Down in the Valley - includes related article - General Motors Consolidation of its dealerships in San Fernando Valley, CA
The Spanish conquistadors who first colonized California established one of their 21 missions in a settlement they called San Fernando, north of present-day Los Angeles.
Then a valley filled with orange and lemon groves and ringed by three mountain ranges and the Pacific Ocean, there were no signs of the population growth that would ultimately occur.
The San Fernando Valley now holds more than 2 million residents, five 12-lane Interstate highways and lots of cars.
The vehicle population is heavy on imports. Many foreign car companies maintain American offices in and around the valley.
One of the nation’s top Ford dealerships - Galpin Ford - is located here. But the San Fernando Valley has become a near-nightmare tot General Motors Corp.
GM’s market penetration in the valley dropped to 13% by the late 1990s, while clinging to 30% on average across the U.S.