Whittington & Associates, LLC

The Florida Times Union (July 2008)
GM Dealers Reminisce About Favorite Cars of Yesterday and New Arrivals in the Showroom

By R.P. Whittington

In 2006 the reports about waterfront property along Jacksonville's beaches had it reaching the point where a $1 million price tag for a oceanside condo would soon be the rule, not the exception.

By now, most folks have heard that General Motors' 100th Anniversary Sales Event is underway – in most part thanks to the commercial blitz promoting the employee-pricing that's available on virtually every vehicle in GM's 2008 lineup, along with additional incentives on some of their automobiles, trucks and SUV's.

While long-time owners of First Coast dealerships have their personal GM favorites among the Chevrolet, Pontiac, Buick, GMC, Saturn, Cadillac, Saab, and HUMMER vehicles that are on the showroom floor today, they also have some fond memories of earlier GM models that made an impact on their lives.

For Nathan Potratz, owner of Gordon Chevrolet in Orange Park, the two cars that stand out are the 1986 Monte Carlo SS and the 1996 Impala SS.

"The Monte Carlo was an aero coupe fastback that was a really unique car when it came out," he said. "The Impala was just the best riding car. It was really a driving experience to get behind the wheel…it had a lot of power. It was just too much fun to drive."

Potratz, who worked with a dealership near Detroit from 1985 until 1991 when he first arrived in Jacksonville, also has some favorites among GM's current offerings – and one auto arriving on the showroom in 2009.

Potratz singles out the Chevrolet Malibu, Traverse and the newly re-designed Camaro as great examples of "hot" cars coming out of GM.

"The Malibu is just a world-class vehicle," he said. "It's got great gas mileage, it's well built, handles well and looks great. The interior is beautiful, too. It's just a fine vehicle – and I think it competes well against Toyota and Honda vehicles on a lot of fronts."

In mentioning gas mileage and the competition from Japanese automakers, Potratz encourages local new car buyers, and US consumers as a whole, to take a second look at GM's newest vehicles.

"If you took all the Toyotas and Hondas and compare their average fuel economy across the board against GM vehicles, especially Chevrolets, you'll find our new cars stack up extremely well against them," he said. "When people think gas mileage, they need to take a look at what we have to offer today."

Potratz is particularly bullish on the new 2009 Traverse. The Traverse offers 24 miles per gallon on the highway, which is the best highway fuel economy available among any eight-passenger SUV, and has more standard horsepower than Toyota Highlander, Honda Pilot and Ford Flex.

He's also looking forward to 2009, when GM brings back a totally redesigned Camaro – harkening back to the car's glory days during the 1960's.

"For anyone who has seen the movie "Transformers," the new model looks very much like the car in the move," he said. "I call it a ‘yellow bumblebee,' and it just looks fantastic."

The Camaro, which went out of production in 2002, should start arriving in GM showrooms next March as a 2010 model. Fashioned after the popular 1969 SS model owned by former GM design chief Ed Welburn, the new Camaro offers several fresh design elements – notably a revamped front end, fender creases and character lines. The 2010 version will be available as a hard top first, followed by a convertible model in 2011.

Luther Coggin, chairman of the Coggin Automotive Group, he's seen many models come and go since entering the retail automotive business in 1948.

While he transferred the day-to-day management responsibilities for the group five years ago, and admits he doesn't have a particular new GM car he felt he could single out, Coggin's favorites of the past include the Cadillac and Corvette.

"When the Corvette came out in the mid-fifties, it really made a big impression and its one of only a few GM cars that has remained popular over the years," he said. "GM came out with the ZR-1 on some limited models, priced at $100,000 or higher depending on the premiums the buyer wants, which shows the continued popularity of the car's style."

The ZR-1, a super performance Corvette that was rolled out in the late 1980s, was unveiled last year. New features included a forced induction engine and an Eaton 6.2 liter supercharged engine.

Coggin also reminiscences about the Pontiac GTO, the brainchild of engine specialist Russell Gee and chief engineer John De Lorean, and the vehicle considered by many auto aficionados as the first true U.S. muscle car.

"When the GTO came out, it was red-hot," Coggin said. "You couldn't keep them on the showroom floor."

Coggin also has fond memories of the 98 Oldsmobile, which first came on the scene in 1941 and reappeared after World War II when U.S. car production resumed, and the Pontiac Bonneville, which was first manufactured in 1957.

"Those were both very nice vehicles and I enjoyed them," Coggin said. "I typically drove one or the other for many years after I became involved with General Motors in 1953."

Coggin also gives a nod to the Cadillac, GM's marquee vehicle in the prestige division.

"I was very pleased with those early models that came off the line in the early 1940's," he said. "It was just a pristine vehicle. By all standards, it was untouchable by any other luxury car until the Lincoln Continental came out in the early sixties. They have always been popular and still are today."

For Billie Nimnicht III, a third generation car dealer who operates Nimnicht Chevrolet and recently consolidated and relocated his Pontiac, GMC and Hummer dealerships into a $12 million facility on Phillips Highway, says his fondest memories are of the Monte Carlo SS.

"I remember the '85 model for its style and looks," says Nimnicht, who in addition to selling vehicles is into amateur auto racing as well. "The SS had a real throaty exhaust. I was in my college age in those days and that car just impressed me a lot."

Nimnicht's other favorite is the Corvette of yesterday and today – specially noting the Z06, which came on the scene in 2001 and was a throwback to the high-performance C2 Corvette of the 1960s.

"Corvettes just have so much horsepower," he said. "For the money, they are the some of the best cars on the road and compete well against Porsches and other sports cars. It's really an American icon of the road."

Of today's GM cars, Nimnicht is also bullish on the new Camaro.

"Even though other manufacturers have rolled out new Mustangs and Challengers that are reminiscent of the old models, the new Camaro is unique in that it's got the history and the newer look," he said. "The styling cues actually combine the look of the 60's Camaro and the style of the future. It's a very sharp car."

Ed Nimnicht, who owns Nimnicht Cadillac on Blanding Boulevard, has been active in the business since 1966. Since his family's been in the car business since the 1940s, he has many memories of the new model years and the excitement they brought as a child.

"I specially remember the late fifties," he said. "In those days, the new models would come out at the same time every year and the vehicles would arrive at a warehouse over on Riverside Avenue. The windows would be taped up so you couldn't see inside and get a view of the cars until they actually arrived at the dealership on the first Thursday in October."

As a child, he remembers looking through the warehouse door at something that looked "very strange."

"It ended up being an Impala, the classic '58 model with the big wings on the rear," he said. "It just looked so odd that I remember thinking that the car companies had gone crazy."

He also remembers his father driving him to camp one summer, from Jacksonville to Mount Dora in central Florida, in a brand new Corvette.

"It was a convertible…white and red, which were the only colors available on the car back then," he said with a smile. "It had a six-cylinder engine, no air conditioning and an a.m. radio. At the time, it was a top-of-the-line automobile."

Today, he's excited about the direction that Cadillac is heading. He specifically likes the Escalade, the brand's first sports utility vehicle that was introduced to car buyers in 1999, and the CTS, a model in Cadillac's V-Series line of high performance vehicles that came on the scene in 2004 and has become the manufacturer's sales and design leader in recent years.

"The change in direction for Cadillac really got started in when they unveiled the XLR as a concept car at the Detroit Auto Show in 1999," Nimnicht said.

The XLR features a power-retractable aluminum hardtop and uses the Cadillac Northstar engine.

"John Smith (the general manager for Cadillac) has shown a lot of foresight in how to approach the market and how Cadillac should evolve. The Escalade and CTS moved us forward and really put Cadillac back out in the limelight."

Nimnicht adds that he expects those trends to continue under the leadership of Richard Wagner, who became president and CEO of General Motors in 2000.

"When Rich stepped in he had the courage to address some of the issues that have been building in the company since the 1970s," he said. "I think people will continue to be surprised as GM changes its approach in how it builds automobiles today and tomorrow, and the new styling that will come along with it."

Media Contact: Ron Whittington (904-563-0402)