General Manager LeBron Clark is seen at the site of the new Mountain View Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram dealership on Monday, Aug. 7, in Ringgold, Ga.RINGGOLD, Ga. - A dealership that has been at the same site for roughly four decades is shifting to a much larger tract nearby where plans are to expand inventory, service and other offerings.
The result also should lead to much higher sales, said LeBron Clark, general manager at Mountain View Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram.
"It will be a gemstone in Ringgold," he said Monday at the planned new location, an undeveloped 7.3-acre parcel off state Highway 151 a couple of miles from the existing site on Nashville Street.
Don Thomas, managing partner of Chattanooga-based Mountain View Auto Group, said the new 35,000-square-foot store should be ready in nine to 12 months.
"We're really excited about it," he said, adding it will feature new technology that permits buyers to "build your own vehicle" on a computer tablet.
Thomas termed the investment in the new dealership "sizable," though he declined to say how much it will cost.
Clark said while sales are "very good," that number should rise from an average of about 150 vehicles a month currently to between 200 and 300 units.
"Service will be so much better," he added. "I want to make sure people get a good experience."
Clark said the employee headcount at the dealership should jump from around 65 to 85 at the new facility.
He said the new location also will hold an off-road center for modifying trucks and Jeeps.
Thomas said Chrysler's flagship product is Jeep as the automaker moves more into crossovers and sport utility vehicles and away from smaller sedans.
Mountain View bought the dealership about three years ago.
Clark, who has about 30 years in the auto business, said officials thought it would take four to five years before sales would grow enough to require a new location.
"We were ready after one year," he said. "A lot of our business is from Chattanooga and Dalton."
The auto group goes back to 1981 when C. Austin Watson, grandfather of cousins Clay Watson and Austin Watson, bought the Ford dealership. After tackling the venture alone for several years, his two sons, Don and David, along with nephew Andy Watson, joined him to run and help grow the business.
Together, they later acquired the downtown Chattanooga Nissan store in 1988 and then in 1999 purchased a site on Chapman Road for the used car dealership known as Mtn View @ 153.
In 2006, the group bought the Lincoln franchise, and then the Chevrolet dealership from Newton Chevrolet in 2007.
Thomas married Austin Watson's sister and entered the business after conversations with Austin's father, Don.
Last year, Mountain View bought the Nissan franchise in Dalton, and Pandora's European Motorsports on Highway 58, which sells motorcycles and all-terrain vehicles.
Contact Mike Pare at mpare@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6318.