Chrysler Wants to Close Dozens of Iowa Dealerships

It's not a pretty picture in the auto industry right now, and it looks like it's about to darken a lot of days ahead for Iowa auto dealers. MSNBC reports Chrysler wants to close about a quarter of its 3,200 U.S. dealerships, 789 to be exact, by June 9th. It's all part of Chrysler's bankruptcy plans. By my count, Iowa could lose 22 dealerships. Here's the full list and the Iowa dealerships I found on the list:

1st Ave. Chrysler, Cedar Rapids
Anchor Motor Co., Osceola
Beecher Inc., Shenandoah
Benson Motor, Inc., Ames
Bill Lyons Car Co., Mason City
Delzell Motor Co., Burlington
Des Moines Chrylser-Plymouth, Des Moines
Friday's Service Inc., Conrad
Harlan Auto mart, Harlan
Moldiman Motor Inc., Cedar Falls
Irwin Auto Co. of Winterset, Winterset
Johnston County Motors, Coralville
Ken Krause Motors Inc., Emmetsburg
McCormick Motors, Ida Grove
Mike Finnin Motors Inc., Dubuque
Motor Inn Inc., Estherville
Motor Inn of LeMars, LeMars
Rhoden Auto Center Inc., Council Bluffs
Ron Willey Ford Inc., Nevada
Schuelke Auto Company, Storm Lake
Shottenkirk-Illinois Inc., West Burlington
Willey Inc., Ames

Who knows how many hundreds (thousands?) of Iowans could be affected? Selfishly, these closings could have a sizeable impact on the media, as well. Those dealerships spend a lot of money on radio, newspaper and television ads. For example, many television stations get nearly one-third of their ad revenue from auto dealerships. Yikes.