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OGDEN -- A legendary car dealership is closing its doors after nearly a century in business. Hinckley Dodge in Ogden lost an arbitration appeal to continue selling Dodge cars and trucks.
Ogden store manager Jim Hinckley says it would be too hard to stay open now.
"Basically the problem becomes you still have the overhead of operating a new car franchise, but you don't have the revenue that is associated with that. And financially, it's just not a workable situation," Hinckley says.
He says the biggest problems were sales, location and that they were a "single-point store."
"[Chrysler wants to have] all their brands under one roof, and we were a Dodge-only facility, and we always have been. We did not have the Chrysler and Jeep at the Ogden location," Hinckley says.
Hinckley was quick to point out that this does not affect their Dodge-Chrysler-Jeep dealership in Salt Lake. He says they are offering some of their Ogden employees a chance to move to the other location.
He says if that doesn't work out, they are giving out severance packages and trying to find them other jobs.
KSL asked Hinckley if there is any animosity toward Chrysler even though they still have a business relationship.
"Yes, there is," he replied. "It's impossible not to have some of that. Business is very, very personal. But at the same time, you have to put that aside and you still have to be making business decisions. We are still their business partners in Salt Lake and look forward to a productive and mutually beneficial relationship as we move forward in the Salt Lake store."
Hinckley Dodge has been in business since 1915 and moved their dealership from Mount Pleasant to Ogden in 1927.
E-mail: cwall@ksl.com
