Veteran auto dealer Joe Kirby buys Mitsubishi line from Tim Kelly

Joe Kirby directs his staff in parking over 100 acquired Prebul vehicles in this file photo.
Joe Kirby directs his staff in parking over 100 acquired Prebul vehicles in this file photo.

Veteran auto dealer Joe Kirby today acquired the Mitsubishi automotive line in Chattanooga from the Kelly Auto Group.

Kirby said sales and service for Mitsubishi in Chattanooga will move into the Kirby's Adventure Mazda facility on West M.L. King Boulevard, just over the hill from its former location at Riverfront Parkway and M.L. King.

"I'm very excited about adding Mitsubishi to our current lineup of Mazda products," said Kirby, who operates dealerships in both Chattanooga and Dalton, Ga. "Mazda and Mitsubishi complement each other very well, and we look forward to serving the existing Mitsubishi customers in the area, as well as offering the full line of Mitsubishi's affordable and reliable products to the public."

Kelly, meanwhile, will focus his entire facility on Riverfont Parkway and ML. King Boulevard on Subaru products and services.

"Subaru has been growing in leaps and bounds, and we were frankly just out of room," Kelly said. in a statement today "We will be undergoing a remodeling project soon to convert our facility to a dedicated, single-­point Subaru facility, so this move became necessary for us. I'm just really glad things worked out with Joe because this will mean minimal inconvenience for Mitsubishi customers, and I feel great knowing Joe Kirby will take care of them."

Kelly acquired the Mitsubishi line in Chattanooga in 2007 from former car dealer Grant Law. The move will leave Kelly with a single new car line - Suburu- for the first time since his family's car dealership expanded beyond the original Cadillac line in the 1930s. Kelly has previously sold Cadillac, Saab, Hummer, GMC and Infiniti lines, but Kelly said he is glad to concentrate on the growing Subaru brand.

"It's all we can say grace over and this will allow us to grow the brand and stay downtown with a remodeled facility," Kelly said.

Kelly also operates the Powersports, a motorcycle business, and is CEO of ZipFlip, an Internet buying site for peer-to-peer car sales.

Kirby also owns a GM and Chrysler dealership in Dalton.

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