paddock, your opening statement. you might want to pull that microphone closer. they don't pick up as well as we would like. thanks. >> good morning. i am a go for the dealer, i am a dealer owner of paddock chevrolet in new york or we employ 135 of the finest most hard-working americans in the buffalo area. i am proud to say that paddock chevrolet is currently the largest gm dealership in the nation and we have been proudly serving western new york for almost 75 years. i am really pleased to be here today. it seems especially appropriate for me at least since my father passed away exactly 15 years ago to this day. it was on that day the livelihoods of employees of my employees were passed on to my hands and our company's responsibility to our community had to be preserved. in addition to my responsibilities at the dealership i serve as chairman, gm's national dealer council known as the nbc for the past two and a half years position i was elected to but my fellow gm dealers. it this in our industry is this -- the u.s. marketplace for automobiles is the most open

paddock and mr. kekanap. mr. spitzer and mr. golic. that will be the order. mr. press, 5 minutes. >> thank you. chairman stew pack, ranking member walden and members of the committee i appreciate the opportunity to discuss why a dealer realignment is important to the new chrysler group. despite completing a painful restructuring, the new chrysler group will retain 86% of its dealers by volume and 75% by location. i empathize with the dealers who are not the brought forward into the new company and i surely understand their disappointment. this has been the most difficult business action i've ever personally taken. i'd like to begin first by answering the four questions that i have been asked most often while i've been here in washington. first, was distinct these dealers really necessary for chrysler's survival? the answer is absolutely yes. today's automotive industry cannot support the number of dealers currently in the marketplace. we've gone from 17 million new vehicle sales in 2006 to less than 10 million today. as a whole the chrysler dealer network is not