Vogel Chevrolet gets green light from GM

By Mike Mathes, Tri-County News

Kiel’s long-time Chevrolet dealer received good news this week.

During challenging times for the auto-industry, Vogel Chevrolet, Inc. was informed Tuesday that the dealership has been identified as “key dealer” for the Chevrolet brand.  At a time, when General Motors has been eliminating dealers throughout the country, the news couldn’t have been better for Vogel Chevrolet.

“We are extremely pleased to announce that Vogel Chevrolet h as maintained its GM dealership status through the second wave of dealer terminations,” Mike Vogel, president of the dealership stated.

Waiting for the word

Vogel said times have been challenging for all automotive dealers during the economic downturn.

Like many other dealers nationwide, Vogel Chevrolet has been going about business as usual, but concerned about the specter of dealership reductions.

On June 2, GM notified all dealerships of their franchise agreement potential, with the “New GM” expected to emerge from restructuring efforts as early as July.

Vogel said the Kiel dealership did not receive a termination letter May 15, passing through the first round of dealer reductions.  However, nothing was set in stone as the GM restructuring process evolved.

The news of Tuesday means Vogel Chevrolet, Inc. will be a GM dealer as the company moves forward in revamping its operations.  GM is working to become a  eaner, more viable company in today’s challenging global marketplace.

“GM has committed to streamlining its dealer network by including only top-performing and strongest dealerships,” Vogel said.  That Vogel Chevrolet is among the survivors points to the strength of Kiel’s Chevrolet dealership.  Rationale used for selecting dealerships including a number of criteria, among which customer satisfaction scores played a major role.

Customers play a key role

On behalf of the dealership, Vogel expressed his appreciation to the Vogel Chevrolet customer base.

Consistently through 42 years as a Kiel dealership, Vogel Chevrolet has achieved impressive customer satisfaction scores.  “No matter what – it’s all about our customers and their day-to-day support, whether it involves buying new or used cars, getting service or parts, or having work done in collision department.  That’s why we are here.  Their satisfaction is our main concern,” Vogel said.

“We try to help our customers in every way we can.  That’s what my grandpa taught my dad and uncle, and that’s what they taught me.  It’s why I am still here..’ he added.

Vogel pointed to the dealership’s employees as key components in Vogel Chevrolet’s perseverance, “Our employees are the best, and we have the same goals – to survive tough economic times, but never at the expense of our customers.  They always come first,” Vogel said.

Vogel emphasized strongly that the Kiel dealership will continue to go about it business as usual. 

Vogel not only performs all varieties of service work as a mainstay of its business, it will continue to welcome warranty repairs.

“We look at this announcement in a positive light,” he said. “It means that GM will be continuing to offer its products and that we will be able to continue to offer their quality vehicles here at Vogel Chevrolet.” Vogel added that he anticipates with the changes in the industry, his dealership will at some point be able to offer some different, exciting brands through Chevrolet.

One such exciting is the re-introduction of the Camaro, which was rolled off the lines in early May.

Vogel Chevrolet has the new model on the lot and ready for a test drive.

“Now that we have the green light from GM, it’s time to embrace the future,” Vogel said. “The new GM will be better, stronger and we are ready to move forward.”

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