NEW LONDON, Conn. -- The M.J. Sullivan dealership in New London has been informed by bankrupt General Motors Corp. that it can still sell Chevrolets, but that it's no longer able to sell Cadillacs and Buicks.

The news came in a letter this week to co-owner M.J. Sullivan. He said he can understand losing Buick to other regional stores in Mystic and Old Saybrook, but not Cadillac.

"To be honest with you, we paid an awful amount of money for these franchises, and they just came and gave us a token check and that's it," he said.

Sullivan said he had to gather all of his 70 employees Wednesday and give them the news, but said no one will be let go.

"We told our employees, 'Hey, we have Chevrolet,' which is the most important franchise to have," co-owner Bill Sullivan said. "It's our volume franchise. We were No. 1 in the state for Chevrolet for many years, and we'll just return to that No. 1 status."

He said the dealership still has cars like the new Camaro.

Down the road, GM and Chevy are banking on high-tech hybrid models to excite consumers, he said.

Cadillac, according to the Sullivans, represented 7 percent of their annual sales.

But between Chevrolet and their Hyundai franchise, they said they will shift gears without Cadillac and Buick and move forward.

"It's a good time to buy a vehicle," M.J. Sullivan said. "It's a good time to buy a house. The market is a buyer's market."

Cadillac and Buick won't go away until October 2010.

But the Sullivans said their dealership will still serve all their current GM customers.