Video: Scary times for local car dealerships

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SEATTLE – As Congress this week talks about whether to bail out the auto industry, car dealers in Western Washington are worried about the ripple effect.

General Motors, Ford and Chrysler are joined in pleading with Congress to act, saying that the failure of even one of the Big Three automakers would lead to huge job losses across the economy.

"We're all concerned that maybe we won't be in business next year,” said Brad Raynor, general sales manager at Westlund Buick Pontiac GMC in North Seattle. "We employ approximately 50 people, so I mean, that's 50 lives, 50 families that will be affected if we're not here."

Things are so bad, dealership owner Mark Westlund has put up two classic cars for sale – a 1971 Buick Skylark and a 1963 Cadillac convertible.

“In tough times, sometimes you have to get rid of some of your items for cash flow,” said Raynor.

Ford has cut half its staff. General Motors is selling its stake in Suzuki. Neither may have enough cash to make it through the end of the year.

Chrysler sales dropped 35 percent.

At Westlund, the sense is that if one of those three go, a lot will go with them.

"Our suppliers for parts. Our suppliers that supply us oil and other fluids for vehicles. Body shop supplies. There's all kinds of items that we purchase throughout the community that would be affected,” said Raynor.

To head off disaster, some lawmakers want to use money from the $700 billion financial rescue to help automakers.

"We're seeing a potential meltdown in the auto industry with consequences that could impact directly upon millions of American workers,” said Sen. Harry Reid, D-Majority Leader.

But the Bush administration insists that $700 billion is for the banks. Instead, the White House wants congress to use $25 billion set aside earlier to help car makers manufacture more fuel efficient cars.

A poll conducted by SurveyUSA finds 60 percent of people in the Seattle-Tacoma area think that the government should let the Big Three fail. Twenty-seven percent say keep them afloat.

Big government loans to the Big Three automakers are thought to be more likely after the Democrats have more control of Congress and President-elect Barack Obama takes office on January 20.