By Richard Kerns
rkerns@newstribune.info
tribune staff writer

KEYSER — The Jenkins Chrslyer dealership in Keyser is not among the 789 dealerships that Chrysler is seeking to close, but a Cumberland Jeep dealership did make the list.
Neither of Jenkins’ two dealerships — including the location on Winchester Road in LaVale — was among the dealerships identified on the closure list released Thursday by Chrysler.
Shaffer Jeep at Motor City near Cumberland, however, was on the list to be closed.
Randy Shaffer, owner of the dealership, was resigned to the decision.
“There's nothing I can do about it,” he said. “I figured they might do that.”
A third-generation auto dealer who will continue to sell Toyota, Ford and Chevrolet at his Motor City show
rooms, Shaffer acquired the right to sell Jeeps when he bought an AMC franchise in the early 1980s. That brand was then bought out by Chrysler, which allowed him to keep the Jeep sales. After receiving notification from Chrysler Thursday morning, Shaffer said he wasn't thinking so much about the effect on his business, but rather those who bought cars from him.
“I feel sorry for my customers,” he said, noting that he is unsure as to how or where Jeeps will be sold in the area.
Recalling the 1996 flood of Wills Creek, which devastated the dealership, Shaffer said he will overcome this latest setback.
“I've been in business 30 years and I’ve seen it all,” he said. “I'll survive. I had a good teacher, my dad.”
With the closure of the Shaffer dealership, the Jenkins showroom in Keyser would be the only Jeep dealer in the Keyser-Cumberland area.
Jenkins officials were unavailable for comment Thursday.
Chrysler is paring roughly a quarter of its 3,200 U.S. dealerships, saying in a bankruptcy court filing that the network is antiquated and has too many stores competing with each other.
The company, in a motion filed with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in New York, said it wants to eliminate the 789 dealerships by June 9. Many of the dealers' sales are too low, the automaker said. Just over 50 percent of dealers account for about 90 percent of the company's U.S. sales, the motion said.
Dealers were told Thursday morning through United Parcel Service letters if they would remain or be eliminated. The move, which the dealers can appeal, is likely to cause devastating effects in cities and towns across the country as thousands of jobs are lost and taxes are not paid.