In the Midwest General Motors is as American as baseball and apple pie. Head out to the the U.S. coasts and GM's four brands could be classified as an endangered species. There are a lot of reasons for The General's lack of presence on the left and right coasts, but GM North American President Mark Reuss feels the dealer body could be part of the problem.

The Detroit News reports that Reuss and company are looking to overhaul their retail outlets on the coasts to better-align to where the customers are. Reuss claims that the solution isn't necessarily to add more stores, either. Instead GM could entice dealers to take up stakes and move to more populated areas. U.S. sales VP Don Johnson adds that GM needs improved presence out of key markets like Los Angeles and San Francisco, adding "we need to perform better overall."

Reuss acknowledged that part of the problem is that GM doesn't have the proper product mix to compete in California, but declined to divulge any future product plans that would improve the company's situation out west. One good piece of news for dealers is that Reuss claims that over 90 percent of the company's 4,500 retail stores is profitable, up from 40 percent back in 2009. We're thinking that number improved in part because The General cut 1,700 dealers as part of its bankruptcy plan.



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