However, a third new car dealership in the county has closed. General Motors announced Friday it was eliminating about 1,100 of its 6,000 U.S. dealers. The lone local Chevrolet dealership was not affected. Ricky Gastorf, sales manager at Gastorf-Schrumpf Motors, confirmed the dealership learned Friday it would remain open after talking with officials from General Motors. "Business is as usual," Gastorf told The Record. "We knew we had to wait and see what GM would do. We were nervous obviously, because you didn't know. When we found out everybody was excited." While GM did not reveal what dealerships were being eliminated, Chrysler released a list the day before announcing 789 of its roughly 3,200 dealers would be closing by June 9, including one locally. But the news wasn't unexpected said Mike Feinstein, general manager of the Zeiser Automotive Group. He said the local Zeiser Chrysler Dodge Jeep dealership had already sold its inventory to Chrysler prior to the bankruptcy proceedings that began April 30. That allowed the local dealership to voluntarily end the franchise agreement, Feinstein said. "We saw and anticipated that bankruptcy filing," he said. "We felt it was in our best interest to close under our own terms." Feinstein acknowledged the dealer was in talks earlier this year regarding a possible sale to local investors, but a deal could never be reached. ðð Both local dealerships - Gastorf and Zeiser - are located in Truesdale along the South Outer Road just east of Warrenton. The former Zeiser Chrysler lot already is occupied by I-70 Auto Body, a repair shop that has another location in Wentzville. The adjacent Zeiser Ford dealership is not affected by any of the recent announcements. Both Chrysler and GM say they are cutting the number of dealers because they have too many outlets that are too close to each other, and the competition drives down prices, according to The Associated Press. Gastorf said the GM dealers nationwide were judged on certain criteria including sales, customer satisfaction, location and facilities. He said the local dealership scored well in all areas. All of the GM dealerships eliminated will not have their franchise agreements renewed late next year. "We will be here serving like we always have," Gastorf said. The only latest auto industry news to affect Gastorf-Schrumpf is with its Pontiac brand. The vehicles will no longer be made and Gastorf said inventory will be phased out by 2010. The closing of the Zeiser dealership won't cost many jobs, according to Feinstein. He said many of the employees have been relocated elsewhere. He estimated only four workers are no longer with the company. Zeiser also has since purchased a Kia dealership in Florissant, in an effort to market several vehicles that are priced under $20,000, Feinstein said. "We felt less expensive, new vehicles were the route to go and Kia does that," he said.