Anyone wondering what happened to Lujacks CHEVY dealership? It doesnt exist anymore.... But a new Mills does, because we bought it! See below for info! Very exciting news!!!! Article from QC Times: Mills Chevrolet, Moline, announced Tuesday that it will expand to the Iowa Quad-Cities, taking over the sales and service area for Chevrolet vehicles that formerly belonged to Lujacks Northpark Auto Plaza, Davenport. Owner David Mills said the dealership plans to open a temporary store at 5401 Elmore Ave., Davenport, until it can build a new Chevrolet flagship dealership. The temporary store, which will be open by this weekend, will be in the dealership that last housed Carver-Blackwell-Piehl. It originally was built as a Suzuki dealership. We have proudly served Moline since 1952, and Moline will be here for the foreseeable future, he said, adding that the Moline dealership will provide support to the new temporary store, which because of its size, will have some limitations. Mills, the companys president/general manager, said he signed a sales and service agreement with General Motors, or GM, on Monday, giving his dealership primary responsibility for Davenport and Bettendorf. Ryndee Carney, GMs manager, cross-brand communications, confirmed Tuesday that Mills has been appointed as a new Chevrolet dealer in Davenport. Earlier this fall, after 60 years of selling Chevy vehicles, Lujacks confirmed that it would no longer sell the brand by years end. The move was part of a settlement involving a lawsuit between Lujacks owners and GM, which manufactures Chevrolet products. At the time, Don Reese, chief operating officer of Gurley-Leep Automotive Family, Lujacks parent company, said the dealership would sell back the franchise to GM as part of the settlement. He also said the company would announce a plan that will revolutionize the car-buying experience for our guests. When contacted Tuesday by the Quad-City Times, Reese said he would release details once the official announcement is made. The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court, Davenport, claimed that Lujack Chevrolet fraudulently reported retail sales and was selling used cars as if they were like new. The lawsuit stated that Lujack reported dozens, if not hundreds, of new car sales to GM that were not bona fide retail sales at all. The vehicle titles were transferred to other dealerships owned by Leep Chevrolet, which purchased Lujacks in 2007, and the vehicles were sold to the public as used vehicles that were like new, the lawsuit claimed. In the 11-count petition, GM claimed: breach of contract (false reporting and fraud); fraud; conspiracy to commit fraud; breach of settlement agreement; breach of contract (sale for resale); breach of contract (deceptive and unlawful conduct); and indemnification. In response, Gurley-Leep filed a seven-count counterclaim against GM, including claiming: fraudulent misrepresentation; fraud in the inducement and breach of contract (bad faith). Lujacks was the lone Chevrolet franchise dealership located in the Iowa Quad-Cities. There are three Chevy dealers on the Illinois side, including Mills. According to Mills, who was not involved in the litigation or settlement, Lujacks remaining inventory of Chevy vehicles has been re-invoiced to Mills Chevrolet, which took possession of about 90 new Chevy vehicles on Thursday. He said GM considered various options for a new Davenport dealership, including outside investors and the current Chevy dealers in the market before selecting Mills for the sales and service area of Davenport and Bettendorf. When they came to me, I said, You cannot let this brand go dark, he said, adding that he presented plans for a temporary store location because it was important not to have any gap between the former dealer and us starting up. In fact, he said, We will be selling cars this weekend at the new location. He added that the site will offer new and certified pre-owned cars. It will be limited in service offerings, such as oil changes and light maintenance, but Iowa customers needing other services will be able to drop off their vehicles, which will be transported to Moline. Meanwhile, Mills said the company is working to find a five- to 10-acre site to purchase for a new dealership in Davenport or Bettendorf. Weve got several favorite sites, he said. GM was pleasantly surprised that there are several options. Mills said the Iowa store is a much larger dealership platform than Moline is. It will have 300 to 400 new cars in stock, and GM estimates it will sell 1,300 cars a year. The Moline dealership stocks about 100-120 new cars and 250 pre-owned cars. When the new facility is built in the summer of 2016, it will employ about 70. The temporary store, will be staffed by some new hires and current Mills employees. Customers will now have great Chevy products and services available by my team where weve always been in Moline and now in Iowa, he said. Mills late father, M.I. Bud Mills bought the Chevy dealership in 1952, moving it from downtown Moline to its current location in 1967. To have Davenport and Moline is just a dream come true for my family, my team and me, Mills said.
Posted on: Fri, 19 Dec 2014 18:17:09 +0000
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