Shedding Chrysler Franchise?—

Town’s Only Car Dealership Will Continue Service

No Matter What

By John Voket

After a sometimes contentious 78-year marriage between Newtown’s Amaral family and the Chrysler company, it appears the two are poised to go their separate ways.

The troubling thing for second generation owner Daniel Amaral and his daughter Cathy Amaral Freitas, representing a third generation of family members operating the service garage and modest dealership, is they have no solid idea when the end is really coming.

But both suspect the loss of the family’s Chrysler franchise will be coming soon.

Despite being in financing limbo as Chrysler Financial merges with GMAC Financing, the banking wing of once arch rival General Motors, and being restricted from trading vehicles with other dealerships or obtaining new and used vehicles to populate its lot and sales floor, the Amarals appear to be upbeat.

“If...when it happens, it will be less of a headache,” Ms Amaral Freitas told The Bee Wednesday as she and her father continued their vigil, waiting for an email or messenger to deliver any news about their dealership’s future. “The advantage of losing the brand will mean we will be responsible to ourselves. We won’t be bound to spend the kind of money required to keep up with the company’s technology and operational requirements.”

This could be an advantage to the Amaral family’s many customers, some of whom still arrive at the dealership with regularity every few years to replace their old Chrysler with a new Chrysler. And regarding those who Ms Amaral Freitas said have fallen away because they lost faith in the brand, or who are looking for more fuel-efficient vehicles, “They still come back for oil changes or other service we can provide, because they are loyal to the Amaral brand, not the Chrysler brand.”

A Local Landmark

The business has been a fixture on South Main Street since Daniel’s father Tony opened the doors and signed on to sell Chryslers in 1936. Daniel Amaral said he took over the business during the tumultuous “Iacocca years, back in the early 80s.”

Back then, Mr Amaral said the company provided exceptional support to even its small dealers, sending separate Chrysler representatives in regularly to monitor parts, service, and sales aspects of the dealership.

“They would be in every week,” he said.

But after the 9/11 tragedy, Ms Amaral Freitas said things began changing. “After 9/11 it went from visits to phone calls, and then we started having to call them,” she said.

But neither Mr Amaral nor his daughter have seen anything like what has transpired in recent weeks.

“We know now that there are global forces that are affecting even our little franchise here in Newtown,” Ms Amaral Freitas said.

Besides the spectacle of Chrysler’s slide into bankruptcy becoming reality just a few days ago, there were other signs, including the quiet closing of several other mom and pop franchises in the region, and unverified reports that Danbury’s Action Motors was being acquired by its crosstown rival Danbury Dodge.

“A Chrysler representative said it is in process,” Ms Amaral Freitas said. “When you start to see that — the mom and pop dealers fading away, the mergers between former competitors — you’re seeing the writing’s on the wall.”

Not-So-Subtle Hints

Ms Amaral Freitas said the family was informed some time ago that “it is Chrysler’s objective to remain viable, and in order to do that, they have to reduce the number of dealers nationally. And while this is a broad, blanket kind of comment, it’s only a matter of time before they come through and say ‘we don’t need all these small guys.’”

Ms Amaral Freitas and her father both agreed, however, that having an affiliation with such an internationally recognized brand has its advantages.

“Chrysler still means something to a lot of our customers,” Ms Amaral Freitas said. “They have been coming in here and calling over the past few days wondering what they are going to do. We’ve built thousands of customer relationships in our 78 years here.”

If the franchise is lost, Mr Amaral said it could cost him a few extra dollars to obtain genuine Chrysler or Mopar parts for his customers’ repairs, because his direct parts affiliation will be gone along with the Chrysler logo over the door.

“We’ll have to go over to Danbury Dodge to get our parts,” he said. “And we won’t be authorized to do Chrysler, Dodge, or Jeep warranty service.”

“We’re also unclear about obtaining technology upgrades for diagnostic equipment we already own that was stipulated as a condition of our franchise,” Ms Amaral Freitas added.

But the family is committed to Newtown, their customers, and their tradition of small town service.

“We’re going to keep taking things one day at a time,” Ms Amaral Freitas said. “We can’t make a move without Chrysler telling us what’s happening, but at the same time we’re open and looking for new opportunities.”