TAMPA - The cars and trucks may gleam in the sun, but it's the land underneath the Bill Heard chain of car dealerships that could hold the most value.

Many large dealerships such as Bill Heard are owned by families who decades ago bought large plots of land - space that had high visibility and easy traffic flow to nearby large roads in growing areas - for their car lots. When the family leader nears retirement, sometimes they hand the business off to children. Sometimes not.

"I've talked to a lot of dealers who said they made a little money over the years selling cars and trucks, but what really made them money was buying all that land long ago and selling it for a fortune," said Jim Hossack, an auto consultant with Tustin, Calif.-based AutoPacific.

With the economy in a downturn, Hossack said more family bosses are wondering whether they want to grind through another recession when dealerships are closing and retail or commercial developers can offer cash for their land.

The Bill Heard site sits a few hundred yards from the North Park Road exit off Interstate 4 in Plant City. Although today's market is uncertain, the site could sell for $12 million to $13 million, said Patrick Berman, a commercial real estate broker with Cushman & Wakefield.

"This space has potential for flex space, distribution, office, a lot of things," Berman said.

For now, the Bill Heard dealerships are shut down and the parent company, Bill Heard Enterprises, is in bankruptcy protection. That means a court will have to sort out which creditors get what portions of the dealership's assets, vehicles and land. Normally, dealerships take out lines of credit to buy cars from manufacturers before selling them to customers. So banks will have an interest in the fate of those cars, as well as the land underneath.

As for potential land deals, company officials declined to comment.

Reporter Richard Mullins can be reached at rmullins@tampatrib.com or               (813) 259-7919       .