While she acknowledged that the problems facing Detroit's automakers are responsible for some of these failures, Sykora said many more will go out of business unless the credit crisis ends. 'Credit is the lifeblood of this industry. Dealerships need it to finance inventory from the manufacturers, and consumers need it to buy cars,' she said, noting that 94 percent of Americans finance the purchase of their car or truck. 'It is critical that we have liquidity.' Sykora said that many dealers are even finding it hard to get loans for customers with good credit. She said car and truck sales account for 20 percent of the nation's retail economy. Auto sales dropped 26.6 percent in September -- the worst slide in 15 years. Dealers are also paying more themselves to finance the vehicles on their lots. Chrysler LLC is pressuring dealers to move old inventory or face higher charges. 'It's really made you look hard at your inventory,' said Houston Chrysler dealer Alan Helfman. Ford Motor Co.'s credit arm also is raising its borrowing cost to dealers by another half percent, starting next month. Sykora said that is forcing dealers to also look at their orders, which limits consumer choices. But some dealers said they understand why these moves are necessary. 'When banks aren't lending to each other, I can't complain about Ford charging me another 50 basis points,' said dealer Chris Lemley, who owns five stores in the Boston metropolitan area. He made money at all of them last month, despite the big drop in sales. Lemley says many dealers like him are weathering the storm because they have already downsized because of the decline in domestic brand sales. Lemley said he is more concerned about the hype generated by the credit crisis than he is about its reality. 'It has been overblown to the point that it is becoming self-fulfilling,' he said, adding that he can still get loans for customers with good credit. 'People with less perfect credit are having problems, but you could argue that they should have been having problems before.' Some dealers say the credit crunch is making it hard for troubled dealers to find buyers for their stores, leading to more closures. Sykora said dealers are inherently optimistic, and she hopes that the economy will recover once the bailout plan is fully implemented. 'Restore access to credit, and you will restore consumer confidence,' Sykora said. 'I think there is a light at the end of the tunnel. I just don't know how long the tunnel is.' You can reach Bryce Hoffman at (313) 222-2443 or bhoffmandteom.