C M Y K

$1.50 WWW.FREEP.COM AN EDITION OF THE DETROIT FREE PRESS JUNE 17, 2007 METRO FINAL � �

CONTACT USDelivery questions: 800-395-3300News tip hotline: 313-222-6600Classified: 800-926-8237

Vol. 177, No. 44© 2007Detroit FreePress Inc.Printed in theU.S.

Entertainment ................1FFree Press Editorials .....1CDetroit News Editorials .5CDeaths.........................6BHoroscope ...................3M

Local News..............1BLife .......................1JThe List! ................5FMichigan ...............4BMotor City Sunday..2E

Movie Guide.....7FPuzzle Page ....2MReal Estate......1GTravel..............1KYour Money .....3E

DAD’S DAYDELIGHTFUL

Partly cloudy, very warm.Chuck Gaidica’s forecast, 8B

87 67HIGH LOW

VERLANDER!ON GUARD FOR 176 YEARS

USE COUPON IN TODAY’SPAPER TO CLAIM PIN SPORTS, 10D

Mike Thompson Our editorial cartoon-ist’s pal Factmanstars in an animatedchallenge to the WhiteHouse. On freep.com.

Summer Cruisin’Polished chrome andrevving galore onGratiot — the ’60srevisited. Local News, 1B

Oh Canada!Places to see in thatcountry above us.Travel, 1K

Tom WalshDan Gilbert’s next bigmove may Rock you.Business & Money, 1E

Raise taxesCheck our editorialreasoning for bump-ing up the income tax.On Point, 1C

Twist She’s a barnstormingpilot. With your inserts

Jan Ornsten of Centerlineshows off her 1957 FordThunderbird.

DAVID P. GILKEY/Detroit Free Press

Take a look at NiagaraFalls from above.

For 25 years, John Santilli hasbeen an ambassador for Detroit,selling domestic cars and trucksoff Amvets Memorial Highway,just south of Boston.

Business is tougher than itused to be. But the New Englanddealer doesn’t just blame Japa-nese rivals like Toyota and Hon-da. These days, he also grousesabout his fellow Dodge dealers.

At least 10 competing Dodgestores are within a half-hour driveof his store in Brockton, and lastyear they fought over nearly4,000 fewer customers than theyear before.

“There’s waaaay too manydealers,” the Massachusetts cardealer said. “Way too many.”

Santilli’s troubles illustratewhat has become one of the mostchallenging and expensive prob-lems facing Detroit’s automak-ers: too many dealerships.

Once a vast network of mightymoney-makers across America,Detroit’s retail network has beenwounded by years of falling sales.Thousands of stores are strug-gling and can’t afford to deliverthe retail experience that couldhelp woo customers back to De-troit’s improving cars and trucks.

The automakers do have manyprofitable, first-rate dealershipsnationwide, and dealers for De-troit automakers tend to scorewell in customer surveys.

But excess dealerships —amounting to at least 20% nation-ally — weigh down the retail net-work as a whole, ultimately cost-ing sales and adding up to $4 bil-lion annually to the automakers’costs, industry analysts and many

By SARAH A. WEBSTER

FREE PRESS BUSINESS WRITER

Detroit’s downtown and mid-town were swathed Saturday inpink as thousands of people con-verged to run, walk and raise mon-ey to eradicate breast cancer.

It was the 16th annual DetroitRace for the Cure, a chance forsurvivors to shine and supportersto stand in solidarity with them.

The upbeat and colorful crowd

of about 30,000 sweated, cheeredand chatted as it surged up Wood-ward Avenue from the startingpoint in front of the Fox Theatre.

While participants and orga-nizers said they are serious aboutstamping out breast cancer, Sat-urday’s race had a celebratorytone.

Teams of runners and walkersadopted humorous monikers,

Thousands lace up to run out breast cancer

SARAH WELLIVER/Detroit Free Press

Liz Klee, left, ofWestland com-forts her sisterJoann Cuschieriof Clinton Town-ship at ComericaPark on Saturdaybefore the Racefor the Cure. “Mymom died ofbrain cancer. I’mhere for her,”says Cuschieri.

By CECILIA OLECK

FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER

See RACE, 18A

DAD’S DAY

RASHAUN RUCKER/Detroit Free Press

Marine Sgt. Alan Hoover, 26, of Melvindale shows some love to his son, Alan II, 14 months. After returninghome from Iraq in April, Hoover is excited to spend Father’s Day with his son for the first time.

3 fathers’ love shows essence of devotion

Marine Sgt. Alan Hoover’s first Fa-ther’s Day was bittersweet.

He was in the Mojave Desert, trainingfor duty in Iraq.He watched as his first ser-geant opened a gift — pink sunglasses theman’s daughter had made of constructionpaper.

“I yelled out, ‘Hey, I’m a father, too!’ ”Hoover recalled. “The guys all congratu-lated me, and we talked about it for a fewmoments. It allowed us to step out of ourtraining mode for a moment and have a de-cent conversation. Those are special mo-ments. We can be training, sweating, andfocusing on a mission, and have a 2- to 5-

minute conversation about families backhome and it draws us closer together.

“I remember I felt very happy, but real-ly sad at the same time.”

Two weeks after his first and only sonwas born April 5 last year, Hoover was ona plane bound for training in the Californiadesert and then headed to an 8-month as-signment in Iraq with the 1st Battalion ofthe 24th Marine Regiment. He returnedhome April 29.

This Father’s Day, he looks forward tochilling out at his Melvindale home withhis wife, April, and son, Alan Thomas Hoo-ver II.Hoover said he believes images of

By CASSANDRA SPRATLING

FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER

See DUTY, 20A

CARNELL HUM-PHRIES, 33, of De-troit has threekids and coachesbaseball to showboys in the city aroute to a betterlife. 20A

MICHAEL SACKEY,48, of Warrensays his goal as afather has been toraise a daughterwho is not afraidto pursue herdreams. 20A

Inside: More Father’s Day stories

Surplus puts U.S. autoindustry at disadvantage

Hear audio interviews and getmore content at freep.com

See RETAIL, 4A

DEALERSHIPOVERLOADDetroit’s automakersand their dealers knowthey have a problem:too many dealerships.But slimming downthe network of in-dependent showroomswould be at least asdifficult and expensiveas cutting jobs andclosing factories thatare no longer needed.Experts say the poten-tial benefits are hugefor the automakersthat can pull it off.

COMING NEXTMONDAY: For familydealers, it’s personal,not just business.

74andOH!

STREAKINGCABRINI GIRLSWIN STATE TITLESPORTS, 16D

EXCESSDEALERSCOSTINGBILLIONS

DEALERSHIPOVERLOADPART 1 OF A 3-PART SERIES

Susan Agerreveals hersix Michigandestinations

LIFE, 1J

Mike Jackson cutMercedes-Benz dealer-ships in the 1990s.

Gerard Schmid runshis family’s Forddealership in Ferndale.

TUESDAY: How othercarmakers benefitedfrom showroom reduc-tions.

At freep.com: Morememoriesof dads anda photogallery

� MitchAlbom’s gota song forDad. 1B

� RonDzwonkow-ski visitsMike Cox’sdad. 3C

� GeorgeaKovanisshops fordad. 1J

� Sports.Lion worksfor father-in-law, dad.1D

For new father,it’s pure instinct Niagara Parks

SAVE MORETHAN

$145IN YOURCOUPONPACKS