Corvette opens new dealerships in the UK

[Vet Guru]

Cadillac & Corvette are going to open two new sites one again in Reading and the other in Southampton more details in the next ten days from GM. It would look like these are not Stratstones sites.

[JimexPL]

Where did you get that information from Rob?

[Vet Guru]

This weeks AM magazine had a section on Cadillac in the UK maybe Mitch knows more and who it will be?

[mitch_]

I heard a rumour a while ago but I just can't believe it. However such rumours have surfaced before and come to nothing. I'll believe it when I see it.

[JimexPL]

Can't remember the name of the dealer group in Reading, but they have had discussions on and off with GM for a number of years, and I believe that they were approached by GM when Stratstone shut. As mitch said, I'll believe ti when I see it!
I think that there was a small dealer group near to Southampton interested in Hummer when the H3 was launched, but wasn't aware of any Cadillac/Corvette interest.

[Le Man]

Don't be surprised when these turn out to be authorised repairers to extend the aftersales network.

[555ST]

I tried to put Charles Plumley at Newport Imports (Kent) in touch with GM, given that he had pretty much all the kit required to do servicing work on GM's US product. Don't know whether anything came of it though...

[GW65]

Le Man said:

Don't be surprised when these turn out to be authorised repairers to extend the aftersales network.

Sounds good to me if one of them is in the South. I think most of us are happy to travel to buy, but it's a pain having a long trek for servicing and repairs.

[Vet Guru]

I think it will all be over by the end of the year just like when GM pulled Putin 2001. Sadly how can you hit any big numbers with Cadillac And Corvette when you only have three sites to sell from! And one of those is Park lane, that was always going to be just a new car showroom because stratstones were going to open a huge site in Croydon! Well that never happened.

[mitch_]

Vet Guru said:

I think it will all be over by the end of the year just like when GM pulled Putin 2001. Sadly how can you hit any big numbers with Cadillac And Corvette when you only have three sites to sell from! And one of those is Park lane, that was always going to be just a new car showroom because stratstones were going to open a huge site in Croydon! Well that never happened.

A manufacturer's major focus is only ever new car sales.....

[JimexPL]

The Croydon showroom almost happened. The windows were signwritten, brochures delivered, dealer codes set up etc. I think that 555ST may have even taken some cars there?
The used car site/service centre for Park Lane was to be at Walton On Thames replacing the soon to be closed Jaguar showroom. We were going to share the site with Chrysler once Jaguar had moved out. The site is still sitting empty 2 years later and it is one of the few freeholds that Pendragon own... I even recruited a manager for it! (he now runs a very nice pub in the Cotswolds...)

[mitch_]

JimexPL said:

The Croydon showroom almost happened. The windows were signwritten, brochures delivered, dealer codes set up etc. I think that 555ST may have even taken some cars there?
The used car site/service centre for Park Lane was to be at Walton On Thames replacing the soon to be closed Jaguar showroom. We were going to share the site with Chrysler once Jaguar had moved out. The site is still sitting empty 2 years later and it is one of the few freeholds that Pendragon own... I even recruited a manager for it! (he now runs a very nice pub in the Cotswolds...)

Don't stop there James. How did it get THAT close but not actually happen? I'm genuinely intrigued by this one........

[JimexPL]

I never found out the true reason for either.
Croydon was pushed under the carpet and never spoken of again (I ended up with two pallets of brochures at Park Lane and nowhere to put them!
Walton was a case of "it'll happen in March". Then April. Then May and so on. Until finally the Chrysler dealership that was going to relocate to the site with us was closed and Walton was never spoken of again either.

[555ST]

mitch_ said:

JimexPL said:

The Croydon showroom almost happened. The windows were signwritten, brochures delivered, dealer codes set up etc. I think that 555ST may have even taken some cars there?
The used car site/service centre for Park Lane was to be at Walton On Thames replacing the soon to be closed Jaguar showroom. We were going to share the site with Chrysler once Jaguar had moved out. The site is still sitting empty 2 years later and it is one of the few freeholds that Pendragon own... I even recruited a manager for it! (he now runs a very nice pub in the Cotswolds...)

Don't stop there James. How did it get THAT close but not actually happen? I'm genuinely intrigued by this one........

I expect the reason that it never happened is that the place was a (big) old Volvo dealership in shocking condition and would have cost millions to bring up to CCH dealer standards. Also, who on earth would choose to go to Croydon of their own free will?

Never took any cars there, but one day I drove from Reading to Croydon to let in Butterfield Signs who had driven from Bradford (4 hours each way) to do the signwriting which took 3 men about 2 hours. Outrageous inefficiency on Pendragon/Kroymans's(?) part - plenty of signwriters in London! Amusingly though, as I recall, I'd played cricket with one of the Butterfield's chaps when I was in the Taverner's team at Tong Village near Bradford - we played against a Butterfield's team every year.

Speaking of Bradford, I have decided to make a fish and chip pilgrimage in the next month or so. It's been about a year and a half and this muck they serve down here just doesn't do it for me. Might even pop in and see my dad while I'm up there...

[Vet Guru]

I heard Croydon never happened because they were going to knock the site down flats to be build?
Not sure if that happened.

[555ST]

Vet Guru said:

I heard Croydon never happened because they were going to knock the site down flats to be build?
Not sure if that happened.

The alleged plan to build flats would suggest that there was some hope that people might buy the flats, maybe even to live in. Do people live in Croydon???

I suggest the flats story may be a red herring...

[Le Man]

Herring?
No wonder the fish and chips are awful!