Stillwater Dealership Working with GM to Help Business

The Chrysler and GM bankruptcies have devastated car dealerships across Minnesota. But one Stillwater dealership is taking lemons and turning it into lemonade.

Every dealer has cars but only one dealer has Gus MacDonald. When he started in 1949, he says they only had six mechanics and grease pit and wash buckets. MacDonald has been at Stillwater Motors since the streets were paved with stone. In the past 60 years, servicing Chevrolets and Buicks, he’s seen good business and bad, but not this bad.

When Stillwater Motors recently lost both its Buick and Jeep lines, the business didn’t retreat. It re-thought, re-tooled and re-planned.

In a bold move, the dealership is working with GM to dramatically expand its Chevy line. More cars mean it is now hiring more salesmen and more mechanics. Observers say this may be the dealership model of the future.

“All we hear right now is bad news, and for them to decide to re-attack their market, and go after it and fight hard, it’s a big deal,” said Scott Lambert, Minnesota Auto Dealers Association.