Automotive News - June 2, 2008 - (Page 46)

46 • JUNE 2, 2008 Genesis in Toledo: It’s a long story Craig Trudell ctrudell@crain.com DeVane/Gunn Automotive Buyer: Ed DeVane of Mission Chrysler-Jeep in San Antonio Seller: Gunn Automotive Location: San Antonio Franchise: Dodge Old name: Gunn Dodge New name: Mission Chrysler-JeepDodge More: Mission will consolidate the Dodge franchise with its Chrysler-Jeep dealership. It is moving its fleet sales operations to the Gunn Dodge site. owns a Chevrolet dealership in Owego, N.Y. Toledo, Ohio, could become a poster city for Chrysler LLC’s retail consolidation plan — sooner or later. Chrysler’s Project Genesis seeks to combine Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep franchises in the same dealerships. The goal is bigger, more profitable stores, especially in urban areas. The Toledo market provides an example. Yark Automotive Group owns a Chrysler-Jeep dealership in the city. Grogan’s Towne Chrysler sells Chrysler and Dodge vehicles. The two dealerships have agreed to pool inventory and other resources so both can sell all three Chrysler brands. The deal is scheduled to take effect early next year. At the same time, Chrysler is encouraging two single-point dealerships in the Toledo area, Charlie’s Dodge and Ed Schmidt Jeep, to consolidate. But Denny Amrhein, general manager of the Grogan dealership, said that part of Plan Toledo is proceeding more slowly. “One of those two has got to go away so they can be moved to the This Automotive News feature lists recent dealership acquisitions as reported by brokers, official announcements and news media. other store,” Amrhein told Automotive News. “But neither of them wants to do it. Chrysler told us they’re trying to put this together all at one time instead of piece by piece.” At the beginning of 2008, Chrysler LLC had 3,585 U.S. dealerships, down 164 from Jan. 1, 2007. This year, Chrysler says, it has subtracted 74 dealerships. Toyota: No, Canada Canada’s only public dealership group has trimmed its growth projections for 2008 now that Toyota Canada has rejected the group’s efforts to buy several Toyota dealerships. AutoCanada, of Edmonton, Alber- ta, owns 21 dealerships in six Canadian provinces. The retailer went public in 2006. Although Toyota allows public groups to own its dealerships in the United States, Toyota Canada balked at a similar arrangement for AutoCanada. AutoCanada CEO Patrick Priestner said his company was “very disappointed” with Toyota’s decision. “It’s a great brand, and we will continue to work with them,” Priestner said. In an e-mail to Automotive News, Toyota Canada spokeswoman Melanie Testani said the company reviews each franchise application “individually on its own merit.” “In this instance, the application did not proceed,” said Testani, who declined to elaborate. AutoCanada now says it plans to buy two or three dealerships this year, down from a previous forecast of three to six acquisitions. About half of AutoCanada’s dealerships sell Chrysler brands. The company also owns Hyundai, Nissan, Infiniti, Mitsubishi and Subaru stores. Last year AutoCanada dealerships sold 11,135 new vehicles at retail. c Golinvaux/Hecker Buyer: Jerry Golinvaux of Roseville Chrysler-Jeep Seller: Denny Hecker Location: Roseville, Minn. Franchise: Dodge Old name: Rosedale Dodge New name: Roseville Chrysler-JeepDodge More: Golinvaux will operate the Dodge franchise out of his ChryslerJeep dealership in Roseville. The deal creates the first Twin Cities area dealership under Chrysler LLC’s Project Genesis retail consolidation plan. Hadfield/Moore Buyer: Mark Hadfield of Elco Chevrolet Seller: Ron Moore Location: Ballwin, Mo. Franchise: Cadillac Old name: Moore Cadillac New name: Elco Chevrolet-Cadillac More: Elco will operate the Cadillac franchise out of its Chevrolet store in Ballwin. It plans to complete a new building on the site by the fall of 2009. Performance/Sonic Buyer: Performance Automotive Seller: Sonic Automotive Inc. Location: Columbus, Ohio Franchises: Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge Old names: Trader Bud’s Westside Dodge and Trader Bud’s Westside Chrysler-Jeep New name: Trader Bud’s Westside Chrysler-Jeep-Dodge More: Performance is combining the three franchises on the site of the former Dodge dealership but plans to build a store at a different location. Young/Zehnder Buyer: Mike Young of Mike Young Pontiac-GMC in Frankenmuth, Mich. Seller: Martin Zehnder of Zehnder Chevrolet-Buick Location: Frankenmuth Franchise: Buick New name: Mike Young BuickPontiac-GMC More: Zehnder will continue to operate the Chevrolet dealership. Gillman Cos./Kellogg Buyer: Gillman Cos. Seller: Jeff Kellogg Locations: Harlingen and San Benito, Texas Franchises: Chevrolet, Honda, Buick, Pontiac, GMC Old names: Kellogg Chevrolet Harlingen, Kellogg Chevrolet San Benito, Kellogg Honda and Kellogg Pontiac-Buick-GMC New names: Gillman Chevrolet Harlingen, Gillman Chevrolet San Benito, Gillman Honda and Gillman Buick-Pontiac-GMC Voss Auto/Ross Buyer: Voss Auto Group Seller: Bob Ross Location: Washington Township, Ohio Franchise: Hummer Old name: Bob Ross Hummer New name: Voss Village CadillacHummer More: The Ross dealership has closed, and Voss will operate the Hummer franchise out of its Cadillac dealership in Washington Township. Hunt, Jackson/Hunt Buyers: John Hunt and Ann Leslie Jackson Seller: Rick Hunt Location: Franklin, Ky. Franchises: Ford, Mercury, Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep Name: Hunt Ford-Chrysler More: The buyers are Rick Hunt’s son and daughter. Moreno/Levine MSX International is the leading global provider of outsourced business solutions, integrating automotive best practices, processes, people & technology. Integrated outsourced solutions that drive cross-brand business performance & signiﬁcant ﬁnancial improvements for dealers worldwide: Predict Customer Behavior and Expand Dealership Customer & Prospect Trafﬁc Maximize Service, Aftersales & Repair Revenues Increase New, Used & Certiﬁed Pre-owned Vehicle Sales Improve Parts & Accessories Sales Expand F&I and Aftermarket Revenues Develop Dealership Staff into Peak Performers Deliver Sustainable Customer Satisfaction & Loyalty Buyer: Bernie Moreno Seller: James Levine Location: North Olmsted, Ohio Old name: Shaker Saab New name: Saab of North Olmsted More: Moreno’s North Olmsted Auto Collection also sells Mercedes-Benz, Porsche and Lotus vehicles. Swatty, Harrell, Grant/Madni Buyers: Ron Swatty, Steve Harrell, Kenny Grant Seller: Syad Madni Location: Greer, S.C. Name: Greer Nissan Tate, Davydov/Rockwood Buyers: Ryan Tate, Igor Davydov Seller: John Rockwood Location: Ripon, Wis. Name: Ripon Ford-Mercury Let our worldwide automotive experts make our experience work for you: Tailored solutions that deliver, year-after-year, proven ROI to dealers worldwide Flexible pay-for-performance agreements tightly aligned with dealer expectations Sunroad/Cunningham Buyer: Sunroad Automotive of San Diego Seller: Gina Cunningham Location: El Cajon, Calif. Name: Cunningham BMW Matthews Auto Group/Wilson Buyer: Matthews Auto Group Seller: Ken Wilson Location: Vestal, N.Y. Old name: Ken Wilson Chevrolet New name: Matthews Chevrolet More: Matthews Auto Group also www.msxi.com North America (Global HQ) +1 800 632 0916 Asia Paciﬁc Benelux Eastern Europe France Germany (Euro HQ) +61 (0)3 9693 9900 +31 (0)318 58 03 40 +420 7756 75 219 +33 (0)1 47 60 44 00 +49 (0)221 947 000 Italy Scandinavia South America Spain & Portugal United Kingdom +39 +46 +55 +34 +44 06 91637 1 (0)31 337 88 40 11 2158 6900 (0)91 392 083 0 (0)1206 767 611 Dealership Buy/Sell: We invite news items about dealership sales and acquisitions. Here’s what we need from you: Name of seller Name, city and state of buyer Name, city and state of dealership being sold, including name change Franchises involved Name of broker if applicable Size of dealership (annual unit sales or sales revenue) Transaction price if possible Any other relevant information Phone number or e-mail address E-mail items to: rjohnson@crain.com Or send them to: Dealership Buy/Sell Managing Editor Automotive News 1155 Gratiot Ave. Detroit, MI 48207-2997 http://www.msxi.com http://www.msxi.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Automotive News - June 2, 2008

Automotive News - June 2, 2008 Gas prices fuel industry's new era Chrysler faces tricky dealer mergers Honda may crank out more Civics in N.A. Mercedes will move into Chrysler Pacifica studio Ford to offer hatchback version of Fiesta Prestige Automotive sells stores but keeps Black Enterprise top spot Dealership marketers take to text messaging Senate to hear personal pleas on roof crush rule Magazine: Chrysler, Fiat are talking Former Fla. dealer gets jail for bilking bank That guy Alfred had possibilities Ford will make next Mustang look smaller Pontiac subcompact may come to U.S. GM: Battery glitch cuts hybrid sales Porsche exec: CAFE 'will not change our nature' Japanese rivals race for lithium batteries Jatco boosts CVT capacity in Mexico for N.A. vehicles Mercury deserves a better chance Rising gas prices have changed the U.S. market Marketing and sales: Context and content Mexico's Nemak grows beyond North America Buyers didn't quit GM; GM quit on its buyers Brand perceptions change slowly Bloggers are journalists, too Nice HQ, Nissan, but where's Nobe? Chrysler's Chernoby: Growing up gearhead Picture this Mitsubishi hopes new gearbox widens Evo's appeal Openlane gets funds Obituaries Survey: Going green can get your auto ad noticed Inrix: Router can reduce traffic delays Mazda6 gets own platform for U.S. ... sort of Mazda6 set to take on mid-sized sedan heavyweights Troubled or not, the United States still beckons What's next? More transplant models headed this way Exports help as Mitsubishi sorts things out Irma Elder: 'This is one of the toughest times we have had' Fitzgerald: Dealers, consumers need alliance Can Bertone design a comeback? Family-owned business struggles for survival Some design houses fall on tough times Hughes: Not a subscriber? No problem American Axle lines up new non-U.S. business GM think tank works to boost service business Toyota offers gas card as tire incentive VW turns to common software to develop products Continental's Calif. office targets Asian carmakers ZF sees chassis, axle opportunities in N.A. Flex: A new Ford image ... or just over the top? Ford targeted Flex interior quiet, ride Ex-dealership managers say firings were over religion Dealers Genesis in Toledo: It's a long story Back woes sideline Nardelli GM: 19,000 take buyouts Panama to head Nissan Mexicana Wilhite jumps to Jumpstart Dauch sons move up, out Kozyra leaves Continental Ford to lay off salaried staff More small cars to arrive in 2009-10 Even on used market, big trucks go begging Auto advertisers adopt mpg mantra Industry to motorists: We're here to help Diesel prices hit suppliers' Mexico sites Can Camry catch F series? Leno's words of wisdom for automakers Nissan's carbon credits ease global warming guilt Automotive CEOs' pay pales next to peers' Year of the Small Car can't come too soon Foreign suppliers adding capacity in Southeast From cows to kimchi: Making Alabama sweet home for Koreans After light-truck push, cars are king again Mexican suppliers expect sales record in '08

Automotive News - June 2, 2008

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