The Auburn Hills
automaker has been working under its so-called Project Alpha to get more of its dealers to sell all three of its brands--Dodge, Chrysler and Jeep--under one roof. But Chrysler, purchased last year by
private-equity firm Cerberus Capital Management, is replacing Alpha with Project Genesis to eliminate duplication in its product lineup and to be more aggressive about dealer consolidation.
A year ago, industry analyst and advisor Steve Girsky said that two-thirds of domestic-brand dealerships needed to go before the remaining stores would be as profitable as import-brand dealerships. Other experts say that eliminating as few as 20% of domestic-brand dealers would be sufficient, but that would still involve thousands of dealerships across the country.
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