Things along Baltimore Pike in the Lima section of Middletown just won’t be the same.
And this has nothing to do with the development of the old Franklin Mint site.
Up the road just a bit on the corner with Pennell Road sits Weathers Dodge.
The Weathers family has been selling cars there under the Chrysler label since 1922, making them one of the oldest Chrysler dealers in the country.
Not anymore.
The news had been circulating for weeks. Chrysler was looking to shed a lot of dealers. Yesterday the letters arrived. And they scored a direct hit on Weathers Dodge.
One thing needs to be made clear here. Weathers is not going away. They are not closing their doors. They will remain open selling cars as they have for the last 87 years.
But after the first week of June, it is likely the family dealership will no longer do so under the Dodge-Chrysler banner. Unless they can hook on with another label, they may not be selling new vehicles at all, instead focusing on the used-car trade.
Twenty-six people make their living at Weathers Dodge, which was named the 2009 Family Business of the Year by the Delaware County Chamber of Commerce.
Larry Weathers III, the third generation of Weathers family members to run the franchise, said the news came as a shock. But he’s not looking at the past, or even the rocky present.
Weathers instead is looking to the future.
“I think the key is to get over the shock quickly, get rid of any anger lingering around, get on with business and figure out a game plan,” he told our Vicky Thomas yesterday after getting the letter from Chrysler informing him they were cutting their ties.
With an attitude like that, it’s no wonder the family business has been a stalwart for almost a century.
Weathers Dodge has been an icon on Baltimore Pike for decades. It has forged strong relationships with generations of loyal customers.
Those kinds of work relationships don’t always count for all that much in today’s bottom-line driven economic environment.
But you can’t put a price tag on the kind of relationship Weathers Dodge had with the car-buying public. The people at Chrysler don’t understand the deep ties Weathers has in the community, the local youth sports teams it sponsors and other endeavors it is intimately involved with.
That’s Chrysler’s loss. And in reality a loss for all of us.
Stormy Weathers? In this economy, where the bottom line is king, it’s just another sign of the times.
And this has nothing to do with the development of the old Franklin Mint site.
Up the road just a bit on the corner with Pennell Road sits Weathers Dodge.
The Weathers family has been selling cars there under the Chrysler label since 1922, making them one of the oldest Chrysler dealers in the country.
Not anymore.
The news had been circulating for weeks. Chrysler was looking to shed a lot of dealers. Yesterday the letters arrived. And they scored a direct hit on Weathers Dodge.
One thing needs to be made clear here. Weathers is not going away. They are not closing their doors. They will remain open selling cars as they have for the last 87 years.
But after the first week of June, it is likely the family dealership will no longer do so under the Dodge-Chrysler banner. Unless they can hook on with another label, they may not be selling new vehicles at all, instead focusing on the used-car trade.
Twenty-six people make their living at Weathers Dodge, which was named the 2009 Family Business of the Year by the Delaware County Chamber of Commerce.
Larry Weathers III, the third generation of Weathers family members to run the franchise, said the news came as a shock. But he’s not looking at the past, or even the rocky present.
Weathers instead is looking to the future.
“I think the key is to get over the shock quickly, get rid of any anger lingering around, get on with business and figure out a game plan,” he told our Vicky Thomas yesterday after getting the letter from Chrysler informing him they were cutting their ties.
With an attitude like that, it’s no wonder the family business has been a stalwart for almost a century.
Weathers Dodge has been an icon on Baltimore Pike for decades. It has forged strong relationships with generations of loyal customers.
Those kinds of work relationships don’t always count for all that much in today’s bottom-line driven economic environment.
But you can’t put a price tag on the kind of relationship Weathers Dodge had with the car-buying public. The people at Chrysler don’t understand the deep ties Weathers has in the community, the local youth sports teams it sponsors and other endeavors it is intimately involved with.
That’s Chrysler’s loss. And in reality a loss for all of us.
Stormy Weathers? In this economy, where the bottom line is king, it’s just another sign of the times.
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