The Dealership Wreck: I never noticed the monolithic deserted auto dealerships alongside the freeway until recently, when I began to notice empty dealerships everywhere I traveled. I researched the phenomenon and discovered that since 2009, over 2,300 auto dealerships in America were shuttered. The closings, which happened largely as a result of the US government’s auto industry bailout and restructuring, caused thousands of industry workers to lose their jobs and put 70 million square feet of commercial real estate on the market.