tyska

Thanks, I had overlooked the obvious, franchising agreements. When something has been there all the time, I guess I tended not to think of how they came to be there. Was looking at it from a straight wholesaler, retailer relationship. But yeah " factory trained technicians". Not much in them as far as investment right now though. Amazing how the brand loyalty among individuals, heck even whole families has disappeared from what it was 20-30 yrs ago. Dan

As this is my first post here I would like to start out by extending my thanks to Parsad for setting up and moderating this incredible board. Also as a FFH and BRK-B holder I would like to thank the many posters who unselfishly share their knowledge and thoughts on the two companies. Most of it is so far beyond were I am at that all I can do is lurk and learn. The one thing I have learned the most is the character of Prem and Buffet which I am starting to think may be more important than understanding every line in the business. And am frustrated at the drop in price after stellar results of FFH, especially not being in the position to add. :) Now the question that has been going around in my mind from reading on GM restructuring. How do dealerships fit into the cost structure of the auto makers that make cutting numbers a cost saving. I'm sure all the dealerships are individually owned and run. I'm pretty sure the service end isn't being subsidised from having work performed recently. I would have thought that any incentive would have been on a per vehicle basis so not really affected by number of dealerships. So all that I am able to come up with is a little promotional literature and signage. With all the service sides of the dealerships seemingly busy, I would think the loss of the margin on AC Delco parts, as more would probably slip into the aftermarket, would more than offset savings as I see it. But then again there must be something that I obviously don't see. Dan