Longtime Chattanooga auto dealer Herb Adcox said Wednesday that as of this week he will no longer be selling new Chevrolets.
Mr. Adcox said General Motors earlier chose not to renew his Chevrolet dealership, though he said he has provided top quality sales and service for over half a century.
The auto store on Lee Highway is changing its name to Herb Adcox Automotive.
It will focus on "top-quality pre-owned" car sales and will continue to have a service department and a parts department. It will service and provide parts for Chevrolets and all other models, he said.
Mr. Adcox said there will be no layoffs and he expects to increase employment. The firm has 35-40 employees.
He said his dealership was notified in June of 2009 that Herb Adcox Chevrolet was among the many dealers across the country placed in a "wind-down" status. The wind-down period was to go through October 2010.
Mr. Adcox said, "For all practical purposes this was a cancellation because we couldn't order new vehicles."
He said the dealership was allowed to make a pitch to be retained as a dealer, but that was denied.
Mr. Adcox said General Motors then offered a financial settlement to the dealership, which he said was not acceptable.
He said GM recently upped the offer after the matter was set to go to a arbitration. That offer was accepted.
Mr. Adcox said, "Everything we've done has been aimed at giving our customers value and service. It has been done out of true respect for General Motors.
"We have always had one of the highest customer satisfaction ratings. Our technicians have always been properly trained."
Mr. Adcox noted that he served on the Motor Vehicle Commission under four governors and has represented Tennessee dealers on national boards for 25 years. He said, "I've dealt with a lot of GM's top brass."
A native of Oliver Springs, he went into the car business in nearby Oak Ridge in 1949. He handled Pontiacs and was asked to come to Chattanooga in 1955 to take over a Pontiac dealership.
His first Chattanooga location was on South Broad Street. Then he was in Red Bank from 1959-1968. It was 1959 when he switched from Pontiac to Chevrolet.
He built a new facility on Lee Highway in 1968.
Mr. Adcox was a partner with Edd Kirby beginning in 1955 until Mr. Kirby left in 1984. It was known as Adcox-Kirby Chevrolet during that time.
Mountain View retains the local Chevrolet dealership. It acquired a Chevrolet franchise from Newton Chevrolet when Grant Law closed that long-time dealership.