Sample Business News Reading
Description
Vocal Characteristics
Language
EnglishVoice Age
Young Adult (18-35)Accents
North American (Canadian-General) North American (General)Transcript
Note: Transcripts are generated using speech recognition software and may contain errors.
Gary McManus has been selling Lincoln and Mercury vehicles and Gladstone, Oregon, for almost 50 years, even as the two Ford Motor Brands declined in popularity. His dealership, Gary Worth Lincoln Mercury, always sold about 50 cars a month. But when the economic slowdown and credit crunch hit this spring, he was lucky to sell 12 out of options. He sold his franchise to Ford, which merged it with another dealership. Numbers don't justify the investment, says McManus, who is 74. I'll just retire. Taking auto sales and the credit crunch are doing what Detroit has tried in vain to do for years. Thin a dealer population Several have filed for bankruptcy protection in the past month, while General Motors says it will lose as many as 300 this year, 50% more than usual. Why are the Big three so keen to close dealers, mostly because many are no longer profitable and can't afford to spiff up their showrooms or higher top notch salespeople? That hurts the domestic carmakers already sullied image, especially when Honda and Toyota dealers are busy upgrading