Edmunds.com Comments on Today’s Auto News: Chrysler Dealers to Close; Cash for Clunkers to be Decided; New GM Chairman Announced

SANTA MONICA, Calif.--Edmunds Inc.:

Chrysler Dealers to Close

“Industry experts have long held that GM, Chrysler and Ford have too many dealers,” reported Michelle Krebs, Editor of Edmunds’ AutoObserver.com. “The closings, while gut-wrenching for many, are a long time coming.”

“It’s important to note that sales tax revenue is not being eliminated by the closings,” commented Edmunds.com CEO Jeremy Anwyl. “It’s not dealerships that pay sales tax, it is customers, and the customers will still buy cars when these dealerships are gone.”

Cash for Clunkers

“A program intended to stimulate car sales should target people in the market for a car, but the proposed program does not,” asserted Edmunds.com CEO Jeremy Anwyl. “The only people who qualify are those willing to take no more than $4,500 for their current car and immediately buy a new one – quite a narrow profile.”

“It’s a very poorly conceived piece of legislation that will neither significantly reduce our country's carbon footprint nor do anything to substantially spur new car sales,” stated Edmunds.com Editor In Chief Karl Brauer, who addresses this topic on his blog, Karl on Cars. “The only thing more ineffective than this bill is the government's response to sagging car sales – which are really taking their toll on the overall economy.”