It seems as though the land underneath some car dealerships is worth more to dealer principals than the idea of continuing to sell vehicles on that land. In California, viewed by itself as one of the world’s largest economies, attempting to find buyers while consumers are suffering isn’t always worth it.
Capitol City Chevrolet in Sacramento will shut its doors and hopes to rid itself of all remaining 2007 models at stunning prices. General Motors is likely to take back the 2008 models. The man in charge, Paul Blanco, has 16 acres of land on a main drag that could sell for substantially more than $10,000,000. Vehicle sales, curtailed severely due to near-$4.00/gallon gasoline and loan companies that aren’t offering credit easily, don’t appear to be turning around anytime soon. In fact, Blanco’s sales are down by half this year compared with last year.
This is a sad story. A two minute vocal announcement by Blanco as soon as you hit the PaulBlanco.com website mentions multiple times the closing of its store and the deals to be had. Nobody wants to see somebody’s business go belly-up.
Stories like this will continue to be heard as the economic downturn works together with gas prices and the credit crunch to steer potential buyers away from the frightening window stickers and back to their living room sofas. Indeed, Senator Ford, located close to Capitol City Chevrolet, announced previously that its business is closing down in the near future as well.
This is going to have a substantial economic impact on the region in the auto industry. All the employees who work there are going to be put out of jobs. I heard that Senator Ford employees would be given priority at other local Ford dealerships, but that must still be disheartening. I am from Sacramento, and its sad to see these dealerships going out of business.