“Obviously we were very excited that Cadillac will be remaining in Warren County,” DeLord said.
DeLord has operated a General Motors dealership on Columbus Avenue in Lebanon since 1997. He added the Cadillac name to the dealership in 2006.
“I felt Warren County was a great market for Cadillacs because of its position between Dayton and Cincinnati and because it was the second fastest growing county in Ohio,” DeLord said.
DeLord said his dealership was never in danger of losing its other GM brands, which include Buick and GMC.
The restructuring saw the company borrow approximately $52 billion from the U.S. government (much of which was later converted to company stock) and $9.5 billion from Canada, the elimination of several brands of cars produced by GM, and the closing of several hundred dealerships.
In recent weeks the company has reported a turnaround, repaying $8.1 billion of its loans it received from the U.S. and Canada.
“When GM started winding down dealers, a lot chosen (to be closed) were rural dealers,” DeLord said. “I think they realized a lot of rural dealers, like ours, helped with the volume.”
DeLord said he kept initial news of his closing quiet in hopes the situation could change. He is now excited by the prospects of the new GM.
“We’re anticipating doing a big job for Cadillac,” DeLord said. “I brought it here for a reason. We were just starting to take hold when they told us they were shutting us down.”
The Associated Press contributed to this story. Contact this reporter at (513) 696-4544 or jmcclelland@coxohio.com.
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