Northwest Indiana car dealers want Big 3 bailout

BY ANDREA HOLECEK, Times of Northwest Indiana
holecek@nwitimes.com

Feeling the strain of the nation's financial crisis, some Northwest Indiana car dealers contend a bailout of Detroit's automakers is important to stop unemployment from rising and the economy from worsening.

General Motors, Ford and Chrysler have asked the federal government for a $25 billion loan to help weather the economic crisis, a bailout now being discussed on Capitol Hill.

Tom Van Prooyen, vice president of Merrillville-based Schepel Auto Group, said car dealers -- even those selling imports -- want to see the Detroit carmakers receive some type of federal aid to keep them out of bankruptcy or liquidation.

If the domestic automakers file bankruptcy, it would cause unemployment to increase to the 12 percent to 15 percent range and further erode the economy, he said Monday. He said it also would put a strain on auto parts manufacturers.

In January, auto analysts forecast 2008 sales at 14 million vehicles. The estimate currently is below 12 million, Van Prooyen said.

"No one anticipated this," he said. "It started with the housing and mortgage crisis, and it has put auto manufacturers in a real bind. The credit situation that they weren't part of has come full circle and affected the car business. It has caused more than serious concern and has killed consumer confidence."

Jason Akers, general manager of Highland's Team Toyota, said the wisdom of a Detroit 3 bailout is a "hard call."

"There should be a bailout, but there should be strings attached," he said. "The companies need to downsize...They have to change their business model...But I don't want unemployment to go to 12 to 13 percent, and that's what would happen."

Dale Christianson, an owner of Christianson Chevrolet in Highland, said he doesn't think the public realizes what will happen to the economy if the Big Three car makers don't get a federal loan.

"There will be massive unemployment that will trickle down to the whole economy," he said. "I think that the major reason people aren't buying cars is that they're afraid of their own jobs. The steel mills are laying off workers. Some big retail chains went bankrupt. The economy is in bad shape. Even people working are reluctant to spend money."