On the House side, at least one U.S. congressman is also asking questions, and with good reason. Even before receiving his notice from Chrysler, Florida Rep. Vern Buchanan was told by a House colleague that his own Florida dealership is on the chopping block:

"It's an outrage. It's not about me. I'm going to be fine," said Buchanan, the dealership's majority owner. "You're talking over 100,000 jobs. We're supposed to be in the business of creating jobs, not killing jobs," Buchanan told News 10, a local Florida television station.

Where does it all go from here? The tedious and time-consuming work of slamming the safe dealer list -- the complete list, not just a random sample -- has to be completed. Then, and only then, will we have statistically significant answers to the many questions that have been raised by the footloose and fancy free manner in which the Obama administration and MOPAR management appear to have handled the task of pruning down the Chrysler dealership network.

We would suggest that if the auto task force and Chrysler want their criteria and methodology to be believed, both should immediately release transcripts -- or at least the meeting minutes -- of their deliberations on the matter of the dealer closings. But don't hold your breath...

Addendum: We almost overlooked one of the most incredible chapters in the story so far. Almost a month ago, even before the closing Chrysler dealers got their notices, the company said that it was looking for new dealers to replace its "underperforming" dealers in small markets. Underperforming, like the many Five Star dealers (previously touted by Chrysler as its very best agencies) that are being closed. Before the pinks slips were even printed. You can'tmake this stuff up.