Automotive News - October 21, 2013 - Supplement - (Page S4)

4 ❙ OCTOBER 21, 2013 D A N I E L S B M W A N D M I N I O F A L L E N T O W N , PA . Youngster bet on a new import brand in 1974, and it paid off handsomely Printed in Automotive News Sept. 17, 2012 Diana T. Kurylko dkurylko@crain.com G ary Daniels was 24 when hardnosed European car distributor Max Hoffman made him a BMW dealer. Daniels was ahead of the curve. It was 1974, and BMW of North America wasn't even established until a year later. These days BMW is among the most coveted franchises in the United States - the most coveted, according to a recent report by Presidio Group, a San Francisco financial services company that brokers dealership sales. But back then BMW was making its first strides toward the top rank of world automotive brands, and you could pick up a franchise without much trouble. Daniels, now 62, owns Daniels BMW and Mini of Allentown in Pennsylvania's Lehigh Valley, where defunct steel factories and textile mills have been replaced by massive hospitals and headquarters for corporations such as Crayola. Last year he sold 463 new BMWs and 347 new Minis. But before he got in on the ground floor with BMW, he just concentrated on the floor. Daniels learned the car business at his father's Daniels Cadillac store in Allentown, starting at age 14 by sweeping up and cleaning out shop drains. He eventually moved into the parts and service department and then onto the sales floor. During college he grew infatuated with the Spartan but sprightly BMW 2002. That was not unusual for young car cognoscenti of the era, the kind who devoured car magazines. The lightweight 2002 had agile road manners and surprising performance. At the University of Denver, Daniels took on some extracurricular work for his business professors and in the process learned how to do statistical analyses of consumer questionnaires. In his senior year, Daniels developed his own questionnaire to ask university students what car make they most desired. BMW came out on top, even though the brand was still relatively unknown in the United States. "I came home and did a presentation for my father," said Daniels. "My father, who was a dyed-in-the-wool GM man, thought it Dealer Gary Daniels, with some of the awards his store has won. His father - "a dyed-in-thewool GM man" - had doubts about the fledgling BMW, but things turned out OK. The Daniels method ■ Include accessories in the sales pitch ■ Get buy-in from staff and reward workers with a commission of 8 to 10% ■ Shop around for accessory suppliers ■ Target new- and used-car buyers as well as service customers ■ The payoff: Up to $25,000 a month in additional revenue, plus return business was a folly." Still, his father relented in the face of Gary's enthusiasm. From the time Daniels placed the first call to Hoffman, it took a year to acquire the franchise. Hoffman, a celebrated figure in American automotive history, imported most of the European nameplates sold in the United States during the 1950s, years before those brands set up their own sales and distribution subsidiaries. Hoffman, an Austrian, was a dynamo, famous for his salesmanship and strong personality. He is credited with persuading Porsche in 1954 to build the cheaper Speedster for the United States and with helping Mercedes-Benz design the 300SL Gullwing. Mercedes bought out Hoffman in 1962, but BMW waited and ultimately had to wage a bitter court battle before acquiring his distributorship in 1975. The year before, Daniels and his father, Jack, trav- Hoffman: Early elled to Hoffman Motor auto importer Co. at its Montvale, N.J., headquarters to conclude the BMW franchise deal. Daniels remembers the diminutive Hoffman sitting in a rosewood-paneled office behind a large desk surrounded by auto memorabilia. The most distinctive piece was "a rather large solid silver Porsche Speedster with an etched autograph of Dr. Ferry Porsche," said Daniels. "He was very proud of that." Hoffman initially was concerned that Daniels was so young but became convinced "my enthusiasm for BMW would overshadow my inexperience," said Daniels. Besides, Hoffman was known for making gas station owners BMW dealers because they could fix cars. "He was putting in a lot of nontraditional see DANIELS, next page

Automotive News - October 21, 2013 - Supplement

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