I’ve wondered if the closings are related to one’s politics. It’s easy enough to find out if someone is a member of the GOP. I’ve heard of a couple dealers who were top producers (one guy said he was in the top 2 percent of dealerships) yet their dealerships were on the “close” list. Why would they close a productive dealership, in the top 2 percent of the stats? I’m wondering if there were political implications in deciding who they closed and who stayed open. No way you could prove it, but it gives one pause...after all we’re talking Chicago style political games being played out of Washington DC.
Another avenue worth looking into is which dealers have unionized work forces and which do not.