Stellantis, GM, Honda and Hyundai dealerships sell in 4 states

Two dealership groups entered new markets in their home states, a dealer added a second Honda store, and two partners bought their first store together in transactions that closed in the third and fourth quarter of 2022 and second quarter this year.

Here’s a look at the deals involving domestic and import stores and dealerships in Minnesota, Pennsylvania, Oklahoma and South Carolina.

Two transactions involved an auto retailer ranked on Automotive News’ list of the top 150 dealership groups.

Morrie’s Auto Group made its first acquisition of 2023 and entered a new part of Minnesota with the purchase of a Stellantis store this month.

Morrie’s, of Minnetonka, Minn., west of Minneapolis, on April 3 bought Brandl Motors Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep-Ram from longtime owners Joe Sexton and Gary Posch.

The dealership was renamed Morrie’s Little Falls Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep-Ram. Little Falls, north of St. Cloud, is now the northern-most Minnesota location in the group’s portfolio, Morrie’s Auto CEO Lance Iserman said.

“They wanted to exit the business, and this is their only store,” Iserman said of the sellers. “We thought it was a great fit for us. Another Chrysler store here in Minnesota. It’s about an hour and a half [drive] north of the Twin Cities, so a bit outside our normal footprint here, but certainly a brand we believe in.”

The acquisition also included two businesses in St. Cloud: a used-vehicle store and a business that provides financing for wheelchair-accessible vehicles nationwide.

“It’s kind of a niche business that they’ve built over many years,” Iserman said. “And it’s kind of exciting for us, and hopefully we can scale that up with the rest of our brands.”

The Little Falls acquisition was Morrie’s first since it bought a Stellantis store and Chevrolet dealership in Minnesota in July, Iserman confirmed.

Iserman said while the group doesn’t have any deals under contract, the group is looking for additional acquisitions.

“We fully expect to have one or two more acquisitions before the end of the year,” Iserman said.

Morrie’s ranks No. 80 on Automotive News‘ most recent list of the top 150 dealership groups based in the U.S., retailing 11,162 new vehicles in 2022.

Blaise Alexander Family Dealerships expands in Pa.
Blaise Alexander Family Dealerships entered a new market in Pennsylvania with a third-quarter acquisition.

Blaise Alexander on Sept. 28 bought Dean Patterson Chevrolet-Hyundai in Altoona from Dean Patterson Automotive Group, according to Ralph Diodata, CFO of the Blaise Alexander group.

The dealership was renamed Blaise Alexander Chevrolet-Hyundai of Altoona. The acquisition represents Blaise Alexander’s first dealership in Altoona, Diodata said.

Altoona is east of Pittsburgh and southwest of State College.

It marked the group’s first acquisition since it bought a Pennsylvania Stellantis store in October 2021, Diodata confirmed. Blaise Alexander now has 21 dealerships, Diodata said.

Blaise Alexander, of Montoursville, Pa., ranks No. 109 on Automotive News‘ list of the top 150 dealership groups based in the U.S., retailing 7,941 new vehicles in 2022.

Phil Pulley, founder of lawn mower manufacturer Bad Boy Inc., in August added a second Honda store in Oklahoma, Curttright Honda in Enid.

The store, purchased Aug. 8, was renamed Skyway Honda of Enid, a Honda spokesperson confirmed to Automotive News.

“Honda’s a great brand,” Mooney Starr, a managing partner for Pulley’s small but growing dealership group Skyway Auto Group in Batesville, Ark., said in a phone interview. “We like the brand, and we like the market.”

Enid’s economy includes natural gas, oil and cattle industries, Starr said.

The Skyway group in July 2021 purchased Honda of Bartlesville in Oklahoma, which it renamed Skyway Honda. Bartlesville is north of Tulsa. Skyway Honda of Enid is about a two-hour drive west of Bartlesville.

The selling dealer in Enid was Kevin Curttright. Starr said Kevin Curttright still manages the store and his son, Karson Curttright, works there as a sales associate.

“We’ve got two-year contracts with them to stay,” Starr said.

Skyway Auto also includes Skyway Buick-GMC in Joplin, Mo.

The group is looking to add more dealerships, Starr said.

“I’ve been cold calling dealers, asking if they’re looking to sell,” he said.

Pulley sold a stake in Bad Boy to The Sterling Group. The private equity firm in Houston that specializes in purchasing controlling interests in companies announced the transaction in December 2019. Pulley still owns a minority share of the lawn mower company, Starr said.

One aimed for a law degree. The other shot for an NBA career.

But automotive retailing shifted the paths of James Makia and Michael Winding, who formed WindingMakia Automotive Group last year.

WindingMakia on Dec. 20 purchased Longstreet Chevrolet-Buick-GMC in Kingstree, S.C., Makia confirmed to Automotive News. Kingstree is west of Myrtle Beach.

The sellers were Ahmed Sadek and Tarek Aly, according to Frank O’Donnell, managing partner for Biltmore Automotive Services, which represented the buyers in the transaction.

WindingMakia renamed the Kingstree store Winding Chevrolet-GMC, choosing to return the Buick franchise to General Motors, Winding told Automotive News.
“We thought this was the perfect dealership,” Winding said. “Perfect size for our first store.”

Winding also owns Hyundai of Gilroy and Gilroy Buick-GMC in California. Makia has owned Exclusive Motorcars, a used-vehicle store in Randallstown, Md., since 2008.
Makia left his native Nigeria to study law at the University of Baltimore more than 20 years ago. During his free time, a friend took him to an auto auction. They bought a car, sold it and split the profit. Makia decided to sell another car on his own. He ultimately chose auto retailing for his career.

“I just decided that if I can make $3,000 playing around in a gas station with one car, maybe I should look more into it,” Makia said.

When Makia decided to test the franchised dealership market in recent years, a mutual friend set up a call to introduce Makia and Winding.

Winding had enrolled in the U.S. Army after high school, where he played for the unit’s basketball team. After his Army career ended, Winding wanted to make it in the NBA and tried out for the Phoenix Suns. He also started a job selling cars and found his calling there, he said.

Both men said after their introductory call, they knew the partnership would work because they balance each other out.

“[The partnership] gives us more bandwidth … and promotes a better growth situation,” Winding said.

The duo expects to acquire at least one more franchised store before year’s end. They said they hope to keep adding a store or two a year, but only if the stores fit.

“We’re gonna try to buy as many stores as we can,” Winding said. “We’re just being selective on what we buy.”