Car lots' success defies trends

Most Pasco auto dealers thrive amid economic hard times.

By JODIE TILLMAN, Times Staff Writer
Published January 6, 2008

Automakers may remember 2007 as their worst year in nearly a decade as consumers dealing with high gas prices and housing woes put off buying new cars and trucks.

But the news wasn't all that bad in Pasco County, where dealerships expanded, planned fresh starts and outshined big-city counterparts.

Consider:

-Sun Toyota, located near U.S. 19 and State Road 54, plans to build by late 2009 a roughly 80,000-square-foot dealership for new car sales just south of its current facility, which would be used for preowned sales. The new dealership, which would include a 48-bay service department, would be across U.S. 19 from a Volkswagen dealership that is under construction.

-Ed Morse Buick completed a $7-million renovation and expansion of its facility on U.S. 19

-Suncoast Ford Mitsubishi got a new managing partner, who says he plans to give the dealership a new name, look and attitude.

- Hyundai of New Port Richey was the nation's top-selling Hyundai dealership in November and December and finished the year in third place. Who beat them? Dealerships in Las Vegas and Long Island.

"People call me and say, 'New Port Richey?'" said Scott Fink, president and co-owner with David Frazier of the local dealership, which sold roughly 4,000 cars last year. "'Are you in downtown Tampa?'"

Other local dealerships, including Castriota Chevrolet and Sun Toyota, reported sales were up in 2007 over 2006.

Used cars sold particularly well at some places. Leon Kreisler, president of used car dealership Gulfview Motors on U.S. 19, said he sold 107 more cars in 2007 than in 2006. Kreisler, who calls his dealership the "Tiffany's of used cars," said economic conditions may continue to help out his business: People are looking for more affordable products.

Business is so good, in fact, that he plans to open another Gulfview Motors location in Tarpon Springs this year.

Over at the family-owned Sun Toyota, general manager Joe Reth said corporate offices have wanted the dealership to expand for years. The problem, though, is that there's not much room to grow on 41/2 acres.

Sun Toyota is hoping to build its facility for new car sales on a portion of a 30-acre parcel on U.S. 19 near Gulf Trace Boulevard. It needs county permission to increase the commercial footage allowed on the site.

Farther north, at Suncoast Ford Mitsubishi, new managing partner Page Pittman has been running going-out-of-business ads and signs. Business has been disappointing, he said, but the "closing" is symbolic.

Pittman, who bought out part of the business in November, said he hopes to unveil a new name in late February.

He and partner U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan, a Sarasota Republican, are putting roughly $500,000 into remodeling the facility and adding new equipment. Pittman says he's trying to sell cars that have been sitting on the lot and "start fresh."

"We wanted to change the perception of the store, both from the community standpoint and the employee standpoint," said Pittman, who says the dealership has in the past had a spotty customer service record. "There's a strong correlation between customer satisfaction and profitability."

Industry analysts expect 2008 to be worse for sales than 2007, and how long some of the Pasco dealerships will continue to buck the trend is unclear.

Throughout the Tampa Bay area, new vehicle registrations were down roughly 12 percent from 2006, Fink said.

Some local dealers say the impact of the construction slowdown and gas prices has affected what vehicles people are choosing to buy. In addition to used cars, people are buying more fuel-efficient new cars and fewer sport utility vehicles and trucks.

"Guys buy trucks when they're building houses," said Wesley Chapel Toyota president Corvin Morris, who says the 3,000 vehicles his dealership sold last year was "better than planned."

Fink said the high percentage of retirees in Pasco are seeking affordable options, which benefits "value brands" like Hyundai.

"I think people are making a conscious decision to be more efficient in the cars they choose," he said.

Some say the ownership structure of many Pasco dealerships may also help explain their relative success. Tom Castriota, of Castriota Chevrolet, said he thinks locally owned dealerships benefit in communities like Pasco, where a lot of people tend to put down roots.

"I think they'd rather deal with the local owner," than corporate ones, he said.

Even with growth shifting to other parts of the county, including a large number of dealerships in the Wesley Chapel area, U.S. 19 in west Pasco is still seen as a place to go if you need a car, said Kreisler, the Gulfview Motors president. "It's still auto row," he said.

And auto dependent.

"Fortunately for us," he said, "there are no subways here."

Jodie Tillman can be reached at jtillman@sptimes.com or (727) 869-6247.

[Last modified January 5, 2008, 20:45:46]