Autoline #1318: Thinning The Herd

Published: May 22, 2009, 2:34 p.m.

Thinning The Herd

Darwin observed it in the Galapagos while Rockefeller watched it on Wall Street. Call it natural selection, call it the free market, it all comes down to survival of the fittest. But what happens if everyone survives; strong, average and the weak as well. Some, like elements of our federal government, believe it puts the majority in peril, and so, they opt to "thin the herd." And that's exactly what we saw happen last week with the cutting of more than 2,000 Chrysler and General Motors dealerships. So this week Autoline tackles the topic of the brave, new and sometimes unfair world of automotive retail. Joining John on the panel is Neal Boudette, Detroit Bureau Chief of the Wall Street Journal, Aaron Bragman, automotive analyst from IHS Global Insight and a man whose family has been knee deep in the car business for more than 50 years, Joe Serra of the Serra Automotive Group.