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Key dates in the GM, Chrysler dealer appeals


Key dates in GM and Chrysler's efforts to pare down their U.S. dealer network.

-- April 30, 2009: Chrysler LLC files for bankruptcy protection.

-- May 14: Chrysler says it wants to shed 789 of its 3,200 U.S. dealerships by June 9 in a motion filed with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in New York.

-- May 15: As it heads toward bankruptcy protection, General Motors Corp. tells 1,100 of its 6,150 U.S. dealers that it won't renew their franchises in fall of 2010.

-- June 1: GM enters bankruptcy protection.

-- June 9: Chrysler Group LLC exits bankruptcy protection.

-- July 10: General Motors Co. exits bankruptcy protection.

-- Dec. 3: GM and Chrysler say they will reconsider dealership closures as part of an effort to stave off federal legislation requiring them to keep dealerships open.

-- Dec. 10: Congress requires a binding arbitration process for the 2,800 GM and Chrysler dealers threatened with closure as part of a $1.1 trillion spending bill.

-- Jan. 26, 2010: Nearly 1,600 GM and Chrysler dealers meet a deadline to appeal their closures, according to the American Arbitration Association, a resolution service selected to conduct the hearings.

-- Late February: The American Arbitration Association begins hearings.

-- March 5: GM says it will reinstate 661 dealers because it doesn't have time to negotiate with all 1,100 of its dealers who applied for arbitration.

-- March 26: Chrysler offers to reinstate 80 dealers.

-- June 14: Original deadline for the hearings to end. The hearings are extended for another month.

-- June 29: GM North American President Mark Reuss says GM will end the arbitration process with around 4,500 U.S. dealers.

-- July 14: Arbitration hearings are scheduled to end.

-- July 23: Due date for final decisions.