Dealer consolodation to Begin

In Automotive news...

DETROIT -- Ford Motor Co. and General Motors want to reduce the number of dealers they have in the United States through consolidation. But they must allow dealers to make up their own minds on whether and how to exit the business, says William Bradshaw, chairman of the National Automobile Dealers Association.Bradshaw, speaking here at an Automotive Press Association luncheon today, said that so far there is no indication that the automakers are exerting pressure on individual dealers to sell to another dealer or to retire and close their stores."But this consolidation won't happen overnight," said Bradshaw, during and after his luncheon address. "This is a two-, three-, four-, five-year process. They must let each dealer make up their own mind. It's an individual decision. This is not something that should be dictated by auto manufacturers."

So starts the long dance to get the dealership networks to better reflect market share in specific areas of the country, I would be nice to see this happen in a fairly efficient manner, but this won't be the case, with sales suffering at certain Ford & GM dealerships, this will be the chance for some owners to cash out and no doubt some will try to get as much as they can.

J.