The Union City location of Bill Heard Chevrolet has closed its doors for good. The abrupt closing came at 1 p.m. Wednesday with employees receiving a only a short notice. A company press release yesterday said all dealerships nationwide have ceased operations.

Union City employees were told Wednesday that the company was filing bankruptcy and that the dealership did not have the money to continue operations, according to a Bill Heard Union City employee that asked not to be identified. The number of employees at the local dealership is not known.

"It's a shame," said Heard’s Plant City, Florida Executive Manager Paul Baker, adding that he thought the era of gigantic dealerships is over. The dealership traces its roots to 1919, just 11 years after Henry Ford first produced the Model T automobile.

Baker declined to elaborate on reasons for the closing, other than to cite financial pressures. He said he doubted the operation would operate under new ownership. "Nobody has the guts to have a big dealership anymore," he said.
The dealership will "take care of any customer's car and live up to any obligations we have as far as sales," he said, "but we closed the sales operation."

Based in Columbus, Ga., Bill Heard Enterprises Inc. operates 13 dealerships nationwide. They all will close, Baker said.