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H.H. Niswander to remain in Huntington as GM reorganizes

Dave Niswander (left) and Sam Niswander, co-owners of H.H. Niswander in Huntington, display the letter they received from General Motors, informing them that their dealership would be allowed to stay in business, selling GM’s Buick and GMC Truck lines.
Photo by Cindy Klepper.

Dave and Sam Niswander are a couple of happy souls.

Ecstatic, even.

The brothers, co-owners of H.H. Niswander Pontiac-Buick-Cadillac-GMC Trucks in Huntington, received "the letter" last week - a missive notifying them of their future status with General Motors.

And the news was good.

Niswander will keep the Buick and GMC Truck brands of its GM dealership. However, GM canceled its franchise agreement with Niswander for the Pontiac and Cadillac brands.

"We're here and we're going to stay here," Dave Niswander says.

"We're going to be growing into the New GM image," adds Sam Niswander.

The changes are part of the General Motors bankruptcy restructuring process, which includes reducing the number of GM dealers in the United States.

The Niswanders say they're not certain what factors were considered when deciding which dealerships would close, but say the believe GM considered location, sales, customer satisfaction, performance, capitalization and demographics in its decision.

According to the agreement with GM, Niswander can continue to sell the Pontiacs and Cadillacs it currently has in its inventory through Oct. 31, 2010. If the dealership sells all of its Pontiacs and Cadillacs before that date, it won't receive any additional vehicles in those models. The dealership can also continue to service Pontiacs and Cadillacs.

"We can service any make under the GM brand even after Oct. 31," Sam Niswander says.

H.H. Niswander was incorporated in Huntington in 1951 by Duke Niswander, whose father had operated a Ford dealership in Peru. The Huntington dealership is now owned by Duke Niswander's sons and employs about 20 people.

"We'd like to thank everybody who's supported us the last 58 years," Sam Niswander says.

The decision, the brothers say, ended weeks of uncertainty about the dealership's future.

"Now, we're going to be able to make some plans," Dave Niswander says.