Friday, November 20, 2009
Pinkerton acquires Lynchburg facility
Owner Bill Pinkerton plans to expand his General Motors dealership.
The latest from The Ticker blog
Pinkerton Chevrolet, a General Motors dealership in Roanoke County near Salem, completed its acquisition of Lynchburg's Royal Chevrolet, Cadillac on Thursday.
Owner Bill Pinkerton said he plans to add about 100 used cars in stock to the 10-acre, 57,000-square-foot facilities immediately.
Royal, formerly owned by Glenn Wood, will be renamed Pinkerton Chevrolet, Buick, GMC, Cadillac and will bring Enterprise Rent-A-Car and body shop services to Pinkerton's new-and-used sales business. The franchise's 85 employees in Lynchburg won't be cut back, and the company may hire a few salespeople, Pinkerton said.
The expansion comes despite the auto industry's recession-time suffering and almost six months after Detroit-based General Motors Corp., the manufacturer of Pinkerton's vehicles, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
"I've been doing this for 41 years, and we've always had ups and downs in the business," Pinkerton said. "In Salem, we've remained profitable throughout this time, and we have great faith in the future of the new General Motors."
The U.S. government has given GM $52 billion in aid and owns a majority of the company. GM lost $1.2 billion in the third quarter, it reported Monday.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
