Gulfview Automotive Group closes three dealerships June 1, 2009

PORT RICHEY, FLA. Gulfview Automotive Group, which has been a fixture of the Pasco and Hernando county business scene for nearly a quarter century, closed its Port Richey, Spring Hill and Brooksville automobile showrooms today. The affected dealerships include Gulfview Motors Inc., Port Richey; Gulfview Motors of Hernando Inc., doing business as Hernando Mitsubishi, Spring Hill; and Hernando Suzuki, Brooksville, also owned by Gulfview Motors Inc., announced Leon Kreisler, the automotive group's president and founder. "This is one of the hardest decisions I have ever had to make," Kreisler commented. "We are victims of an economy that made it impossible to continue doing business. Telling my wonderful staff, many of whom have been with me since I started the business in 1985, was heartbreaking. — I want to assure our customers that they will be made whole and won't have any outstanding financial issues with us," Kreisler said, "We intend to completely honor all of our commitments, obligations and agreements." Toward that end, he added, there will be a skeleton staff for the next week at Gulfview Motors' Port Richey showroom and the Suzuki dealership in Brooksville to answer questions and deal with customer concerns. After that, all operations will be transferred to Hernando Mitsubishi at 3477 Commercial Way (U.S. Highway 19) in Spring Hill.

Kreisler founded Gulfview Motors on U.S. Highway 19 in Port Richey with 35 cars and six employees. During the next 24 years, the Gulfview Automotive Group evolved to become a major area employer that contributed hundreds of millions of dollars to the tax base in Hernando and Pasco counties, supporting hundreds of families, vendors and related businesses. At its peak in 2007, Gulfview Automotive Group sold more than 3,600 new and pre-owned vehicles, generating more than $70 million in sales and service. During the first four months of this year, the group sold just 698 vehicles, down from 1,060 for the same period last year. Moreover, revenues for the period slid from $22.4 million in 2008 to $13.6 million this year ... a drop of nearly 40 percent that was exacerbated by slashed profit margins due to tighter credit. Before this year, Gulfview Motors annually sold more pre-owned vehicles than any other new- or used-car dealer in Pasco, Hernando and Citrus counties, reports Modern Technologies, a Connecticut-based firm that tracks Florida automotive sales. Modern Technologies also ranked Gulfview as one of the state's largest pre-owned-vehicle dealers. Hernando Mitsubishi and Hernando Suzuki were listed consistently among the nation's top 10 dealers in sales and customer satisfaction by Mitsubishi and Suzuki. "Unfortunately," Kreisler observes, "automotive sales are at such a low level that we couldn't turn a profit... even being ranked among these manufacturers' top 10 dealerships in the country."

The decision to close the dealerships at this time was made, he adds, "before the situation deteriorated further and our customers' financial well-being might suffer. "I have remained in business this long by treating people fairly and doing the best job possible to make sure our customers and employees were always happy. But the realities of this economy made continuing impossible." Gulfview Automotive Group's administrative offices are at 3477 Commercial Way (U.S. Highway 19) in Spring Hill, Fla. 34606. They will be open during regular business hours for customers with unfinished or outstanding business. The telephone number is (352) 684-7200