From the pinnacles of power by Fortune editor at large Patricia Sellers
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December 9, 2008, 5:20 pm

Power Point: Prepare for the inevitable

“We have a chance of being hung with a softer rope.”

– Denny Fitzpatrick, chairman of the California New Car Dealers Association, in the New York Times today.  A government bailout of the Detroit automakers looks increasingly likely, but that’s not necessarily good news for Fitzpatrick, a Chevrolet-Hummer dealer, and his brethren. The big three — General Motors (GM) , Ford (F) , and Chrysler — have told Congress that they need to cut their dealer networks to survive. The dealers have no choice but to root for the bailout. And although they will have the law on their side when it comes to the car manufacturers breaking their contracts, many may be under too much financial stress to put up a fight. The end may come later, but it’s still coming, for many dealers — and possibly for the automakers, bailout or not.

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Pattie SellersPatricia Sellers has written some of Fortune's most talked-about cover stories, including "Can Meg Whitman Save California?", Melinda Gates ("The $100 Billion Woman"), "MySpace Cowboys," Martha Stewart ("I cannot be destroyed"), Ted Turner ("Gone with the Wind") and Oprah Winfrey ("Oprah Inc."). And she has broken ground with insightful pieces on career management issues such as ego ("Get Over Yourself!"), and "Charisma: Do You Need It? Can You Get It?" Pattie chairs the annual Fortune Most Powerful Women Summit, the preeminent gathering of women leaders in business, philanthropy, government, academia, and the arts. And she has helped oversee Fortune's "Most Powerful Women in Business" cover package since its launch in 1998. She started at Fortune in 1984, covering the big consumer brand companies.
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