Fort Worth Chevy dealer, Jerry’s Chevrolet, has a full selection of the award-winning 2010 Chevrolet Silverado, Traverse, Malibu and more in stock with available 0% APR financing during the Chevy Spring Event.  During the last week of the sale, Fort Worth Chevrolet shoppers can take advantage of low APR financing and cash back on select 2010 Chevy models.The 2010 Chevy Silverado , Consumer’s Digest “Best Buy” winner, is a fuel-efficient full-size pickup truck featuring a powerful 6.2L V8 engine.  With a towing capacity of up to 6,100 lbs and 332 hp, it can handle almost anything. The Silverado features StabiliTrak Stability Control System, OnStar Automatic Crash Response, thorax and pelvic airbags, and GPS location software as part of its safety features.

Along with winning the coveted “Best Buy” award from Consumer’s Digest, the Chevy Silverado was also named the “Best Full-Size Truck for the Money” from U.S. News & World Reports and stated to have the “lowest cost of ownership” by Vincentric.  During the Spring Event, consumers can purchase a new 2010 Silverado with finance rates as low as 0% for 60 months. 

Also included in the lineup of specials are the Chevy Malibu and Traverse.  Each has been named a Consumers Digest “Best Buy” two years in a row. Chevy Malibu is a beautifully crafted car with world-class design and engineering. The Malibu had its first real redesign in 2008, and was rewarded heavily for the upgrades and enhancements.  It was one of Car and Driver’s 10Best, North American Car of the Year at the 2008 North American International Auto Show, Kiplinger magazine’s “Best in Class,” and one of Automobile Magazine’s 2008 Automobile All-Stars.  The 2010 model is relatively unchanged from the award winning 2008 model.

The Chevrolet Traverse is a crossover SUV capable of transporting up to 8 passengers.  The Traverse’s unique ability to combine a smooth ride and responsive handling with ample cargo capability has made it a top choice among Fort Worth families and consumers nationwide.  Convenient features are available for this attractively priced SUV including split-folding second- and third-row seats, air-conditioning, full power accessories, OnStar and a six-speaker CD/MP3 player with an auxiliary audio jack and satellite radio. One of the key features of this family friendly ride is its substantial fuel economy. The Traverse boasts an estimated 24 MPG Hwy and 17 MPG city.

A larger selection of Chevrolet models included in the Chevy Spring Event sale can be found online. 

Fort Worth Nissan dealer, Jerry’s Nissan, is celebrating forty years of selling quality vehicles to Fort Worth Nissan shoppers.  For their 40^th Anniversary Celebration, Jerry’s Nissan is offering great deals on their stock of 2010 Altimas and 2010 Armadas.  Customers can take advantage of a $199/month lease on new Altimas, and a $9,000 discount off the sticker price of all new Armadas in stock.

The 2010 Altima is a mid-sized sedan that features a whirlwind of electronic capabilities and state-of-the-art safety features.  With features 4-wheel antilock brakes, push button ignition, 60/40 split fold-down rear seatbacks, it’s a perfect family vehicle.  It also boasts a Radio Data System (RDS), and a vehicle security system and was a JD Power and Associates award recipient.

Nissan’s new Armada is a spacious SUV that seats 8 comfortably.  It features a 5.6L V8 engine, Bluetooth and XM NavTrack.  Its design and sport capability won it the Idea Award for Large Sport Utility from AutoPacific.

Nissan shoppers in the Fort Worth area can test out the 2010 Nissan Armada and Altima at Jerry’s Nissan and on YouTube

GRAPEVINE – After buying 22 cars and trucks from Classic Chevrolet, Ray Henry knows exactly how he’ll be greeted when he walks into the dealership here.

But maybe more important, he says, is that anyone he refers to Classic will get the same cheery, small-town treatment at the sprawling mega-retailer.

“I can send my mother, my neighbor, my best friend or my wife to them and know they will all get the same deal I do,” said Henry, 58, a retired Irving fireman who owns RLC Enterprises of Corinth and Lewisville Sports Center, and buys vehicles for his businesses and family.

Last year, Classic Chevrolet reaffirmed its status as a heavyweight at General Motors Co. by becoming the top-selling Chevy dealership in the nation for the fourth straight year. The self-styled “country store” is working on No. 5.

“We’re off to a good start,” said dealership owner Tom Durant, who prefers boots and jeans to suits and opened the dealership 20 years ago just south of State Highway 114.

Classic managed to sell 4,101 new vehicles in 2009, shrugging off a terrible economy, GM’s devastating bankruptcy and the most challenging year for the auto industry in decades.

While overall new-vehicle sales plummeted 30 percent locally, Classic’s fell 10 percent.

“It was a huge accomplishment,” said David Nottoli, regional sales and marketing manager for Chevrolet. “It’s such a credit to them that they were able to stay focused.”

The years ahead could be almost as challenging. At a time when a smaller and chastened GM is striving to stay skinny and keep inventories tight, Classic is operating on a “big-is-better” approach to the business – and succeeding.

Big inventory

Although there were only six vehicles in Classic’s spotless midsize showroom on a recent afternoon, the 20 acres of land around it were blanketed in trucks and cars – row after row of Silverado pickups, Tahoe SUVs, Suburbans, Avalanches and smaller numbers of cars such as Malibu sedans and Aveo compacts.

Most big Chevy dealers maintain inventories of 300 or 400 vehicles. Classic typically keeps 1,500 to 2,000 vehicles – most parked beneath individual tent tops that protect them from the sun and weather.

Moreover, while consumers nationally are turning away from trucks, Classic still relies on big pickups, full-size SUVs and crossovers for three-fourths of its sales.

In fact, that dependence on trucks is tied closely to the huge inventories.

Pickup trucks can be ordered in myriad body styles, chassis configurations, and engine and transmission combinations. Durant believes his chances for a sale increase when he has the vehicle in stock that someone is considering.

“Our theory is if someone comes on the lot, they’re here to buy,” said Ken Thompson, head of the Thompson Group, a specialized sales unit at Classic that focuses on fleet and commercial vehicles and accounted for about 25 percent of Classic’s sales last year.

Thompson’s unit, which maintains an inventory of its own of 300 vehicles, was Chevrolet’s top seller of commercial vehicles last year – and has been No. 1 in the nation for years.

‘There, you knew everybody’

Despite the scale of operations, Classic tries to maintain a country culture at its family-owned stores in Arlington, Carrollton, Granbury and Sugar Land, Texas, and Plant City, Fla.

The Granbury store was the family’s first Chevy dealership, opened by Tom Durant’s father in 1960.

“There, you knew everybody,” said Hagen Durant, 29, general manager of Classic and Tom Durant’s son. “It was laid-back, good-natured. You didn’t want to make someone mad you’d probably be seeing again.”

Unlike at many dealerships, the salespeople at Classic – some of whom have been there for 20 years – are empowered to accept deals and close sales. Customers don’t wait while a salesman runs to a manager for approval of an offer, easing some of the tension and speeding the sales process.

“Right up front, they provide more in the way of customer service,” said Alice Mason, 55, of Euless, a retired GM employee who says she has dealt with many dealerships over the years. Mason bought a new Malibu from Classic last year. “It’s just a more pleasant place.”

As a volume dealership, Classic essentially puts the priority on sales over profit. Consequently, Hagen Durant acknowledged, the new-car department isn’t always profitable, which isn’t unusual at any dealership.

But new-car sales drive all the other revenue-generating centers at the dealership – bringing cars and trucks in for service or body work, creating parts sales, providing trade-ins for the used-car department and sometimes new business for the finance department.

The high sales volumes also make Classic eligible for dealer incentives from Chevrolet, everything from cash payments to lower interest rates on the loans that the dealership takes to buy its inventory.

“We have a beautiful balance sheet,” Hagen Durant said. “There was not a single month last year when we didn’t show an overall profit.”

On Silverado’s shoulders

GM executives in Detroit know Classic well, often stopping by to visit when they’re in the Dallas area.

But as a restructured GM struggles to diversify its lineup, increase car sales and run leaner – under pressure from its majority owner, the U.S. government – Classic is a compelling reminder of the power of big volumes and big trucks.

“There’s no question about it: As Silverado goes, so goes this region – and that’s one of Classic’s strengths,” said Nottoli, Chevy’s regional sales manager. “If I have a 20,000 sales goal one month, 7,000 or 8,000 of that will be Silverados.”

And those goals are important to GM. The south central region is frequently the automaker’s top sales region.

For his part, Tom Durant believes he can co-exist fine with the new GM.

“I think they will pull us back some,” he said. “But we can manage inventory better than anyone else. It’s all about winning, and we know what that takes.”

http://www.classicchevytexas.com/