The development of Chrysler deciding to shutter nearly a third of their dealerships - all of which the deem as "underperforming" - makes it abundantly clear that there is finally some amount of oversight from the federal government that they expect results and changes when a corporation accepts federal bailout dollars.
Maybe it will finally be a wake-up call that not every town of a couple thousand people can now sustain a healthy business community. Chalk it up to the Walmart-ization of America but business lives in America's big cities and it (now) dies in the heartland. Small cities don't have the same sort of community vibe that they did at the turn of the 20th century. There is no corner drug store, no general store, no cafe where locals frequented, met their neighbors and mulled over the latest gossip. If the young people (a.k.a. the next generation) don't see opportunity there in their future they leave and take their spending money with them. The car companies simply by inventing, manufacturing and improving automobiles since their inception essentially did themselves in by making travel over long distances both possible and comfortable.
I'm actually surprised that I didn't see more Minnesota/Northern Iowa/western Wisconsin dealerships on the list (available in its entirety here), especially in the Twin Cities metro.
Chrysler dealers to close/lose sales of the Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep line:
Lyons Dodge - Mason City, Iowa
Ken Krause Motors - Emmetsburg, Iowa
Motor Inn Inc. - Estherville, Iowa
Motor Inn Inc. - Le Mars, Iowa
Schuelke Auto Company - Storm Lake, Iowa
Chilson, Inc - Eau Claire, Wisconsin
Johnson Motors - St Croix Falls, Wisconsin
Quinn Motors - Ellsworth, Wisconsin
Denny Hecker's Chrysler Dodge Jeep - Pine City, Minnesota
Factor Motors - Le Center, Minnesota
Fury Dodge - Lake Elmo, Minnesota
Marchant Motor Company - Spring Valley, Minnesota
Mason Motor Company - Excelsior, Minnesota
Nereson Automotive (Jeep) - Detroit Lakes, Minnesota
Paul Busch Auto Center - Wabasha, Minnesota
Pen Motors Inc. - Duluth, Minnesota
Salem Motors, Inc. - Crookston, Minnesota
Salmon Motors, Inc. - Tracy, Minnesota
Scholtes Motors - Worthington, Minnesota
Scott-Preusse, Inc. - Redwood Falls, Minnesota
Sonju Two Harbors - Two Harbors, Minnesota
Stillwater Motor Company - Stillwater, Minnesota
Walser Hopkins Dodge - Hopkins, Minnesota
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