A day after President George W. Bush announced a $17.4 billion bailout for the Big Three American automakers, local dealers are paying close attention.

The American auto industry bailout drew mixed reaction around the country.. but  John Baldwin serves on the board of the Louisiana Auto Dealers association, and also owns a dealership in Covington.

He says a collapse of the Big Three would be crushing.

"You name just about any other industry, and it is touched by the Big Three domestic automobile manufacturers. And when you take those out of the economic picture, the results are catastrophic," Baldwin said.

And if local dealerships start folding, Baldwin points to the impact it would leave on towns and cities around the state, and the nation.

"That's huge. You take those tax dollars away from local governments and it's devastating, it's devastating," he said.

Still, in the metro area, opinion on the bailout covers both sides of the argument.

"If you let all three of those companies go down, I mean, there's gonna be towns that are gonna go bankrupt," said Monica Hodges, a northshore resident.

Brad Lewis from Bogalusa believes it things would have worked out without the bailout.

"I'm against using government money to bail out private companies. I think the system would've absorbed it. I think they could've reorganized in bankruptcy, and I think it would've worked," he said.

Baldwin argues, the bailout was a must, and he's hopeful it will right the ship.

He says the Big Three put out quality products that stack up well against international competition.

But the sense of consumer fear has put a huge dent in sales.

"They do not want to buy from a company that is at risk of, maybe (going) bankrupt. They're concerned about being able to get the car serviced, having the warranty honored, and resale value. And it's a legitimate concern," Baldwin said.

At Baldwin’s dealership, the slump has led to cuts in overtime and work hours for his employees.

And while he says his dealership has never laid anyone off in it's nearly 60 years of existence, he admits it's the next step if things don't improve.

Around the state, the situation could get even worse for others.

"The prediction is 10% of the dealers will go out of business in 2008-2009. It's unfortunate. We have seen some just in this area. It's going to happen," Baldwin said.