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Verona Dealership Fighting To Stay In Business

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May 21, 2009 10:31 pm US/Eastern

Verona Dealership Fighting To Stay In Business

VERONA (KDKA) ― A Verona car dealer says he's ready to fight both Chrysler and the government in his efforts to remain open.

Bert Molitierno, the owner of Verona Jeep, is using his showroom as a billboard, urging people to go online to a website and send e-mails to Congress in opposition to Chrysler's recently announced plans to close one in every four of its dealerships nationwide.

The company wants to shutter nearly 800 of some 3,200 franchises.

Molitierno says last year at this time, he had 26 employees - now, he's down to four - a bodyman, a technician, and two salesmen. And, with Chrysler's recent bankruptcy filing, his business has hit rock bottom.

"They [Chrysler] gave us three weeks notice to sell cars that we couldn't sell in six months. They stuck us with our parts inventory, because effective June 9, we'll have no way of knowing what the parts belong to, because they are on computer, and they [Chrysler] are shutting the computers down," Molitierno said. 

In announcing plans to eliminate hundreds of dealers with poor sales last week, Chrysler said half of their dealers make up 90 percent of sales.

(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)

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© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.