Martin Automotive Dayton-area vehicle dealers
Kia of Dayton, 8560 Old Troy Pike.
Subaru of Dayton, 995 Miamisburg-Centerville Road.
Thrifty Car Sales/Meineke, 1575 Miamisburg-Centerville Road.
Thrifty Car Sales/Meineke, 2601 E. Alex-Bell Road.
Thrifty Car Sales/Meineke and Motors Sports of Dayton, 2135 Ohio 235, New Carlisle.
Also:
Fairfield Ford, Fairfield.
CENTERVILLE — For Martin Automotive Group’s as for so many other dealers, it has been a case of adapt or die in this economy.
The market contracted, automakers pressured dealers to close or consolidate and those dealers chased fewer, choosier customers who kept vehicles longer, noted Chadwick Martin, Martin co-owner and son of company founder Cornelius Martin.
“Like everyone else, you pick up, you keep going, you get better, more innovative,” Martin said.
The family-owned company declined to provide precise sales figures, but Martin acknowledged that sales took a hit in 2009 of nearly 15 percent compared to 2008.
Cornelius Martin got his start locally when he opened what was Saturn of Dayton (now Subaru of Dayton) in 1991. Today, Bowling Green, Ky.-based Martin owns six Dayton-area vehicle dealerships and Fairfield Ford in Butler County.
In January, Martin changed the operating identities of three local dealers — Planet Ford, New Carlisle Chevrolet and Lincoln Mercury of Dayton — and shifted those lots to Thrifty used vehicle sales.
Asked if General Motors sought the closure of New Carlisle Chevrolet, Martin said it was a “mutual decision”
Still, the company has about 200 Dayton-area employees, nearly half of the company’s 500 total employees, Martin said.
Now, the company is bringing Meineke service centers to its three local Thrifty dealers, a tactic that acknowledges owners keep vehicles longer, Martin said.
“We’re bringing Meineke to the Dayton market just as we brought Saturn to the Dayton market,” he said.
Tim Doran, executive director of the Ohio Automobile Dealers Association, said Martin is not the only company picking up on used vehicles.
“Used car sales are certainly robust compared to a year ago, and frankly, some of the used car pricing is up compared to a year ago,” Doran said.
He is “guardedly optimistic” about the business in general. Credit is still a challenge, and there’s the question of where the economy is heading, he said.
“There are a lot of people who are holding their breath right now with what’s going to happen with the second half of the year,” he said.
Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2390 or tgnau@DaytonDailyNews.com.
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