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Minority
Car
Dealers
On the
Verge of
Extinction
Can
minority
auto
dealers
nationwide
survive
as U.S.
carmakers
struggle
to
remain
solvent
through
bankruptcy
and
economic
recession?
With the
announced
bankruptcy
of
Chrysler,
80% of
their
minority
dealer
network
is at
risk of
going
under
says
Desmond
Roberts,
Chairman,
National
Assoc of
Minority
Automobile
Dealers
(NAMAD).
And with
the
elimination
of
Pontiac,
Saturn
and
Hummer,
approximately
58% of
General
Motors
dealers
overall
are
facing
closure.
Minority
dealers
from as
far away
as
Florida,
gathered
Monday
at
Little
Rock
Baptist
Church
in
Detroit
to
caucus
with
civil
rights
leader
Jesse
Jackson
who held
a press
conference
to
discuss
the
disproportionate
impact
of the
economic
downtown
on
minority
auto
industry
suppliers
and
dealers.
The
statistics
are
sobering
according
to the
NAMAD
Chairman
Roberts,
who says
minority
dealers
represented
5% of
the
20,000
dealerships
nationwide
two
years
ago, but
added
that “By
the end
of this
year, if
conditions
are not
addressed
minority
dealers
will
represent
less
than 1%
of the
automobile
cars
dealerships
in this
country.
In
essence
minority
dealers
would be
extinct.”
African
American,
Latino
and
Native
American
dealers
and
minority
auto
suppliers
are
banding
together
to get
the word
out and
educate
the
public
about
the dire
consequences
of the
auto
crises
on their
businesses.
They are
seeking
support
from the
Rainbow/PUSH
Coalition
Automotive
Project
whose
mission
has been
to
promote
and
increase
minority
business
involvement
in all
phases
of the
automotive
industry.
Kirk
Lewis,
President
of Bing
Industries,
said
dealers
and auto
suppliers
are in
the same
situation
as the
auto
companies.
“We need
bridge
financing
so that
we can
weather
the
storm”.
The
shutdown
of GM
plants
for nine
weeks
Lewis
says
will be
difficult
for
minority
suppliers
to
withstand.
The Bing
executive
also
explained
the
vulnerability
of the
minority
dealers
who he
says
tend to
be first
generation,
highly
leveraged
business
owners
who
often
locate
in urban
environments,
employing
a number
of
minority
employees.
When the
auto
minority
business
owners
are
impacted
their
investments
in urban
communities
will
disappear
leaving
a void
in local
support
and
employment.
Lewis
said
when you
layer on
the
extinction
of
minority
suppliers
in a
city
like
Detroit
with 22%
unemployment,
“Its
going to
drive
that
number
through
the
roof”.
Reverend
Jesse
Jackson,
plans to
meet
with
executives
of
General
Motors,
Chrysler
and
Ford,
and is
calling
for
congressional
hearings
to
highlight
the
disparate
economic
impact
on
minority
dealers
and
suppliers
and
their
need for
access
to
capital
from the
banking
industry.
Its not
enough,
Jackson
said to
restructure
these
companies
without
restructuring
the
playing
field.
“The
laws of
civil
rights
and
inclusion
must not
be
suspended.”
The
approach
Jackson
says he
will
take in
meeting
with the
auto
companies
is based
on a
business
case
that
says
“With
federal
money,
comes
federal
obligations
for
fairness”.
Jackson
wants to
see
oversight
compliance
with
contracting
and
equal
protection
laws
when
federal
funds
are
dispensed
through
economic
stimulus
packages.
Jackson
said
while
the auto
industry
is ahead
of most
industries
in
achieving
levels
of
inclusion
of
minorities
at all
levels,
they
have not
reached
parity
and with
the run
hemorrhaging
of the
economy
could
risk
eliminating
minority
dealers
and
suppliers
altogether.
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