Automotive News Staying Power Article
Staying Power
How Karl Zimmermann saved a Chevrolet dealership GM wanted to close — and built it into a top 10 store in the country.
Reprinted with permission from Automotive News. © 2019 Crain Communications Inc. All rights reserved.
In 2009, in the middle of GM's bankruptcy, Matick Chevrolet was handed 18 months to close its doors. Instead of winding down, owner Karl Zimmermann kept the store stocked by buying inventory from other dealers and kept his sales team on full commission — and turned it into one of the top-performing Chevrolet dealerships in the country.
“In order to stay in operation, I would need to make sure that nobody left. In order to keep everybody, I would need to make sure they could make money. In order to make money, I would need to make sure that we had cars to sell.” — Karl Zimmermann
Today, Matick Chevrolet ranks among the top Chevrolet dealerships in the country by volume — and the growth hasn't stopped since: a new body shop, a Toyota franchise, and a Certified Collision Center have all followed.
