Do the math ...... 2,000 dealers. And average of 50 employees each

[Stinky The Clown]

100,000 more casualties.

Most of the owners, I would bet a shitload of money, are repubicans who voted for their own demise. I am little able to muster sympathy for them.

There are, no doubt, some butt crack knuckle draggers on the staff, too. But by and large, these are ordinary people who have now had their lives disrupted.

Maybe AIG can hire them. They have no shortage of StimuBux.

[John Q. Citizen]

1. And the ripple effect will be huge. Think of the tax base of towns and counties.

[imdjh]

2. I don't understand why Chrysler would revoke franchises

They could end cooperative advertising or any support that the give the franchises, but I don't see the point in revoking them. I would think that many of these places could run a skeleton sales operation while still doing a good business in parts, service, and used cars.

[obliviously]

3. They are all non-union

They should have been union. so far union workers have had some protection.

[quiller4]

13. That simply isn't true

More than half of the dealerships closing in my region employ union machinists in their shops. Several others employ Teamsters in the parts departments. If that is true in the Pacific Northwest, I suspect it is even more the case in "rust belt" states.

[obliviously]

21. I stand corrected

I forgot about machinists.

[TahitiNut]

14. That's just not true. Many/most dealerships are unionized, at least hereabouts.

It's not at all unusual to see union picket lines around dealerships.

:shrug:

[CoffeeCat]

4. I'm in Iowa...

...and on our local (Des Moines) news, there was a story about Chrysler shutting down 20 dealerships in the state.

The top interview, was a guy who had owned a Chrysler dealership in central Iowa for decades. He was so pissed.
He is a prominent, wealthy guy, and I'm betting he was a Republican. He went on and on about "How dare Chrysler
take taxpayer-funded bailout money and then turn around and do this at a moment's notice".

He was not shy about his unhappiness!

[dflprincess]

5. It seems that around here

(at least in the metro area) the people who own car dealerships, own several of them and each one sells a different company's cars.

We did just have a major owner go completely broke (Denny Hecker apparently he depended way too much on loans and I think he got screwed by GM first) but overall I'll bet most the owners will land on their feet. I just wonder if any of them will bother to find jobs for those who worked at their Chrysler dealerships at one of their other shops.

I'm betting that it's rural areas that are really going get hit hard by this.

[bertman]

6. Today there was a report that the vast majority of the closings were in major URBAN areas.

For what that's worth.

[tammywammy]

8. In Texas it's a few dealers in metro areas

But mostly small towns. Seriously, there's a Denver City, Texas. I didn't not know that until I saw the Chrysler dealer is closing there.

[Fire_Medic_Dave]

7. I'd say the average dealer closing has less than 20 employees, it's still a huge number though.

[Stinky The Clown]

9. I actually heard the figure of 50 on the radio in a news story

But I have no idea how accurate that is, either.

[bobbert]

10. Yeah it's not just the salesmen but the repair men too.

Just about every dealership has an authorized repair center. They also need accountants and etc. I bet ther number is closer to 50, but 50 does sound a little high.

[Fire_Medic_Dave]

12. I was thinking that they might concentrate on the lower volume dealers.

[quiller4]

15. Among the Chrysler dealerships closing in Washington

are some of the largest, highest volume dealers in the state.

[Fire_Medic_Dave]

18. That's not good.

[TahitiNut]

17. I doubt it's that low. I know two of the closing Chrysler dealers in my neighborhood are ...

... MUCH larger than 50 employees. I'd guess around 100-125 employees.

FWIW, that'd be Birmingham Chrysler and Villager Chrysler-Plymouth. They're the largest nearby ... and the only two I've used for my 1990 Chrysler LeBaron.

[pscot]

11. I read a prediction of 150,000 unemployed

by the time it all shakes out. This process isn't over yet.

[question everything]

16. I don't understand why Chrysler will not take the cars back

what are the dealers supposed to do with them?

We purchase a new car about once every 8 or 10 years and, unless we move, we take the car back to the dealer for service, at least during the warranty years. But if the dealer is shutting down, why would anyone purchase a car there?

As was reported, in many small towns the dealers are the largest employers. So it is not just loss of jobs, it will have a ripple effect on the whole area. Unemployed people do not go to coffee houses, do not pay taxes, probably will have to lose their homes..

[depakid]

19. I guess I'm having a bit of trouble feeling sorry for car dealerships

Their whole business model seems predicated on ripping people off and generally creating unpleasant experiences.

[northernlights]

20. one of the dealers "losing out" in my area (ME)

expects to be ok. They already do a lot of used car business and repairs. I imagine the trend as the economy continues to decline will favor used car dealers and service people anyway.