From Pine View Farm

Bushonomics: Creampuff Dept. 1

Wanna buy a used car dealership?

In Pennsylvania, the number of dealerships expected to close or merge by year’s end will be three times the historic average. Hardest hit are those selling U.S. cars, whose gas-guzzling models have become auto-lot orphans.

The national outlook is likewise grim. Last week, Ford Motor Co. reported U.S. sales had dropped 34 percent in September. And yesterday, normally bulletproof Toyota Motor Corp. saw its shares experience their largest one-day drop in decades on fears of a global recession.

Penske Chevrolet is among a batch of dealerships in Southeastern Pennsylvania and South Jersey to close or merge during the last month. Dealerships in Hammonton and Elmer, N.J., also shut down in recent weeks or are on the chopping block, and others are rumored to be next.

Most affected are dealerships selling autos by the Detroit “Big Three” – Ford, General Motors Corp. and Chrysler L.L.C., said John Devlin, vice president of the Pennsylvania Automotive Association in Harrisburg.

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1 comment

  1. Opie

    October 9, 2008 at 12:23 pm

    “Most affected are dealerships selling autos by the Detroit “Big Three” – Ford, General Motors Corp. and Chrysler…”

    Nope, I’m not buying the idea that “Bushonomics” has some mysterious effect that hurts American car companies more than Japanese ones. We all know what the reasons are.