Automotive News - October 16, 2017 - Supplement - S23

OCTOBER 16, 2017 | 23
V I C T O R Y C H R Y S L E R - D O D G E - J E E P - R A M , K I N G W O O D , W. VA .

TAKING BUYERS OFF-ROAD
Trail through W.Va.
woods highlights
Jeeps' capability

Printed in Automotive News April 17, 2017

Nick Bunkley

nbunkley@crain.com

hen Victory Chrysler-DodgeJeep-Ram opened in 2014, it
boasted an indoor showroom
large enough to fit nearly 20 vehicles, giving shoppers a respite from the
heavy snows in its rural corner of West Virginia.
Now, the dealership offers customers an
The trail behind the dealership lets Jeep shoppers experience what the vehicles can do.
outdoor experience that shows them how
er Jeep they want to buy. (One turn is too
well a Jeep can handle hills, logs and mud.
sharp to accommodate a Ram pickup, and
Victory, on 10 acres of rugged Appalachia,
test drives of Chrysler and Dodge models
cleared a two-track path through the woods
stick to paved roads.)
behind its showroom for off-road demonThe idea for an off-road course came from
strations - though dealership employees do
Tyler Burroughs, a salesman at the dealership
the driving to avoid any accidents. Sharp
and passionate Wrangler owner. Burroughs
turns and steep grades highlight the vehicles'
wanted to help customers realize the capabilagility, though many customers seem to be
ities of a Jeep, and after scouting the woods
most excited while sloshing through a low-lyout back, he and Meadows decided a rudiing pit of deep mud near the end.
mentary path would be easy to make.
"With us having this natural terrain, we
Burroughs, an Army corporal who served in
thought we could really have something noGeneral Manager Jeff Meadows says: "We
Iraq and struggled with post-traumatic stress
body else has," said Jeff Meadows, the store's
didn't beautify it, and we let it stay rustic."
disorder, took his own life last July, two
general manager. "There's a difference in
months after being promoted to sales managservice department then verified.
someone telling you you'll be OK and someer. Victory is dedicating the course as "Tyler's
Creating the three-quarter-mile trail took
one showing you. Customers are just
Trail" this Memorial Day.
only two weeks last spring. The dealership
shocked at what it can do."
Word of the trail has traveled fast since it
borrowed a skid-steer loader from a neighA quick trip through the trail made Madopened, and Meadows said customers have
boring business to clear out any debris
isen Brooks, who was planning to trade
started asking to try it more frequently.
that could damage the undercarin her Chrysler 200, enamored with
That's welcome publicity for the store,
riage of a vehicle passing through.
the idea of a Jeep Wrangler. She
Off-road test
which sells about 50 to 60 new and used ve"It
was
really
no
investment,
just thought it would be a huge
trail on dealership's
hicles a month.
just a little bit of time," said Alythrill for her 2-year-old son,
wooded property
The amenity builds on a reputation that has
sia
Stephens,
the
dealership's
Stone, but she came away imshows customers how
helped Victory, in tiny Kingwood, W.Va.,
president.
pressed how easily the Wrana Jeep can handle the
about 100 miles south of Pittsburgh, amass a
Little maintenance is regler tackled the course on a
terrain that they live
customer base from 20 states. For 2016, the
quired,
beyond
more
frequent
rainy day.
around.
store's second full year of operation, Meaduse of the service department's
"Getting to people's driveways
ows said Victory ranked No. 1 for customer
car wash. Obstacles such as newly
here in the mountains in the winter
satisfaction out of about 80 Fiat Chrysler Aufallen tree limbs aren't removed unless
can be pretty intense," Brooks said. "Seetomobiles dealerships in its four-state region.
they pose a danger to the vehicles.
ing it in action, I was kind of sold. I didn't think I
"People who are coming here, they came
"We didn't beautify it, and we let it stay ruswould want to get that."
for a purpose, so this adds to it," Meadows
tic," Meadows said. "It does cause them to get
The benefits go beyond test drives. Meadows
said. "Most people are never going to use
dirty."
said he used the course to check out a 1999
their vehicle for that kind of terrain, but they
The dealership puts aside one or two used
Wrangler that a customer was trading in
have the peace of mind. It's certainly made
Wranglers to drive the course, though it's
several weeks ago. Driving up a steep slope,
them believers in the product." a
willing to take customers through in whatevhe heard signs of an exhaust leak, which the

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