GM has been pulling dealerships nationwide. New Jersey is no exception. The reduction of dealerships has been purported to have devastating consequences on local communities where these businesses are located, on their employees and the other local businesses that service these dealers. When dealerships go away, so do the tax revenues and charitable contributions generated for the communities they serve.

The question is: where do these people go with all that car biz knowledge and no place to sell. Many of the former GM dealers are getting into used cars with primary emphasis on online sales.

According to Craig Wurtenberg, co-founder of NJville.com, ‘Since 2007, New Jersey has lost approximately 20% percent of its dealerships, thousands of dealership jobs and hundreds of millions of dollars in tax revenue. It’s really bad, but interest and participation in online auto sites like NJville is booming.’

If GM and Chrysler are permitted to use bankruptcy to forcibly eliminate dealerships, New Jersey will lose another 6,000 jobs and as many as 100 GM and Chrysler dealerships in the weeks and months ahead.

There are many dealers that will cash in their chips after getting the rug pulled out from under them. And there are many who will adapt and move into new territory: the land of online auto sales. They will have small lots and sell on sites like NJville.com, Craigslist, and Oodle. They will specialize in used cars essentially making them indirect dealers Hondas and Toyotas. Go figure.