Bruce Titus in Tacoma Closes...
10-01-2009, 01:22 AM
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Bruce Titus in Tacoma Closes...
Drove by yesterday and noticed all the cars were gone. Last time I saw that few cars, I posted about it and was told that they were just redoing the floor or something. Now it looks like it's for real. Casualty of the bad economy.
Damn. That was a fixture around these parts for decades. Hate to see it go.
Link
Seventy-five years of Chevrolet sales at Tacoma's North First Street and Division Avenue ended Wednesday with the closure of Bruce Titus Chevrolet.
The dealership was among 1,100 General Motors told last spring that it wouldn’t renew their franchises in October 2010.
“Our lease was up in March, so I just decided we should take an opportunity to get out when we had a good chance,” said dealership owner Bruce Titus.
Titus sold the car repair business to his cousin Jamie Will. Will plans to open a service and tire repair business in the former Chevrolet garage today.
The former Bruce Titus lots across North First Street from the dealership are expected to become independent used car dealers.
The federal government’s “Cash for Clunkers” program helped Titus pare down his inventory before the closure. The remaining new Chevrolets he sold to Jamie Will for his Titus-Will Chevrolet dealership in Olympia.
“I think it will be a good deal for the neighborhood,” said Titus. “They’ll still have a place to get their cars serviced in the North End, and it will save the jobs of a number of my former employees.”
Meanwhile on the building’s ground floor, Stadium Thriftway is expanding its footprint into part of the bodyshop.
The demise of Bruce Titus Chevrolet ends 75 years of new car sales in the building. Titus had owned the Chevy franchise there for five years. Friendly Chevrolet had occupied the building for half-a-dozen years before that.
Walker Chevrolet, Friendly’s predecessor, had been in the building since 1934, said Rick Fields, service manager at the new repair business.
Titus said that absent General Motors’ notice that his franchise would be ended, he would still be in business at 633 Division Ave.
“We did a nice business there,” he said. “The facility was getting a little old, but it fit in well in the North End.”
General Motors is reducing its dealer network to match its reduced car sales. The nation’s largest carmaker reorganized its operations under bankruptcy. In the process, in addition to closing dealerships, the company announced it was ditching its Pontiac brand and shuttering plants throughout the U.S.
On Wednesday, the company announced it would shut down its Saturn operations after negotiations to sell it to the Penske Automotive Group collapsed.
Bruce Titus won’t be out of the car business with the Chevrolet dealership closure. He has seven other new car stores in his automotive group. They include: Tacoma Subaru, Tacoma Nissan, Olympia Chrysler, Olympia Jeep, Olympia Mitsubishi, Olympia Nissan and Eastside Subaru.
Damn. That was a fixture around these parts for decades. Hate to see it go.
Link
Seventy-five years of Chevrolet sales at Tacoma's North First Street and Division Avenue ended Wednesday with the closure of Bruce Titus Chevrolet.
The dealership was among 1,100 General Motors told last spring that it wouldn’t renew their franchises in October 2010.
“Our lease was up in March, so I just decided we should take an opportunity to get out when we had a good chance,” said dealership owner Bruce Titus.
Titus sold the car repair business to his cousin Jamie Will. Will plans to open a service and tire repair business in the former Chevrolet garage today.
The former Bruce Titus lots across North First Street from the dealership are expected to become independent used car dealers.
The federal government’s “Cash for Clunkers” program helped Titus pare down his inventory before the closure. The remaining new Chevrolets he sold to Jamie Will for his Titus-Will Chevrolet dealership in Olympia.
“I think it will be a good deal for the neighborhood,” said Titus. “They’ll still have a place to get their cars serviced in the North End, and it will save the jobs of a number of my former employees.”
Meanwhile on the building’s ground floor, Stadium Thriftway is expanding its footprint into part of the bodyshop.
The demise of Bruce Titus Chevrolet ends 75 years of new car sales in the building. Titus had owned the Chevy franchise there for five years. Friendly Chevrolet had occupied the building for half-a-dozen years before that.
Walker Chevrolet, Friendly’s predecessor, had been in the building since 1934, said Rick Fields, service manager at the new repair business.
Titus said that absent General Motors’ notice that his franchise would be ended, he would still be in business at 633 Division Ave.
“We did a nice business there,” he said. “The facility was getting a little old, but it fit in well in the North End.”
General Motors is reducing its dealer network to match its reduced car sales. The nation’s largest carmaker reorganized its operations under bankruptcy. In the process, in addition to closing dealerships, the company announced it was ditching its Pontiac brand and shuttering plants throughout the U.S.
On Wednesday, the company announced it would shut down its Saturn operations after negotiations to sell it to the Penske Automotive Group collapsed.
Bruce Titus won’t be out of the car business with the Chevrolet dealership closure. He has seven other new car stores in his automotive group. They include: Tacoma Subaru, Tacoma Nissan, Olympia Chrysler, Olympia Jeep, Olympia Mitsubishi, Olympia Nissan and Eastside Subaru.
Last edited by ExRedRacer; 10-01-2009 at 01:26 AM.
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10-01-2009, 07:03 PM
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Le Mans Master
Sad, but probably neccesary. GM and the other auto manufacturers should have seen this coming years ago. The old business model with a Chevy dealer in every town and village just doesn't work and having the diversity of offerings from GM, vis-a-vis Pontiac and Oldsmobile - and Saturn now - just doesn't work. Wouldn't you agree that Chevy dealers, at least in terms of mainstream sedan models, were competing with Olds and Pontiac as well as each other? Not just Ford and Chrysler?
Take a minute and count the number of Chevrolet dealers say, between Olympia and Everett. Then look at, oh maybe Honda and Toyota dealers in the same corridor. See who seems to have the best business model, based on annual sales.
As far as I'm concerned, I hope the city of Tacoma finds some way to preserve the old Walker Chevrolet building. That's local history that needs to be saved. I could care less about the loss of another car dealer. The best people who worked there will find positions elsewhere.
Take a minute and count the number of Chevrolet dealers say, between Olympia and Everett. Then look at, oh maybe Honda and Toyota dealers in the same corridor. See who seems to have the best business model, based on annual sales.
As far as I'm concerned, I hope the city of Tacoma finds some way to preserve the old Walker Chevrolet building. That's local history that needs to be saved. I could care less about the loss of another car dealer. The best people who worked there will find positions elsewhere.
10-01-2009, 07:19 PM
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And there are only four Lexus dealers in the entire State.
10-01-2009, 09:51 PM
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Race Director
10-02-2009, 01:03 AM
#6
Le Mans Master
There was once a comment going around in the world of purchasing agents. To wit: You know you got the best price when you put the vendor (or dealer in this case, I suppose) out of business. I think many of us may have believed it. I'd like to think the Corvette people might have a above that, but with half a dozen Chevrolet dealers within an hour's drive, why wouldn't we go shop for the best deal?
I think 4 Lexus dealers in the state is just fine. If not, Lexus (Toyota) will respond accordingly.
