Three dealerships in Texas changed hands recently, according to Pinnacle Mergers & Acquisitions, which brokered the deals.

IDEA Auto Group, headed by Julie Herrera, has acquired South Austin Nissan from Central Automotive Group. Herrera founded IDEA Auto in 2022, spinning off from the Cavender Auto Family and naming her company after her vision of inclusion, diversity and equity in automotive.

IDEA Auto, which now operates three dealerships in the Austin area, sold 8,380 new vehicles in 2023. The new addition has been renamed City Limits Nissan.

Central Automotive also sold Baytown Nissan to Bravo Auto Group, owned by Raymond Palacios. The dealership, now known as Bravo Nissan of Baytown, is Bravo’s first in the Houston market and its sixth overall, also operating in Victoria and El Paso, Texas, and Las Cruces, N.M.

Mike Terry and Jarryd Carver acquired Hyundai of Silsbee from Dale Early through their partnership, E1T1 Auto Group. The dealership, renamed Mike Terry Hyundai, is Terry’s fifth Texas store and third brand since becoming a dealer in 2019, and the first for the new partnership. Carver operates three locations in Virginia.

“With the ever-changing landscape of the automotive business, we continue to see a strong market for dealership acquisitions in top markets across the country,” Pinnacle president Mike Sims said.

4 Car Pros stores selected as J.D. Power Dealers of Excellence

Four Car Pros dealerships are among the 133 named by J.D. Power as a 2024 Dealer of Excellence.

Car Pros Automotive Group, which operates nine dealerships in Western Washington and Southern California, said Car Pros Kia Glendale, Car Pros Kia Moreno Valley, Car Pros Kia Huntington Beach in California, and Car Pros Kia Tacoma in Washington have been certified by the J.D. Power program, which recognizes vehicle dealerships throughout the U.S. and Canada that provide exceptional customer service.

All four dealerships of the dealerships set records for new Kia sales in 2023, and Car Pros Kia Glendale finished the year No. 1 in the nation in new Kias and Kia EVs sold.

“Every single member of our Car Pros team contributes to making our customers happy and shares in this achievement,” CEO Matthew Phillips said in a news release. “We are especially proud of this certification of excellence as it comes from such an authority as J.D. Power.

“Providing exceptional customer service is always at the heart of our operations, whether it’s helping customers into their first vehicle, educating customers on vehicle options or working to find the vehicle that works best for them, whether ICE, hybrid or EV.”

On its website, J.D. Power said the Dealer of Excellence program “recognizes dealerships nationwide for their outstanding sales experience, distinguishing them as high performers within the retail automotive marketplace.” The company said only the top 2%-3% of dealerships nationally qualify for the award.

The certification is designed to recognize select dealerships on their commitment to customer service and help them differentiate their brand from local competitors. From the customer point of view, J.D. Power said, “Dealer of Excellence is a stamp of approval that provides confidence in the new- and used-vehicle shopping experience.”

J.D. Power limits the percentage of eligible dealerships by nameplate based on each brand’s performance in the most recent J.D. Power U.S. Sales Satisfaction Index Study. Dealerships must rank among their brand’s top performers in customer satisfaction areas consistent with measurements found in the SSI Study.

Finally, qualifying dealers must pass an audit to show they meet or exceed J.D. Power sales best practices, which include listing vehicle inventory and pricing on the dealership website, negotiating in an efficient and transparent manner, offering a fair trade-in value and presenting a clear and easy-to-understand menu of F&I products.

A full list of J.D. Power 2024 Dealers of Excellence is available here.