Closed Auto Dealerships Find New Life

Closed car dealerships across the country are finding new life as yoga studios, classrooms, and day care centers.

1 minute read

December 29, 2009, 6:00 AM PST

By Nate Berg


"The number of franchised new car dealerships in the U.S. was already slipping before the auto company bankruptcies, but 1,900 dealerships have closed since January 2008. U.S. auto sales fell to a 26-year low of about 10 million this year, compared with 17 million over most of the previous decade.

As part of its deep restructuring, General Motors Co. has said it will cut 2,400 dealers from its 6,000-dealer network by next fall. Chrysler Group LLC slashed 789 dealers in June. Responding to backlash from dealership owners, Congress passed a bill this month to give dealers a stronger arbitration process to challenge the automakers' decisions.

Many showrooms are still being torn down, observers say, but developers are not so quick to bulldoze the finer buildings before exploring other uses."

Monday, December 28, 2009 in Gazette Times

portrait of professional woman

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

Get top-rated, practical training

Wastewater pouring out from a pipe.

Alabama: Trump Terminates Settlements for Black Communities Harmed By Raw Sewage

Trump deemed the landmark civil rights agreement “illegal DEI and environmental justice policy.”

April 13, 2025 - Inside Climate News

High-rise apartment buildings in Waikiki, Hawaii with steep green mountains in background.

Study: Maui’s Plan to Convert Vacation Rentals to Long-Term Housing Could Cause Nearly $1 Billion Economic Loss

The plan would reduce visitor accommodation by 25% resulting in 1,900 jobs lost.

April 6, 2025 - Honolulu Civil Beat

Logo for Planetizen Federal Action Tracker with black and white image of U.S. Capitol with water ripple overlay.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

April 10, 2025 - Diana Ionescu

A line of white wind turbines surrounded by wheat and soybean fields with a cloudy blue sky in the background.

Wind Energy on the Rise Despite Federal Policy Reversal

The Trump administration is revoking federal support for renewable energy, but demand for new projects continues unabated.

April 15 - Fast Company

Red and white Caltrain train.

Passengers Flock to Caltrain After Electrification

The new electric trains are running faster and more reliably, leading to strong ridership growth on the Bay Area rail system.

April 15 - Office of Governor Gavin Newsom

View up at brick Catholic church towers and modern high-rise buildings.

Texas Churches Rally Behind ‘Yes in God’s Back Yard’ Legislation

Religious leaders want the state to reduce zoning regulations to streamline leasing church-owned land to housing developers.

April 15 - NBC Dallas