General Motors announced it's sending letters of intent to more than 600 dealers across the country, letting them know they can continue to sell GM cars.

Those letters of intent are expected to arrive at dealerships Wednesday, but two West Virginia GM dealerships got the call Saturday.

That's according to Ruth Lemmon, president of the West Virginia Automobile and Truck Dealers Association.

Many others, like Henry Marino, are still waiting.

It's been seven months since Marino had to close the door to his Crown Dodge dealership in Nitro, which sold Chrysler and GM vehicles.

"I think GM finally figured out that they made a big mistake," says Henry Marino, owner of Town & Country Pre-Owned Auto Mall in Nitro.

GM didn't name the dealerships, but said it had reviewed claims for reinstatement from more than a thousand dealers. About 25 of those claims are from West Virginia.

Six hundred GM dealers will get a second chance, and two in West Virginia already got the word that they can stay open.

"They were contacted by phone on Saturday, but the letters are to be in the dealer's hands by Wednesday if they are going to be offered their franchise back," says Lemmon.

She says the move is a positive sign for the industry.

"I think it signals a real upswing. We already know that General Motors had started additional shifts at their manufacturing plants," Lemmon says.

But dealers like Henry Marino have moved on -- and across the street -- to selling pre-owned vehicles.

Marino says he hasn't heard from GM yet, but if he does, he's not sure if he wants to go back to being a GM dealer.

"I just have a bad taste in my mouth for them, for what they did to all the dealers," says Marino.

And right now, life in the pre-owned lane is treating him pretty well.

By the way, unlike Chrysler, GM never identified dealerships to be closed because they have until October of 2010 to wind down.

GM filed for bankruptcy in June 2009 and emerged 40 days later as a private company, 61-percent owned by the federal government.