S government loans to survive That has left U

This one probably goes to around 130, so over 121.5 is the play here. By Nick Carey Stocks Funds News ETFs News Private Capital WARREN, Mich., Jan 9 (Reuters) - For John Dauod, the daythey pulled down the blue-oval logo sign at his Ford dealershipmarked a deep and personal loss. "It was like we'd had a death in the family," said Daoud,41, a Ford dealer in the Detroit suburb of Warren, who decidedto close a franchise that had sustained his family for threegenerations.Sales in throughout the auto industry were pummeledthroughout 2008 by a slowing U.S. economy and a deepeningcredit crunch, which cut off loans to many would-be car buyers.U.S. auto sales dropped 18 percent for the year, but Detroit'sBig Three were hit particularly hard.

Daoud's grandfather, Al Long, founded the dealership in1945 at a time when U.S automakers dominated the industry. automaker General Motors Corp GM.N saw its sales drop 22percent No 3 U.S. automaker Chrysler LLC controlled byprivate equity firm Cerberus Capital Management LP CBS.UL plunged 30 percent in 2008. The situation has become so dire for Detroit's automakersthat both GM and Chrysler have had to rely on $17.4 billion inU.S government loans to survive That has left U.S. auto dealers, which are independentbusinesses, facing a tough choice: try to hold on in adeteriorating market, or close. Daoud chose to switch to selling used cars, which usuallycarry a higher profit margin than new ones, at his Long FamilyAuto Center.

"With all that's happening in the auto industry we neededto prepare ourselves for whatever comes down the line," Daoudsaid. "We felt that we had to diversify in case any of the BigThree is permanently disrupted." "It is fun Are we happy Do we like doing this No," headded. "But it's what we've got to do." EVER DECREASING CIRCLES The Big Three have seen their market share erode over thedecades, but still have far more dealerships than their Asianand European competitors. According to Automotive News, the Big Three had 14,199dealerships in the United States at the start of 2008, whiletheir foreign counterparts had 7,262 dealers. Despite having almost twice as many dealerships as theirforeign rivals, the Big Three's market share slipped to 49percent in 2008, down from 52 percent a year earlier. Faced with falling sales, the Big Three are working toreduce the number of dealers even as they cut production. Kurt Brinkman, the regional manager for the Ford, Lincolnand Mercury brands in Michigan and parts of northern Indianaand Ohio an area that has some 275 dealers said up to 15dealerships in his territory have closed in the past year Fourwere in the Detroit area.