Bankrupt

It appears Chrysler for certain and General Motors most likely will go through some sort of bankruptcy. Chrysler will probably be liquidated; GM restructured as a much smaller company.

There are three reasons for bankruptcy that I can figure. Renegotiate with bondholders (those that hold the debt amassed by the companies). Renegotiate with labor unions (and get the government to assume the massive health and retirement obligations). And third, renegotiate with dealers.

GM has more than twice as many dealers (over 6,000) as Toyota (1,500) and Honda (1,300) put together. How many of those 6,000 GM dealers are unnecessary? How many GM dealers do you suppose will disappear in the next 12 months? (All the Chrysler and Dodge dealers will.)

And how will the loss of those stores affect the local advertising market? Will more newspapers close? Will TV stations? At times it seems as if local TV is nothing more than car dealer ads and live news stand ups.

And can we afford a society with that many out of work car salesmen on the streets?

(Chrysler has 66,000 employees. I never see mention of how many people work for Chrysler and Dodge dealers.)