In a sudden move made late Friday night, Twin Cities car dealership owner Denny Hecker announced that he was closing immediately six local dealerships and selling three others.

Car dealerships in Monticello and Stillwater were among those closed overnight: Monticello Dodge Ford and Mercury Suzuki Kia and Stillwater Ford Lincoln Mercury.

In a statement to the media Friday night, Hecker said:

"The decision to realign our dealerships came as we found ourselves in the midst of a 'perfect storm' of economic bad news: a financial crisis on Wall Street, chaos in the housing market, consumer confidence at an all-time low and the sight of the Big Three on their knees in Washington asking for a bailout loan. We needed a new business model built around our dealerships with the most potential volume and value."

Layoffs of about 400 people were included in the dealership closings.

Other dealerships that were closed as of Saturday, Nov. 22, were the Blaine Bargain Lot, Forest Lake Chrysler Jeep, Dodge Mitsubishi, Rosedale Hyundai, Shakopee Chrysler Jeep Dodge.

Hecker continues to operate eight other dealerships: Inver Grove Heights Toyota, Stillwater Cadillac Pontiac GMC, Southview Chevrolet in Inver Grove Heights, plus dealerships in St. Cloud, Pine City, Brainerd and one in Los Angeles.

In addition, Hecker announced that he had sold three of his Twin Cities dealerships: Inver Grove Heights Hyundai, Inver Grove Heights Volkswagen and a Dodge dealership in Redwood City, California.

In the statement to the media, Hecker said he would work to accommodate customers who had vehicles in for service. Customers may contact customer@dennyhecker.com or call toll-free 888-836-8383 to make arrangements to get their vehicle.