Orange County Register

General Motors, which is expected to declare bankruptcy anytime between now and Monday, reportedly will tell up to 450 more dealers that they will be closed after their franchise agreements expire in October 2010.

This latest round of cuts, reported by Automotive News, would come on top of the 1,124 closures previously announced on May 15.

GM will reportedly begin contacting the affected dealers beginning Monday. A GM spokesman told Auto News that criteria for selecting the additional dealers would be “very similar” to those used to select the others.

For the first round of dealer cuts, GM based them on “matrix” that included facets such as profits, sales effectiveness and customer satisfaction.

If the letter rollout goes anything like the previous round, it may not be easy knowing which dealers are affected.

Speaking about the letters earlier this month, Larry Valdez, controller at Mullahey Chevrolet in Fullerton (who said they hadn’t received notice), said: “It’s a mark of death. They are giving letters out and letting (dealers) tell it. But you don’t want to be the guy saying, ‘I’m the one going to the gallows.’”

Stay tuned here for more developments of the unfolding GM saga.

Also see:

• Will your GM dealer close? Good luck finding out
• Do you have fond memories of a GM car?
• Will Uncle Sam forgive ‘bulk’ of GM’s $15 billion in loans?
• GM to close 1,124 dealers, but which will get the ax?
• GM to make cars in China, bring ‘em here?
• GM, Segway show off two-wheeled electric progeny
• Kia dealer: No sales meltdown here
• Forbes on Fisker: Is Irvine the next Detroit?
• O.C. auto sales off 27% but it’s not all doom and gloom

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