One upon a time, the family automobile was part of the American Dream.

The prosperity and freedom they represented changed the country and the world.

Perhaps those days are gone.

Earlier this month, one Burien car dealer decided to let his part of that that dream go.

The owners of BBC Auto let go of their dream and auctioned off everything on the 4 square-acres lot. BBC Dodge had been located in Burien for 48 years.

Up for sale were floor jacks, oil dollies, battery charges, tire machines, multiple hydraulic lifts, diagnostic systems and key cutters. In the end, every thing was up for the taking including chairs, shelves and printers.

Jim Peterson drove all the way from Hoquiam to find a deal. He services timber industry vehicles and is restoring a repair bay from the ground up.

The repair bay where most of the action took place was filled with about 200 bidders--all men all with wide backs and big hands. They soberly accessed the value of every wrench, cart and battery.

Not every one saw the dismantling of a 48-year business with such dispassion.

Employees like Willie Sherman, Jay Parsad, and Dave Schirman said they will miss the security and routine this dealership provided. Sherman, a 30-year BBC Dodge employee, came by to see the dealership's last days

"I've seen a lot of changes, and a lot of people come through here, he reflected. " I'm sad to see it go."

Parsad added, "I had great fun working here and we had good medical (insurance,)"

Shirman noted with a remorseful laugh, "I was planning on being here for life. It was a pretty big shock when they folded."

The former employees said the closing was precipitated by the Chrysler Corporation's demand that dealers carry all three lines of Chrysler vehicles. That would have been an estimated $22 million reinvestment, according to the men.

They said the owner saw himself as a Dodge dealer and couldn't justify the cost so let the business go. The owner was unavailable for comment.

As the morning went on, the auctioneers went on with their chants and carnival pitches cleverly turning a phase to get a little more for one item or to get the men with the sewn-on name tags off to start bidding.

It seems that after 48 years of putting Burien on the road, BBC Dodge had one more service to perform before moving on--keeping other small auto shops alive.

Tim Murphy, a 28-year auction barker, did take a second during a break to reflect on what the current economic downturn means to his business.

"January is usually our slowest month and we already had four auctions this month," Murphy said. "It has been busy, I guess."