Quote:
Originally Posted by XDCX
I agree.
I remember when Auburn Hills first pitched the idea of a stand alone Fiat store to CJDR dealers at an invitation only event. While the expectations of Fiat's return to the U.S were lofty it didn't take too long for reality to set in.
For most of the Fiat stand alone Dealer Principals I get the impression that the success or failure of their Fiat store wouldn't significantly alter their net worth. I have no idea whether that's the case for the owner of Fiat of Pensacola or not.  |
Fiat of Pensacola is owned by the Toyota dealer in Daphne AL (near Mobile AL),he also owns Headquarter Nissan in Columbus GA which he bought out of bankruptcy court a couple years back. These stores are both high volume stores, with expensive facilities. Pensacola is a deep south mentality market (everybody knows everybody) with the major employer being Eglin AFB and its base contractors.
There is a big Dodge store (H-K) in Pensacola that has been owned by the same family for over 50 years. This dealer was gifted the Chrysler and Jeep franchises in 2009. They have the contract with the state of FL for fleet vehicles (FHP, county sheriffs depts, etc) and have been retailing around 100 new units monthly for 50 years as well. They are not going anywhere and will probably end up with this deal if they wanted to have it.
The Toyota guy must have gotten tired of taking a hit there every month and dealing with the expenses on a new facility in a bush league market.
Back in the late 1980s until 2000, Hyundai had a hard time keeping a dealer open in Pensacola.