Amaral Motors Is Not Closing

By John Voket

Instead of enjoying their lunch on the rainy afternoon of May 14, longtime Newtown business owner Daniel Amaral and his daughter, Cathy Amaral Freitas, were in damage control mode. Besides having learned hours earlier that the Chrysler company was in the final stages of legally pulling the family’s franchise, they were attempting to contact at least one local television station whose website reported the business was closing.

“That information could be really damaging to us,” Ms Amaral Freitas told The Newtown Bee just before noon that day. “Until my father makes any decision about that, we are still in business, still a licensed used car dealer, still doing service, Connecticut emissions testing, and still selling parts.”

Shortly before noon Thursday, WVIT, the Hartford-based NBC television affiliate, was reporting that Amaral Motors would be among state Chrysler dealerships being closed by the company. But in the case of the Newtown operation, Chrysler does not own the company or the property upon which the nearly 80-year-old auto service and sales business is located.

Even if Chrysler did have an interest beyond the franchise, whose volume averaged one to two new car sales per month in recent years, Ms Amaral said as far as she understood, the Chrysler proposal to close more than 800 company-owned dealerships, and the cancellation of related franchises, was still pending court approval that was not expected until June 9.

“We understood that the court handling this action won’t be set to render its decision until June 9, which is the intended date listed for our franchise closure, based on information we received a few hours ago,” Ms Amaral Freitas said.

A few minutes after speaking with Ms Amaral Freitas, the station’s web report had been updated indicating that at least Amaral’s would remain open. Six other Chrysler franchises in the state will also be potentially affected by the judgment, if it is awarded in favor of the car company: Country Motors, DBA Bob’s Dodge, Naugatuck; Crest Dodge, Woodbridge; Edward J. Wilson’s Sons, Torrington; Enfield Chrysler Plymouth, Enfield; Favley’s Inc, New London; and Holley Chrysler Dodge Jeep, Middletown.

The Associated Press was reporting around noontime on May 14 that Chrysler LLC filed a motion with the US Bankruptcy Court in New York to eliminate 789 of the 3,200 national dealerships, saying that the network is antiquated and has too many stores competing with each other.

The company said many of the dealers’ sales are too low. Just over 50 percent of the dealers account for about 90 percent of the company’s US sales, the motion said.

Since receiving official notice from Chrysler, Ms Amaral Freitas said the company has left her family “in limbo” regarding the few new vehicles on their lot. “Chrysler has not fulfilled the promise made in the franchise notice, which was promising help reassigning our current inventory,” she said during a call on May 19. At that point, the Amarals had not received any contact from the factory regarding that notice.

She also reiterated that the family is actively looking for possible new franchise opportunities for their high-profile location on the well-traveled Route 25 corridor.

“If...when it happens, it will be less of a headache,” Ms Amaral Freitas said in a May 7 interview. “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 she said show up regularly at the dealership 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.”

In the two weeks since the franchise demise was hinted, Ms Amaral Freitas said she has been receiving a few calls from Chrysler customers wanting to know if the dealership would remain in business, but she said the majority of calls were from well-wishers.

“We’ve had all kinds of calls of support,” she said.