Cities brace for shutdown of auto dealerships

The L.A. Times reports:

With struggling automakers expected to announce the shutdown of thousands of dealerships starting today, cities are bracing for a wave of blight.

The closings will dump thousands of large, oddly configured parcels into an already reeling commercial real estate market. Many are likely to remain empty for a long time, monuments to the decline of the U.S. auto industry and the intensity of this recession.

Chrysler told a Bankruptcy Court today that it will break its contracts with 789 dealerships nationwide.

General Motors Corp. will tell 1,000 to 1,200 dealers Friday that it will not renew their franchises. The automaker plans to eventually close a total of 2,600 operations.

Remember,years ago when the Real Estate Lobby told you they don't make anymore real estate? Well,they were wrong.