If the cars have been sitting on the lot that long; good luck selling them. I don’t drive my car for two or three days and the brakes feel seized up for a few minutes. They should advertise a two for one deal.

Things are getting tight. The big three are planning to eliminate a lot of dealerships in the very near future.

Dealerships have car on their lots for more than a year. That must mean that demand slowed down along time ago.

http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/djf500/200812171931DOWJONESDJONLINE001023_FORTUNE5.htm

At Freedom Dodge Chrysler Jeep in Lexington, Ky., owner Paul Cleaver said he has about 18 vehicles that have been on the lot for more than a year, and estimates the annual charges will add up to tens of thousands of dollars.

"Do I like it? Absolutely not," Mr. Cleaver said. He is rushing to clear out the old models as quickly as he can before the end of the year.

He said he blames the problem on tight credit markets, not Chrysler, and said some dealers may not be able to bear the additional costs. "If you can't pay," he said, "you're out of business."

David Kelleher, who owns two Chrysler dealerships in metro Philadelphia, said he has 56 vehicles that are currently over 360 days old. Mr. Kelleher said he knows of many dealers in worse shape, some with hundreds of vehicles nearly a year old or older.

It's kind of like declaring bankruptcy... at least it will give the big 3 auto companies time to restructure a little.

It will also give the dealership some time to clear out their new car inventory.
According to this article
http://www.autonews.com/article/20081215/ANA03/812150356/1176

Honda and Acura vehicle inventory soared 45.1 percent from 224,000 vehicles on Sept. 1 to 325,000 on Dec. 1. The automaker had a 102-day supply of Honda and Acura passenger cars in inventory on Dec. 1, up from a 30-day supply Sept. 1.

They've got 102 days of inventory... that's over 3 months that the plant should be shut down!

Monty,

I am not surprised with the closures or anything else that is coming. Since the recession started; I told people we are heading for bad times for at least three years or more, and they said no way 18 months at the most. I think now they are starting to believe me.

Cheers

That's crazy!
http://money.cnn.com/2008/12/17/autos/chrysler_shutdown/

This is pretty bad news... i guess they want to clear out some inventory in the mean time.

http://www.reuters.com/article/rbssConsumerGoodsAndRetailNews/idUSN1735395920081217

Separately, Chrysler said its finance arm could be forced to stop making loans dealers use to finance inventory because the dealers have been pulling money out from a fund that helps finance the floorplan loans. [ID:nN17349800]