The Cadillac dealers who are most likely to have received the letter are those who:
(1) Are not strong in new car sales and are too close to a moderately strong GM dealer;
(2) Have a weak service department;
(3) Are "dual" dealers whose other brands are to be discontinued, e.g., Cadillac-Pontiac, Cadillac-Saturn;
(4) Are "dual" dealers whose other brands are to be sold, e.g., Cadillac-Hummer, Cadillac-Saab; and/or
(5) Are "dual" dealers whose other brands are outside of GM, e.g., Cadillac-Nissan
The dealers who have reasonably good volume in Cadillac and who have kept their premises up-to-date
have a better chance of survival than the above. It's the rural and less affluent areas that will lose the
biggest share of GM dealers. Cadillac-Chevrolet will become the usual pairing for dual dealers. Fifty years
ago it was more likely to be Cadillac-Pontiac or Cadillac-Oldsmobile.
Solo Cadillac representation is the minority of dealers and probably always has been. Even in the brass era,
few retailers sold just Cadillacs. Cadillac's early sales manager, William Metzger, is credited with making the
first retail sale of an Oldsmobile.
For a long time, GM has tolerated low volume in Cadillac when the other brand being sold has satisfactory
volume. You'll see this in a Self-Starter in the very near future, I think.
