ORIGINAL: BLK 6050

Find this on the NADA site....

NADA Estimates 700 New Car Dealerships Will Shut Down In 2008
The Financiapocalypse is threatening to nearly double new car showrooms expected to go out of business in 2008 versus 2007 like Bill Heard Chevrolet. The National Automobile Dealer's Association estimates as many as 700 will go under before the ball drops in Times Square in just over two months. Dealers are being squeezed by reduced sales on one end and a lack of cost-effective financing for floor plans and inventory on the other. The increase in closures presents Detroit automakers with something of a crisitunity: Burdened with excess dealer capacity, Ford, Chrysler and GM could all stand to shed several hundred showrooms apiece. But with each closure, fewer cars get sold, and the Detroit Three can't afford to lose a single sale right now.