WASHINGTON (July 19, 2010) - In response to the report requested by Congress from the Office of the Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program (SIGTARP) on how General Motors and Chrysler dealerships were selected for termination, Ed Tonkin, chairman of the National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA), issued the following statement:

“The SIGTARP report confirms what was said in NADA's testimony presented to Congress in several hearings and to the Auto Task Force in multiple meetings: 'We do not see how these cuts make economic sense - not for the companies, not for the dealers, not for local communities and certainly not for the struggling U.S. economy.'

“Similarly confirmed by the report was NADA's unwavering position - also presented to Congress on multiple occasions - that 'rapid dealer reductions increase unemployment, threaten communities and decrease state and local tax revenue without any material corresponding decrease in the automaker's costs.'

“Importantly, the Inspector General's report also validates the Congressional efforts which gave thousands of dealers the opportunity to have a neutral arbitrator review their cases and possibly save thousands of jobs.

“Finally, the report demonstrates what NADA has maintained for many years - that the franchised automobile dealership is and will continue to be the most powerful job-creating entity on Main Streets all across America and that NADA's 17,000 members provide long-term economic opportunity for nearly 1 million Americans.”