Breaking up hard to do for dealers

WASHINGTON: Partners no more, bankrupt automakers and small-town car dealers who are being stripped of their livelihood brought the anguish of their sinking fortunes into the halls of Congress on Wednesday and sparred over the companies' plans to slash franchises nationwide.

"This is our last chance to get it right," General Motors Corp President Fritz Henderson warned testy lawmakers. Countering GM and Chrysler LLC executives in a Senate hearing room, two dealers who are soon to have their franchises wrenched away appealed for help.

"I am the face of GM and Chrysler in my town," said Peter Lopez, a Spencer, West Virginia, dealer unlucky enough to be selling the brands of both fallen automakers.