By Maria Villasenor, The Salt Lake Tribune
May 18--OGDEN -- Jim Hinckley has never owned anything other than Dodges.
That's not too surprising -- after all, his great-grandfather Robert H. Hinckley opened Hinckley Dodge in 1915 -- making it one of the oldest continuously run Dodge dealerships in the world.
The oldest, that is, until Thursday, when Chrysler LLC terminated its franchise agreements with 789 of its U.S. dealerships. Ten of those stores are in Utah, and one is Hinckley Dodge of Ogden. Until early next month, there are 24 in the state.
The car manufacturer did stick with Hinckley Dodge Chrysler Jeep in Salt Lake City, overseen by Hinckley's father.
But cutting those Ogden ties seems to sting the younger Hinckley, who is the general manager here. For four generations his family has put in the effort and time into selling Dodge and Chrysler.
"Our loyalty certainly hasn't been repaid," he said Friday.
Now, Hinckley says, he is "going to be a little more open-minded" to different brands when buying a new car. And, despite Chrysler cutting its ties, his business is staying put.
"The way we look at it, we're just Ogden's newest used dealership now," he said, later adding the company might look to other car manufacturers for a franchise.
In the meantime, Hinckley said, the business will continue doing what its done for nearly a century: focusing on service and retention.
"Our ties to the community are
much stronger than our ties to the manufacturer," he said, adding that the calls from concerned Ogden leaders and residents show him the decision to stick to that corner on Washington Boulevard and 28th Street is right.
Dealership storefronts have changed -- and Hinckley points them out in photographs hanging in the waiting room -- since 1915 when Robert H. Hinckley first opened the Dodge dealership in Mount Pleasant, Sanpete County. In 1927 the store moved north to one corner of Washington Boulevard and 28th Street, and then across the street in 1928.
Looking at the yellowed prints, Hinckley notes how his family business survived World War I, the 1930s depression, World War II and the 1980s recession.
"So when you shake it all out, this probably won't be the toughest thing we go through," he said.
Hinckley's father, also named Jim, said selling vehicles has been promising for the family, ever since the early patriarch switched his sights from law school to automobiles.
Robert H. Hinckley borrowed $500 from his father-in-law to further his education. But instead, he bought into a Dodge franchise.
And that's how the story goes, said Jim the father. That's how Hinckley Dodge became one of the oldest-running Dodge stores there are.
"To me, a title is just a title, but we have earned it," he said. "It's not been easy to stay in operation."
Now, it's a bit difficult to accept that Chrysler stuck with his Salt Lake City operation but cut off the Ogden store, or "dumped" it as his son says.
The elder Hinckley thinks the biggest reason for that decision was that the store farther south was able to enlarge and absorb more vehicle makes -- a move Chrysler was pushing for.
But the end of a relationship between Chrysler and Ogden's Hinckley will have a bigger effect than just the loss of new Dodge vehicles. The business no longer will need the sales staff and mechanics who specialize in the new vehicles. And the younger Hinckley said that could mean laying off 10 to 15 of his roughly 40 employees.
While the changes coming to Hinckley Dodge might mean less sales-tax revenue for Ogden, the city's mayor Matthew Godfrey has no concerns the business will underperform.
"They're great entrepreneurs and businessmen, and those kind of people always find a way to succeed," he said. More importantly, "we're thankful that the Hinckley name will continue in Ogden."
Though he's too cheap to buy new cars, Godfrey jokes, he's had his cars serviced at the store. And his city's Public Works Department recently leased new trucks from Hinckley Dodge.
"It's been an icon in the community for generations," Godfrey said.
And he has little doubt that legacy will continue.
mariav@sltrib.com
This is a corrected version of a story that ran in Monday's Tribune. Hinckley Dodge is one of the oldest continuously run Dodge dealerships.
Targeted Utah dealerships
Weese Motors, Tremonton
Hinckley Dodge, Ogden
Rocky Mountain Chrysler, Ogden
Cutrubus Motors Chrysler, Layton
Barber Bros. Motor Co., Spanish Fork
Painter Chrysler, Nephi
Tri State Motors, Cedar City
Lunt Motor Co., Cedar City
Parkway Motors, Cedar City
Painter's Sun Country, St. George
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