When Castriota Chevrolet in Dormont found out it wasn't one of 2,000 General Motors dealerships slated to close last year, the outfit printed signs and bought billboards proclaiming, "GM is here to stay and so is Castriota Chevrolet." One went up next to a shuttered GM dealership.

"We needed people to know we didn't get a wind-down letter," said Castriota sales manager John Eberlein. But GM's decision Friday to reinstate 661 dealers who appealed its nationwide closings has replaced wind-down letters with wound-up emotions across the industry.

During GM's bankruptcy restructuring last year, about 2,000 dealerships were told they would be closing when contracts expired this October. After Congress required an appeals process, about 1,100 dealers stepped up for a second chance -- and now 661 have been granted one.

GM offers a practical explanation for the decision -- the Hummer-size caseload of arbitration and an approaching deadline -- but the reprieves once again shake up an evolving market as domestic and foreign competitors gain ground on a regrouping GM. To add to the confusion, the company will not disclose which dealerships were blacklisted or would see a reprieve sometime this week.

The letters of reinstatement are the same documents a dealer opening a brand-new dealership would receive and covers requirements in capitalization, facilities and floor plans, said Ryndee Carney, GM spokeswoman in charge of dealers.

She said the 661 reprieved dealerships were selected based on "profitability, customer service scores, those types of business measurements."

One local dealer sat Monday and Tuesday watching for the FedEx truck, hoping for a letter of reinstatement. Underscoring the uncertainty gripping his business, he spoke on condition of anonymity because he was afraid of what would happen if news of his dealership's uncertain future were leaked.

"Some of the employees would probably leave, the customers would definitely leave, vendors shut you off, your bank comes in and they start demanding that loans get called in," he said. "It's a disaster."

If his dealership is not reinstated, he plans to pursue arbitration. If he loses there, he'll do business with GM "until the last day I'm allowed."

But even as he lives in limbo, he remains optimistic.

"Everything is cyclical," he said. "Look what happened to Toyota -- they used to be on top and now they're on the bottom looking up."

GM finds itself redistricting its dealerships at a time of industry upheaval -- domestic competitors rage turf wars and once-mighty imports are mired in scandal.

"Ford just beat them for the first time since 1998, and Toyota is fumbling around -- they have an opportunity to grab some customers," said auto analyst Mark Ragsdale. "Cutting all these dealers isn't helping sales. Is it any coincidence that Ford didn't do that but is selling cars?"

The news of in-the-mail reprieves also has stirred the emotions of Chrysler dealers given the pink slip last year.

As part of its own bankruptcy restructuring, Chrysler Group LLC closed 789 dealerships nationwide last June and now has about 400 jettisoned dealers pursuing arbitration for contracts with the company formed after the bankruptcy.

Chrysler spokesperson Kathy Graham said closed Chrysler dealerships had a contract with "old Chrysler" -- which does not exist after new owners formed the Chrysler Group during bankruptcy -- and therefore are not entitled to a GM-type reinstatement process.

Chrysler has a more manageable caseload to process than GM by the deadline in late June.

That doesn't appease one local dealer who was forced to stop selling new models.

"Chrysler is like a scared little 5-year-old hiding behind his mommy's skirt," said Bo Corwin, owner of Corwin Chrysler Jeep in Hickory.

Mr. Corwin has had to cut his staff in half to 11 employees since the Chrysler closing. He now sells used cars after closing his dealership's new car division and losing its profit. "They took two legs off my stool," he said.

He has not talked with Chrysler since. "Would you talk to your ex-wife after she cheated on you?"

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