As you may have heard, Bill Heard just filed for bankruptcy protection. Who is Bill Heard? The details:
Bill Heard Enterprises Inc., the largest U.S. Chevrolet auto dealership, sought bankruptcy protection, citing a declining automobile market after it closed 14 showrooms and fired most of its 3,200 employees last week.
Why the meltdown? Seems like he took on too many bad loans:
Industry analysts say, Heard couldn’t overcome what had become a flaw in his business model: high-volume but low-profit sales targeting people with blemished credit histories. Like the Wall Street investment bankers who grabbed up securities backed by risky subprime home mortgages, Heard apparently staked too much on people who couldn’t pay what they owed.
Now 3,200 of the company's employees are out of work. All that's left is one scary webpage.
I'm sure there will be more to follow. Can anyone say "rent to own businesses?"
It's sad that those 3200 employees lost their jobs b/c of the stupid ideations of top execs. The bigwigs in D.C and in the top exec positions need to wake up to reality. I'm not going to buy a car NOW. I'm going to be financially smart and run down the good autos that I have.
Boy am I glad I don't have to pay for that 700B. If I make a bad decision and buy a house that I can't afford. It's better for me to suck it up and learn from the mistake than for the Gov. or ma and pa to enable me and bail me out. Although the downturn of the market probably hurt my portfolio, I'm still at ease that we didn't make the mistake of rushing this "rescue."
When 500 economists are telling us to sit and think about the plan and to take our time...I think we should listen to them!
"Put your finances on Autosave" - The $ Guru
Posted by: The Guru | September 29, 2008 at 03:06 PM
WHAT OUR POLITICIANS ARE DOING NOW REMINDS ME OF WHAT "NERO" DID AS ROME BURNED!
WILL THEY ALSO BUILD NEW PLESURE PALACES ON THE ASHES TO CELIBRATE THIER OWN INCOMPITANCE? I HOPE NOT, BUT IT DOESN'T LOOK OPTIMISTIC TO ME.
CONCERNED CITIZEN
Posted by: | September 29, 2008 at 04:00 PM
A concerned citizen who can't spell!
Posted by: Bill | September 29, 2008 at 04:47 PM
That dealership deserved to go under they had unfair business practices , taking peoples keys , selling people cars that they should not sell !
Posted by: bull hurd | September 29, 2008 at 06:09 PM
When I saw the title I thought maybe it was missing a comma.
Posted by: | September 30, 2008 at 01:41 AM
If only those employees had college degrees they'd be making a lot more money.
Posted by: | September 30, 2008 at 01:42 AM
Bill Heard Goes Down (Bad businessman turns into porn star)?
Posted by: | October 01, 2008 at 02:56 PM