Dec 26, 2008 7:02 pm US/Eastern
N.J. Chevy Dealer's Sales Up Amazing 119 Percent
Big 3 May Be Falling Apart Nationally, But Judy Schumacher-Tilton Says Secret To Her Success Is Simple
LITTLE FALLS, N.J. (CBS) ―
On top of plant closures, layoffs and an estimated 900 new car dealers who went out of business, the Big 3 are no doubt struggling to stay afloat.
But one New Jersey Chevy dealer is having a very good year.
Like many of America's small towns, Little Falls, N.J., has a Main Street, where you'll find a collection of businesses catering to the local community.
It's where Schumacher Chevrolet has stood for more than 76 years.
The showroom isn't exactly huge, but Judy Schumacher-Tilton told "The Early Show's" Harry Smith it's not necessary.
"[The dealership] is bigger than the biggest now because I am outselling highway dealerships," Schumacher-Tilton said.
In fact, Schumacher Chevrolet is outselling most of General Motors. While sales at GM are down 22 percent this year, Schumacher is up by an astonishing 119 percent.
Schumacher-Tilton said she thinks she knows why.
"Well, I think I know...that we treat people fairly," Schumacher-Tilton said. "We have a very high referral list of customers -- second and third generation. Anyone who drove a Chevy came here in this area."
Schumacher-Tilton's father first built this dealership with a borrowed $500 back in 1933. Today no money is owed on the six-acre property, which keeps overhead low. But Schumacher-Tilton said their success is really about old-fashioned customer service.
"We have relationships with our customers. I care about them when they drive away in their vehicle," she said.
If you travel five miles in either direction, there a slew of dealerships, many of which are laying people off. Why is Schumacher Chevrolet different?
"Because the expectations they set in the front end they deliver on in the back end and they'll get the repeat business," customer Bob McEntee said.
To boost sales a great many hours are invested working the phones and the Web, but Schumacher Chevrolet also invests a great deal in the local community.
They sponsor the Little Falls Youth Football League, dedicated a park in town and for half a century have provided the drivers' education vehicles to the high school up the street.
Considering her success, what would Schumacher-Tilton say to the idea of perhaps running GM? Why should GM be kept alive?
"Because the domestic auto industry is the foundation of this country, I believe that," she said.
Most of America's car dealerships have not been as successful as Schumacher and, according to the National Automobile Dealers Assoc., by year's end nearly 5 percent of the nation's new car lots may be closed.
In the event GM was to one day close up shop and cease producing automobiles, Schumacher-Tilton said she wouldn't sweat the seemingly dire scenario.
"I'd figure it out," she said. "Just like my father did. He made flame throwers for the U.S. Army out of this dealership during World War II. There were no cars being sold for years. He figured it out.
"I'll figure it out."
Unfortunately, this story is not the same for other dealerships across the country. GM's CEO said recently he will likely cut 1,700 of the company's 6,400 dealerships over the next four years.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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