tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14162253.post4399855314758052083..comments2024-03-28T18:57:15.124-06:00Comments on Wash Park Prophet: What's Left When the Financial Crisis Is Over?Andrew Oh-Willekehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02537151821869153861noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14162253.post-23683375479691469012009-03-04T04:20:00.000-07:002009-03-04T04:20:00.000-07:00Your article strikes me as a pretty pessimistic on...Your article strikes me as a pretty pessimistic one. Yes the car sales are dropping and the car dealerships are slowly vanishing but sooner or later the economy will get out of this crisis and people will be facing cheap new cars. Maybe it will cost few car manufacturers to disappear but at the end, those who will last will have a great number of sales waiting for them. I give it 4-5 years and the car industry will be back at a its feet. <BR/><BR/>Take care, ElliAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14162253.post-10173014576261623012009-03-02T06:23:00.000-07:002009-03-02T06:23:00.000-07:00This comment has been removed by the author.williamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12688329762742412714noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14162253.post-80073873433842286932009-02-28T09:45:00.000-07:002009-02-28T09:45:00.000-07:00I agree with you Dave that there has been a seriou...I agree with you Dave that there has been a serious legal impediment to reshaping the franchise system. I'm skeptical that the franchise law played a decisive part, because a lot of the problems would have probably arisen in negotiated contractors with franchise owners in any case. But, the time has come to cut the Gordian knot and free up the market for other retail car sales business models, something that has already come to the less regulated car repair and used car markets.Andrew Oh-Willekehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02537151821869153861noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14162253.post-56639890692584012782009-02-27T19:51:00.000-07:002009-02-27T19:51:00.000-07:00The biggest impediment to changing car sales are t...The biggest impediment to changing car sales are the "franchise laws" in every state that are designed to protect incumbent dealers.<BR/><BR/>Repeal of these 1930s relics would result in lower car prices and many (repeat many) dealers going out of business.<BR/><BR/>We need many different type of car stores to satisfy different types of customers. Today, we have one type.Dave Barneshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07355264650239868491noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14162253.post-19602340949925490292009-02-27T14:50:00.000-07:002009-02-27T14:50:00.000-07:00GM has announced that it plans to close about 40% ...GM has announced that it plans to close about 40% of its dealerships. Chrysler also plans to close dealerships. The plan isn't a new business model, it is simply to have fewer dealers with larger territories instead of more dealers with smaller territories.Andrew Oh-Willekehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02537151821869153861noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14162253.post-88729006740482750932009-02-27T11:55:00.000-07:002009-02-27T11:55:00.000-07:00You've covered quite a bit of territory there, but...You've covered quite a bit of territory there, but just to focus in on one smaller bit : car dealerships waiting to die. I haven't bought a new car in nine years, and would sure like to avoid it now if I can. But I wonder, how are cars going to sold in the future? The surviving dealerships? Ordered off the internet from the manufacturers (whoever that's going to be)? Some whole new model?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com