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After 28 years in Lodi, Plummer Automall will be closing its doors Wednesday. (Brian Feulner/News-Sentinel)
Longtime Lodi auto dealership Plummer Automall to close Wednesday
Plummer Automall will close its doors this week, making it the second major auto dealer in Lodi to succumb to the souring economy and putting 59 people out of work.
On Monday, employees were driving the remaining Cadillac, GMC, Pontiac and Buick vehicles off the main lot to a secured area behind the dealership located on Kettleman Drive east of Highway 99.
By late afternoon, the expansive lot was empty save for one used Cadillac El Dorado.
Dennis Plummer
In a statement released Monday, the dealership's president, Dennis Plummer, said "it is with deep regret" that the business would close, "bringing to an end a proud legacy of serving the Lodi and Stockton communities for nearly 30 years."
"This was not an easy decision for the management of our company and one that it went to great lengths to try and avoid," Plummer said. He added that management tried to re-negotiate its commitments with the General Motors Acceptance Corporation and Farmers and Merchants Bank but ultimately was unsuccessful.
He noted that in 2008 the company generated $975,000 in sales tax revenue for the city of Lodi and San Joaquin County.
"I want to take this very sad time to thank the Lodi community for your business and support for the last 28 years," Plummer said. "It was our honor to serve this fabulous community and the people within it."
After 28 years in Lodi, Plummer Automall will be closing its doors Wednesday. (Brian Feulner/News-Sentinel)
Plummer's closure follows that of Geweke Chrysler Jeep Dodge, which ceased operations earlier this month.
As with Geweke, rumors of Plummer's demise had been circulating throughout the city for weeks prior to the dealership's announcement.
The auto industry has been one of the hardest hit sectors of the current economic downturn, and the industry's struggles can be seen as local dealerships close their doors.
Last year, new car sales in California fell 23 percent, a considerably larger drop than the nation as a whole, where sales of cars and light trucks declined 18 percent. At the same time, with General Motors, Ford, Chrysler and even Toyota in bad financial shape, dealers are getting squeezed from their manufacturers to offer incentives that in crease sales volume but cut profits even further.
That has led to dealership failures, with 137 new car dealers going out of business last year and another 22 so far in 2009, said Peter Welch, president of the California New Car Dealers Association. The impact on local tax collection of those closures can be huge, with some municipalities depending on car sales for as much as one-third of their revenue.
The Los Angeles Times contributed to this report.
Contact City Editor Andrew Adams at andrewa@lodinews.com.
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LodiJoe wrote on Mar 2, 2009 2:53 PM:
Lodian wrote on Mar 2, 2009 10:26 AM:
Mainframe wrote on Feb 28, 2009 8:31 PM:
LodiJoe wrote on Feb 28, 2009 5:41 AM:
Gator wrote on Feb 26, 2009 5:57 PM:
a workable energy policy. And Detroit kept on building Gas hogs bigger and better. Madison avenue ran the add campaign that made everyone want the big SUV, Pickups
you know the drill!! Then the nasty Saudis and their ilk had the gall to run the price of
Fuel up through the roof and they are at it again now!! What the H*** its their oil, right? 4.50 a gallon was the rock that started the financial land slide.. To quote the
Reverend J Wright, the Chickens has come home to roost. "
justlookin wrote on Feb 25, 2009 1:45 PM:
danielh wrote on Feb 25, 2009 1:01 AM:
I wonder if these congressional "bailouts" are nothing other than reward programs for these prolific bankers. "
danielh wrote on Feb 25, 2009 12:59 AM:
We were given fair notice on CNN.
On the average, bankers took the promissory notes from home buyers, and put them into the photocopy machine, onto the bank's stationary, thereby creating a duplicate note, ON THE AVERAGE 30 TIMES PER NOTE!
Some promissory notes were copied as much as 50 times! 30 times is the average.
Strict accounting procedures apply only to the original note, not the copies.
China realizes they are holding fraudulent notes, and they are calling these promissory notes for payment, and the banks are liable because the copies are on their stationary.
Since the notes are copies, the banks don't have the money, and this is causing the banks to crash. "
SJUNE74 wrote on Feb 24, 2009 9:58 PM:
I got my first Ford Mustang @ Giewke 1985/ "
Cogito wrote on Feb 24, 2009 8:30 PM:
sam wrote on Feb 24, 2009 7:39 PM:
Sure, it would be great for Dennis to go out on top, but that is not going to happen. So I say, Dennis, great job and enjoy your retirement. "
dogs4you wrote on Feb 24, 2009 7:30 PM:
Observer wrote on Feb 24, 2009 7:20 PM:
sam wrote on Feb 24, 2009 6:56 PM:
You had a great run and how lucky you are to be able to retire with a vacation home in Pebble Beach. Well done, Dennis. "
Cogito wrote on Feb 24, 2009 6:40 PM:
Cogito wrote on Feb 24, 2009 6:38 PM:
dogs4you wrote on Feb 24, 2009 5:08 PM:
Jason J concerning the first 6 years of the Bush administration, the Dow was over 14,000, houses were being built and the ecomomy was good. Not untill the last 2 years when the Democrats got hold of Congress did the economy start in a downward sprial. Now with Obama running the show, only time will tell how he will be tested, hopefully he will find a spine and treat those little runts that run N. Korea and Iran the same way Mr. Bush did and doesn`t give up the ranch with allot of talk that is going nowhere. Four years worth of Obama and this country will be ready for another Republican President. "
Whoa Nellie! wrote on Feb 24, 2009 5:08 PM:
I guess Dennis never gave the idea of selling his house in Pebble Beach to raise operating cash huh?
Close to $1M in sales tax for Lodi and SJC, I wonder what was Lodi's share? Yikes! More cuts for the firemen! "
the truth wrote on Feb 24, 2009 4:27 PM:
Wowerzz wrote on Feb 24, 2009 3:52 PM:
prospectmotorsfan wrote on Feb 24, 2009 3:48 PM:
Jason J wrote on Feb 24, 2009 3:38 PM:
steve wrote on Feb 24, 2009 2:58 PM:
the truth wrote on Feb 24, 2009 2:21 PM:
the truth wrote on Feb 24, 2009 2:19 PM:
wtf wrote on Feb 24, 2009 2:07 PM:
Inquisitor wrote on Feb 24, 2009 1:58 PM:
jay dubb wrote on Feb 24, 2009 1:31 PM:
wtf wrote on Feb 24, 2009 12:51 PM:
jqq wrote on Feb 24, 2009 11:30 AM:
No nearly as much as Mr. Plummer's business, but some nonetheless. "
patton1 wrote on Feb 24, 2009 11:15 AM:
dogs4you wrote on Feb 24, 2009 11:12 AM:
Weezer is right when he said, and I have been saying all along that the UAW did more than it`s share to kill the American automobile business.
I have delt with Plumber for many years and am sadden that his dealership will close. With the loss of over $900,000 in sales tax, SWM looks pretty good now. "
weezer wrote on Feb 24, 2009 9:57 AM:
Journey and edumacation, another factor that killed the American automakers are the absurd deals they made with the unions. "
lynn wrote on Feb 24, 2009 9:52 AM:
edumacation wrote on Feb 24, 2009 9:36 AM:
journey wrote on Feb 24, 2009 9:04 AM:
Observer wrote on Feb 24, 2009 7:07 AM:
Comments on this story are now closed.