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12/27/2012 07:43 PM

Local Car Dealerships Dig Out From Storm

By: Eva McKend

If you think shoveling your driveway is hassle, imagine having to dig out hundreds of cars. YNN's Eva McKend visited a local car dealership in the Hudson Valley who had to deal with just that.

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MIDDLETOWN, N.Y. — It’s cleanup time across the Hudson Valley. After the region’s first major snow storm, everybody is digging out, including local car dealerships.

“What we do is try to shift our lot to one side so we can clean everything and then in the morning if the snow stops, we’ll try to shift everything and clean, this way there’s no snow caught between the cars.” said Middletown Honda General Manager Stu Berkley.

A busy man, Berkley is one of many tasked with digging out hundreds of cars at Middletown Honda. He says it's a process that can take hours.

“You know when we get a real big storm, we have to move everything, it could be 10 hours between two days because usually we will prepare the day before,” added Berkley.

For car dealerships, digging out of the snow can be a real headache. Although they won’t see as many shoppers come by, the weather isn’t all bad for business.

"Sometimes the weather brings business because people’s cars break down when they realize they need a four wheel drive. It has its good side to it," said Berkley.

The New Year's holiday is a popular sales season for car dealerships, prompting managers like Berkley to work quickly to clean up all the cars on the lot.

Last year’s mild winter with relatively little slow made things easier for local dealers.

Berkley can only hope this storm is no indication of what’s to come.