STUART — The Stuart Jeep and Stuart Volkswagen dealerships on U.S. 1 are going out of business on Friday as a result of the economic downturn and the Chrysler bankruptcy.

The owner of the dealership, Tom Willett, made the announcement Wednesday afternoon to about 70 workers, said Mark Babcock, a Jeep service manager who lives in Port St. Lucie.

Willett attributed the closing largely to the Chrysler bankruptcy, which will result in the closing of dealerships throughout the country, Babcock said. Stuart Jeep was vulnerable because it was a standalone dealership that did not include the auto maker’s Chrysler or Dodge brands.

“We all gave Mr. Willett a round of applause,” Babcock said. “We knew he tried his best for us. Tom Willett was a great owner. You can’t fault the guy. He tried to do everything he could.”

The dealership employed about 70 people, mainly salespeople, mechanics, detailers, officer workers and managers, Babcock said.

“It’s like a family type organization,” Babcock said.

The Jeep and Volkswagen dealerships will close for good at 5 p.m. Friday and the remaining automobiles will be returned to the manufacturers or sold through an auction, Babcock said.

“It’s been a good 14-year run,” Babcock said. “We survived hurricanes. If we had Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge, we might’ve stood a chance. That’s just the way it is. It’s sad, but it’s also business.”

By George Andreassi, TCPalm.com

Tags: auction, bankruptcy, best, Chrysler, hurricanes, jeep, Stuart

This entry was posted on Thursday, May 7th, 2009 at 8:40 am and is filed under Stuart. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.