Bankruptcy shakes Chrysler, GM shops

After 85 years in Bay City, Dunlop Pontiac — like many auto dealerships across the country — is preparing to close.

With bankruptcy looming over General Motors Corp. and many competing Pontiac stores in the area, Dunlop's sales have dwindled to about 12 cars per month.

Owner Mike Beattie, whose father began working at the dealership in 1941, had been fighting to keep the store open and its 26 workers employed. But dreams of surviving ended two weeks ago, when GM said it would kill its storied Pontiac division.

"That's given us no future," he said.

As GM and Chrysler race to restructure and survive a deep national recession, the closure of dealerships like Dunlop Pontiac is sure to be felt in communities large and small across America. Although the National Automobile Dealers Association is fighting it, experts say the automakers must close more than 3,000 dealerships in the months ahead in order to get healthy.

Each of those dealerships, on average, employs 53 people, so 159,000 workers nationwide could lose their jobs. That's more than GM and Chrysler's combined U.S. workforces. More at Detroit News