Chattanooga 'Car guy' Herb Adcox dies

Staff File PhotoHerb Adcox, who began selling cars in 1949, said he never saw the auto business slide as it did during the last recession. Adcox died Thursday at 86.
Staff File PhotoHerb Adcox, who began selling cars in 1949, said he never saw the auto business slide as it did during the last recession. Adcox died Thursday at 86.
photo Staff File PhotoHerb Adcox, who began selling cars in 1949, said he never saw the auto business slide as it did during the last recession. Adcox died Thursday at 86.

Over the years

› 1949 — Herb Adcox and Edd Kirby open a used car dealership in Oak Ridge, Tenn.› 1955 — Adcox-Kirby takes over Pontiac dealership in Chattanooga on South Broad Street› 1959 — Dealership moves to Red Bank; becomes Chevrolet dealer› 1968 — Dealership moves to Lee Highway› 2009 — GM informs Adcox Chevrolet it won’t renew franchise› 2010 — Adcox terminates his relationship with GM in exchange for settlement› 2013 — Adcox closes used car lotSource: News archives

Herb Adcox was "the quintessential car guy," says Chattanooga businessman Tim Kelly about the 86-year-old auto dealer who died Thursday after more than 60 years of selling cars.

"He took very good care of his customers," said Kelly, himself an auto dealer. "He was focused on his business and his customers. It's not a complicated business when you look at it that way."

The longtime owner of Herb Adcox Chevrolet in the city died after a brief illness, according to the North Chapel of Chattanooga Funeral Home, Crematory and Florist. Funeral arrangements weren't immediately announced.

Adcox started selling Pontiacs in 1949 in Oak Ridge, Tenn. He moved to Chattanooga in 1955, operating a dealership with Edd Kirby for many years. He built a facility on Lee Highway in 1968, where he remained until he shut down the dealership in 2013.

Adcox experienced a lot of success in his business over the years. In 1990, 1991 and 1992, he was the No. 1 volume seller of Chevrolet S10 pickups in the country. He toured the nation, offering sales seminars to dealers on how to sell that many trucks and still make a profit.

However, during the auto meltdown in 2009, General Motors informed Adcox it wouldn't renew his dealer franchise, ending a 55-year relationship between the Detroit automaker and Adcox.

Bob McKamey, owner-president of Capital Toyota and Lexus of Chattanooga, recalled he and Adcox were "the closest of competitors." McKamey's dealerships are located across Lee Highway from what had been Adcox' lot for many years.

"He was one of my favorite, favorite auto dealers, and I've known many," McKamey said.

McKamey said Adcox was "one that really got messed up on. He'd given so much to the auto industry, and for him to lose his franchise was not the kind of payment back he should have had."

Adcox continued to operate at the site as a used car dealer for several years. After shutting down his dealership in 2013, he eventually sold his location to McKamey.

Kelly, owner of Kelly Auto Group, said that while the events surrounding Adcox and GM "threw him for a loop, he hung in there."

"He kept a great attitude through the whole thing," Kelly said. "Chattanooga will be poorer for having lost him."

Adcox said in a 2013 interview with the Times Free Press: "I've had thousands, literally thousands of people say, 'Herb, why'd they do that to you? They've done you wrong."'

Adcox was active outside of running his dealership. He was a past president of the Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce, Goodwill Industries, the Chattanooga Automotive Trades Association and the Tennessee Automotive Association.

In addition, he had served on the board of the National Automotive Dealers Association.

McKamey said that anytime someone needed something for charity or a worthwhile cause, "you knew you could go to him. He did so many things for so many people."

His late son, Grant, was a successful race-car driver before he was killed in a crash at an Atlanta track in 1989 at age 39.

The elder Adcox later said in the book, A History of East Tennessee Auto Racing: The Thrill of the Mountains, that "Racing has been good to me. It was good to him except when we lost him. I enjoyed it so much because he enjoyed it so much. I felt like I was part of it - I was right in that car along with him. If you could talk to him, I think he'd say, 'Tell my dad to continue going to the race track.'"

Contact Mike Pare at mpare@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6318.

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