Raleigh auto dealership adds Buick franchise

Thompson Cadillac Pontiac GMC has added another brand to its car lineup: Buick.

The Raleigh auto dealership on Wake Forest Road has acquired the Buick franchise previously owned by the Southern States dealership across the street. Southern States continues to sell several other car brands on Wake Forest Road.

"It's a great product," Lex Depp, Thompson's general sales manager, said of the Buick brand. "Customers are loyal to the product."

Terms of the deal weren't disclosed. Southern States executives couldn't be reached for comment.

The deal comes against a backdrop of plummeting car sales across all brands. Nationwide, sales of GM cars, which includes Buick and the other models sold by Thompson, fell 45 percent in October.

Depp said that car sales at Thompson "are off somewhat, but not as dramatically as the numbers you see in the paper." He estimated Thompson's sales are down 10 percent this year.

Robert Glaser, president of the N.C. Automobile Dealers Association, said auto dealers haven't had it this tough for more than 30 years -- since the 1973-74 energy crisis.

"Dealers are doing whatever they can to streamline costs and survive," he said.

That includes mergers and acquisitions.

"If you consolidate all in one location, you get economies of scale and reduce overall costs," Glaser said. He added that GM is encouraging its dealers to do just that.

Last week, Charlotte car mogul Rick Hendrick purchased the dealership rights for the University GM Superstore on Chapel Hill Boulevard in Durham and merged its operation with his Chevrolet dealership on South Roxboro Street.

Some dealers see opportunity in the changing auto industry landscape.

A Triad car dealer said last week it is scouting sites for the Triangle's first Mini Cooper franchise.

Thompson, which has about 85 employees, didn't take on any Southern States workers as part of the deal, said Depp.

But the dealership does have firsthand experience in selling and servicing Buicks.

Depp is a former sales manager at Al Smith Buick, the precursor to the Southern States dealership, and 10 or so other former Al Smith employees now work at Thompson, he said.