Wilma Stack of Standish has been buying vehicles from Sebago Lake Chevrolet since 1966, and her father got his trucks from them for years before that. But now that General Motors is considering severing its ties with the longtime local dealership by the end of next year, Stack is rethinking her brand loyalty.

“If they do away with them, I’ll never buy another GM product,” Stack said this week, a few days after hearing the news.

Sebago Lake Chevrolet, which has about 30 employees, was one of around 1,100 U.S. dealers that were notified two weeks ago that the dealership may not be part of General Motors’ future beyond next year.

But Brad Woodbrey, president of Sebago Lake Chevrolet, said the company’s future as a General Motors dealer remains very much up in the air, and a lot could change before October 2010, when the dealer’s franchise agreement with GM runs out. Even if the agreement is not renewed, he said, the dealership would continue to deal used cars, and the service and parts departments would stay open, Woodbrey said. With their location on Route 302, they would also be attractive to other car companies looking for franchises.

“There are more questions than answers,” Woodbury said of the letter from General Motors, and the future of Sebago Lake Chevrolet.

According to a release from General Motors, which appeared to be headed for bankruptcy after a deal with bondholders fell apart Tuesday night, the company plans to reduce its dealer network from 5,969 stores to around 3,600 by the end of 2010. Most existing franchise agreements run through October 2010. General Motors did not release the names of the dealerships, all of which are independently owned.

“We have said from the beginning that our dealers are not a problem but an asset for General Motors,” GM Vice President of Sales Service and Marketing Mark LaNeve said in a statement on May 15. “However, it is imperative that a healthy, viable GM have a healthy, viable dealer body that cannot only survive but prosper during cyclical downturns. It is obvious that almost all parts of GM, including the dealer body, must get smaller and more efficient.”

The letter was a surprise, said Woodbury. Sebago Lake Chevrolet has been doing very well, with sales turning a corner after a tough spell at the end of last year. They met their sales quota for the first quarter of 2009, beating the same period for 2008, and the sales and service departments are very busy, he said.

Woodbury said the letter he received was vague in its wording. It said General Motors would not expect the franchise agreement would be renewed, but also that the planning is not finalized.

“It’s not signed by anyone. It’s very generic. It’s about as nebulous as anything could be,” said Woodbrey. The circumstances around General Motors, especially considering the potential bankruptcy, are changing all the time, he said. Also, Maine law protects franchise holders, which could make it difficult for General Motors to end the relationship.

“It’s not as simple as them saying we don’t like you,” said Mitch Woodbrey, Brad’s brother and the head of the service department.

Stack heard last week from a friend that Sebago Lake Chevrolet had received the letter from General Motors, and she quickly called Brad Woodbrey, the company’s president, to see what she could do. She later called General Motors themselves, who confirmed the letter, Stack said. They then offered to point her to another Chevrolet dealership, which infuriated the Standish woman.

“I said no. Here they are already taking customers away from Sebago Lake Chevrolet more than a year before they are supposed to close,” she said. “This is really not right.”

Mitch Woodbrey said General Motors may be overlooking exactly why customers buy their cars. It is not always because of brand loyalty, he said, but because of loyalty to the local dealership.

“They buy here because they want to do business here. They’ve always done business here,” he said.

Stack bought her first vehicle from Sebago Lake Chevrolet in 1966, when the dealership was still in Sebago Lake Village in Standish, where the dealership first opened in 1928. At the request of General Motors, they moved first to a bigger garage in Standish, then to busy Route 302 in North Windham. All that, said Stack, should have bought them some loyalty.

“This garage has done everything Chevrolet had asked of them, and now they are throwing them under the bus,” she said.

In the statement, General Motors said they need “fewer, healthier dealers” and that the dealerships will receive notice well in advance of any action. But the company is not discussing individual dealerships.

There is hope that a market rebound could keep the dealership aligned with General Motors, Stack said, and she hopes that it happens. “They’ve been a wonderful company to deal with.”

General Motors recently informed Sebago Lake Chevrolet in Windham that the automaker may severe its relationship with the longtime local dealer by October 2010.