North Point Chrysler Jeep buys Triad Dodge

Merger is part of dealer consolidation in Forsyth; Chrysler encouraged it

By: Richard Craver | JOURNAL REPORTER
Published: November 12, 2008

The consolidation of Forsyth County's automotive-dealership base has accelerated with North Point Chrysler Jeep's purchase of Triad Dodge.

North Point Chrysler Jeep will consolidate the inventory of the dealerships at 7226 North Point Blvd. by Dec. 1, according to Jeff Michael, the president of North Point Chrysler Jeep Dodge Inc.

Michael declined yesterday to provide a purchase price.

Curtis Capps serves as the president of Triad Dodge Inc., which is at 680 Peters Creek Parkway.

The dealerships are conducting a "merger sale" through Nov. 30, including cars from Triad Auto Center in Mocksville, to reduce inventory.

"Chrysler has been after us for years to consolidate dealerships," Michael said.

Chrysler has promoted Project Genesis to its dealers since 2001 in an effort "to create a smaller number of healthier dealerships that carry all three brands under one roof," said Curtrise Garner, the public-relations manager for Chrysler LLC. Garner said that Chrysler has provided no financial incentive to encourage consolidation.

"The downturn in the economy has everybody looking at size and depth of inventory," Michael said. "Combining the dealerships will provide a lower cost to operate."

The deal is the latest reduction in the number of dealerships in Winston-Salem and the Triad.

In March 2007, Parkway Ford Inc. bought Regal Ford. Parkway kept the Regal lot at 3150 University Parkway and renamed it Parkway Ford North.

Other recent deals include the purchase of a controlling interest in Land Rover Greensboro by Flow Cos. Inc. of Winston-Salem, and the merger of Crown Pontiac-GMC with Flow Buick of Greensboro.

Other efforts have been geared toward reducing the number of dealership lots.

In June, Flow said it would have eight General Motors brands on a single site along South Stratford Road. Flow plans to open a second Flow Honda dealership at 2710 University Parkway -- the former site of Flow Buick-Pontiac-GMC -- to complement its dealership at 2600 Peters Creek Parkway.

Michael said he is consolidating the two dealerships at the North Point lot because it is newer and offers more flexibility.

He said he has been buying land around the North Point lot in recent years.

"We'll be able to fit up to 600 automobiles here," Michael said. "We'll have a larger service and parts departments. We'll be able to fit more cars in our showroom."

Michael said that the North Point dealership has an annual new and used sales volume of more than 1,700 vehicles. Michael declined to say what the annual sales volume of Triad Dodge has been, but he said he expects that "it hopefully will be considerably more" as a byproduct of the consolidation.

Michael said that there will be some job cuts, but he declined to provide an estimate.

The deal does not include the 3.94 acres where Triad Dodge is. The land is worth nearly $1.5 million, according to Forsyth County tax records. Michael said he believes that the owner will put the land up for lease or possibly sale. It is within walking distance of the new downtown baseball stadium.

Robert Glaser, the president of the N.C. Automobile Dealers Association, said that dealerships are consolidating more because it makes good business sense than because of corporate directives.

"It's a practice taking place throughout the state, and it's not limited to domestic automakers," Glaser said. "There's more competition for dealerships than ever before, in part because of Internet shopping and consumers' willingness to travel 30 to 120 miles for what they see as the best deal. "Which makes for a great environment for buying cars," he said.

"And, contrary to what you hear about, there are car loans available to people with average to good credit reports."

■ Richard Craver can be reached at 727-7376 or at rcraver@wsjournal.com.