auto-service
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The Car Lot That Outgrew Its Name
In Killeen, three dealership signs changed in a week. The more interesting inheritance was a 93-bay service center that still says Automax above the door.
Windsor Chrysler Built a Local Flywheel Around One Expensive Thing: Keeping Trucks Working
The Windsor dealership is not merely moving metal. It has built a practical retail loop - inventory, credit, trade-ins, Mopar parts and unusually heavy-duty service - around customers who cannot afford to leave a work truck parked.
Atlanta's Biggest Family Car Business Started on a Prison Farm
Jim Ellis turned one Chamblee Volkswagen store into 22 dealerships and 17 brands - and built a half-billion-dollar business on a handshake rule he called the Jim Ellis Promise.
Belle Tire Spent a Century Making the Humble Tire Shop Hard to Replace
The Detroit-born chain turned free air, fixed flats and a smiling rubber mascot into a Midwestern habit. Now an announced acquisition tests what happens when a regional institution joins a national platform.
The Gulf Coast Chain That Sells 15 Badges Under One Name
One Toyota store in Bradenton became 20-plus rooftops and 15 badges. Here is how a Florida family kept buying dealerships while national groups consolidated the rest.
Les Schwab Tire Centers
A two-person Oregon tire shop became a 600-plus-store network by treating the awkward minutes after a flat as its real product. Now Les Schwab is taking that service ritual east, one acquired shop and free rotation at a time.
Fleet Farm
Fleet Farm is a Midwestern big-box retail chain founded in 1955 that sells farm and ranch supplies, hunting and fishing gear, automotive parts, hardware, lawn and garden, pet supplies, clothing, footwear, toys and groceries under one roof. Headquartered in Appleton, Wisconsin, it runs roughly 50 stores across Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, North and South Dakota - most paired with an auto service center, gas mart and car wash - plus a growing e-commerce operation. Known for its orange-roofed silo storefronts and the tagline 'Built for real life,' the company serves rural and outdoor customers who want everyday-value one-stop shopping.
Del Grande Dealer Group
Del Grande Dealer Group (DGDG) is the largest family-owned automotive group in the San Francisco Bay Area. Founded in 1998 with a single dealership, it now operates a portfolio of franchised new- and used-car dealerships across Northern California, representing more than a dozen brands. DGDG pairs a high-volume retail operation with a culture obsession - it has been named a Bay Area Top Workplace for more than a decade - and a digital-first buying experience it markets as No Brainer Pricing and No Brainer Checkout.