By Barrett Newkirk, Herald Bulletin Staff Writer
ANDERSON - The good folks at Myers Autoworld have some experience with bad economies, and the latest downturn isn't holding them back.
"It's a cyclical industry," said company President Mary Jamerson. "If you don't like roller-coaster rides, then you shouldn't be in it."
Jamerson has been with the company since 1978, when Bob Myers purchased the Heckaman Buick operation and turned it into Myers Autoworld.
The company keeps a large presence on the city's northside, and last year bought out the Weidner Chevrolet and moved south on Broadway to Weidner's vacated lot.
An industry slowdown has forced dealerships across the county to close or be absorbed into other operations. Jamerson said she saw the trend coming and decided years ago to move her company into a favorable position through consolidation.
"As the marketplace is contracting, there are too many dealerships given the times," she said.
Myers Autoworld purchased the Pontiac brand in 2005, followed in 2007 with GMC.
An expanded facility and merchandise lineup has helped the company increase sales in a slow economy, Jamerson said.
Sales at Myers Autoworld are up 11 percent over last year, she said, at a time when the overall industry average is down 32 percent.
And in October, a month Jamerson said was a real challenge for the industry, her company brought in record sales.
While Marty Murphy, vice president for the Automotive Dealers Association of Indiana, did not return calls for comment, the association recently published a report stating the number of new vehicle titles in Indiana was "moderately down" for the first half of 2008.
The decline "proves far less than the industry-wide numbers that often get referenced as part of the front-page news," the report continued.
Along with more products, Jamerson said her company was also staying successful with a dedication to customer service and an approach to doing business that includes building a strong sales team, being an active player in the community and "keeping the buyer in the driver's seat."
Linda Dawson, Anderson's executive director of economic development, said Myers Autoworld was the type of business every city needs to become a well-rounded and successful retail and service center.
"This company has earned a excellent reputation of providing quality product and service plus developed the trust of the community," Dawson said. "In addition, Mary Jamerson and her staff have been integral participants in the fabric of the community."
After three decades with the Broadway firm, first in the accounting office and then as a top executive since the late 1980s, Jamerson remains optimistic that her team will weather the storm.
"It's not a Pollyanna perspective; it's an historical one," she said.
Like it has before, the automotive industry faces hard challenges.
This month, leaders of the top three U.S. car manufacturers failed in their attempt to get a $25 billion bailout package from Congress. They will go back to Washington in December and likely reinforce the argument that their industry affects thousands of U.S. workers, not just in their own manufacturing plants but also workers at dealerships like Myers Autoworld, which employs 52.
Partly for that reason, Jamerson supports federal help for General Motors, Chrysler and Ford. GM has been marked for dead before, she said, most recently in the early 1990s, when a recession brought about a major restructuring of the carmaker.
She said the current struggle would also likely pass.
"I have total faith in GM's resiliency as an icon," she said. "I have total faith in history, because if you look at history, it's the challenging times that make us better."