Used Car News 07/11/22

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UCN 7/11/2022

Used Car News National Quality Dealer Award Sealed with a Kiss By Jeffrey Bellant

IN THIS ISSUE:

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• Women in Auto • Electric Vehicles • Transparent Marketing

LAS VEGAS – Texas dealer Tommy Gregory, owner of Abilene Car Sales, won the 2022 National Quality Dealer of the Year Award. He was honored during the closing of the National Independent Automobile Dealers Association Convention & Expo here in June. Gregory, one of 12 state nominees, accepted the award with his wife, Wanda, by his side. The couple has been married for 43 years and Gregory talked about his wife in his acceptance speech. “Somehow, I have the right one,” he said. “I would not be here today without her standing with me every inch of the way through this whole endeavor – the hills and valleys, peaks and lows, broke and rich.” Gregory thanked his wife for giving him three “awesome children” who are all in the business with him. “This business would not be what it is without eveybody’s effort,” Gregory said. “I want to thank our state association, they’re awesome.” He thanked state association executive Jeff Martin, along with fellow Texas dealer Scott Allen, who is a past National Quality Dealer and current NIADA president. “I just want to say thank you,” he said. Gregory got his first job pumping gas at his uncle’s Exxon gas station, until he was old enough to work in his father’s auto repair business. In high school, a work study program allowed him to get his Automotive Service Association certification to become a master technician. After he got married in 1979, he got into the oil business until the bust in 1986. Looking for other ways to support his family, Gregory began selling cars and trucks.

In 1991, he and his wife emptied their savings account of $2,200. He opened Abilene Used Car Sales with his father, R.D. He built that business into a thriving used-car dealership with a recon facility and a related finance company (RFC). Like other National Quality Dealers, Gregory participates in a lot of community service, helping children and giving away vehicles to those in need. He supports back-to-school programs and provides backpacks for children. Once winter arrives, he

provides coats for kids. Gregory also contributes time and money to the local Boy’s Ranch and other charitable causes. In his interview for the competition, he told the interviewer that his involvement in the Texas IADA has been one of the keys to his success. “They’re there to help,” he said. Gregory is the fifth dealer from Texas to win the coveted national award. Robert Milligan (2004), Baldomero Trevino (2008) and Scott Allen (2011) were at the convention, while 2017 winner Robert Blankenship was not on hand.

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