a little anxious leading up to Friday’s announcement, Olesky said.
“Everybody was a little nervous,” he said. “Some of our customers were concerned. We were fortunate, and I feel for all the dealers (who got bad news on Friday).”