Buick dealer: GM forced family to sell

DETROIT -- Tamaroff Automotive Group in suburban Detroit sold a 38-year-old Buick franchise to a competitor after General Motors forced the group's hand, the son of the company's founder said today.Jeffrey Tamaroff said his father, Marvin Tamaroff, sold Tamaroff Buick to dealer Art Moran on Monday, April 2. Marvin Tamaroff opened the dealership in Southfield, Mich., in 1969.Jeffrey Tamaroff said GM had made it hard for his family to continue to do business at the dealership. He said GM granted four Buick points to nearby dealers in the past 18 months. Three of those dealerships are within 20 miles of Tamaroff Buick, he said."When they added all of those points in the marketplace, it really made it difficult for us," Tamaroff told Automotive News. The dealership sold 175 fewer new Buicks last year than in 2005, Tamaroff said.GM was not immediately available for comment. The automaker is pursuing a "channel" strategy aimed at reducing and realigning its retail network while creating larger, more efficient stores. The strategy calls for consolidating Buick, Pontiac and GMC franchises in single dealerships. Moran, the buyer of the Tamaroff Buick franchise, operates Pontiac and GMC franchises in suburban Detroit."Either we were going to buy Art Moran, or Art Moran was going to buy us," Jeffrey Tamaroff said. "Originally we were buying them, and then circumstances changed, and the deal flipped the other way."The Tamaroff group continues to operate Dodge, Honda and Nissan dealerships in Southfield. The family also operates Buick, Acura, Honda, Nissan and Kia dealerships in Roseville, Mich., another Detroit suburb.You may e-mail Arlena Sawyers at asawyers@crain.com

Buick dealer: GM forced family to sell

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