15 local Chrysler dealers slated for closure

Chrysler LLC wants to end its dealership agreements with 15 local automobile outposts, according to documents released Thursday related to the company???s ongoing bankruptcy proceedings.

The dealers are among 789 nationwide scheduled for the same fate under court records filed in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan. Chrysler would eliminate about a quarter of its dealerships under the plan. (For a complete list of dealers.)

Auto dealerships listed in the document include businesses in Chantilly, Laurel, Germantown, Potomac, Woodbridge, Rockville, Fairfax and Manassas. There are also two dealerships in Leesburg, as well as five affiliated with Kensington-based Fitzgerald Auto. None are located within D.C.

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The five Fitzgerald properties named in the court documents are all listed for the same Kensington address, which phone records indicate is Fitzgerald Auto Malls. The businesses named in the document were Colonial Dodge Inc., Fitzgerald Dodge, Fitzgerald???s Countryside Jeep, Lakeforest Chrysler Jeep Inc., and Wheaton Dodge City Inc.

A representative at Fitzgerald said the company could not immediately comment on the issue.

A dealership listed in the court documents as Westside Dodge Inc. also does not appear to be located at the address listed, according to phone records. Calls to listed owner John Darvish were not returned.

The cuts must be approved by a bankruptcy judge before they take effect.

???Obviously we???ve known this was coming, and have been trying to prepare for it to some extent,??? said Peter Kitzmiller, president of the Maryland Automobile Dealers Association. ???It???s going to have a significant impact on Maryland. The whole thing is absolutely ridiculous.???

Kitzmiller contends the cuts will not help Auburn Hills, Mich.-based Chrysler reduce costs, saying they will only result in billions in lost revenue and 60,000 lost jobs. The trade association has been lobbying on Capitol Hill against the effort. The group has hired a bankruptcy lawyer to assist its members with questions and will meet with local dealers later this week.

The dealership agreements are expected to be terminated June 9. Some dealerships could live on doing service work or switching to other brands.

Local dealerships listed in court documents:

• Darcars Chrysler of Fairfax, 10620 Lee highway in Fairfax
• Dulles Jeep, 107 Catoctin Circle Southeast in Leesburg
• Manassas Dodge, 9020 Liberia Ave. in Manassas
• Ourisman Chantilly Dodge, 4105 Auto Park Circle in Chantilly
• Cowles Chrysler , 14777 Jefferson Davis Highway in Woodbridge
• Pohanka Chrysler Dodge of Leesburg, 219 Catoctin Circle in Leesburg
• Colonial Dodge Inc., 11411 Rockville Pike in Kensington
• Fitzgerald Dodge, 11411 Rockville Pike in Kensington
• Fitzgerald???s Countryside Jeep, 11411 Rockville Pike in Kensington
• Lakeforest Chrysler Jeep Inc., 11411 Rockville Pike in Kensington
• Laurel Dodge Inc., 10052 North Washington Blvd. in Laurel
• Montrose Dodge, 19560 Frederick Road in Germantown
• Reed Brothers Dodge Inc., 15955 Frederick Road in Rockville
• Westside Dodge Inc., 11613 Highland Farm Road in Potomac
• Wheaton Dodge City Inc., 11411 Rockville Pike in Kensington