Movers and Shakers January 5, 2011
Gee Automotive acquires Spokane Kia
Gee Automotive, an auto retailer in Eastern Washington, announced Tuesday it has acquired Spokane Kia, making it the only Kia dealer for the Spokane-Coeur d'Alene area.
The acquisition closed Tuesday and the dealership opened as part of Gee Automotive. Sales and service operations have moved two doors down to the Gee Import Center on the north side of Interstate 90, at 21602 E. George Gee Ave., in Liberty Lake.
Gee Automotive has sold Kia in Coeur d'Alene since 2004.
"This acquisition is representative of our view of the market," said Ryan Gee, the CEO of Gee Automotive. "We have weathered a number of challenges over the past two years by focusing on value, whether that's in new cars, used cars or in service and repair. Our fourth quarter sales were up 60 percent over 2009."
George Gee founded his first auto dealership in Spokane in 1983. Today, Gee Automotive Cos. had grown to consist of new and used car dealerships located in Pasco, Wash., and Coeur d'Alene with a 68,000-square-foot flagship location in Liberty Lake, at 21502 E. Mission, which sits on 7.5 acres of land and includes a 44-bay service department. Gee dealerships carry new Buick, GMC, Porsche, Nissan, Cadillac, Kia and all makes of used vehicles throughout Eastern Washington and North Idaho. The company has 150 employees and is locally owned and operated.
Eastern Idaho drivers paying less at the pump
POCATELLO (AP) - Drivers at several Pocatello gas stations in eastern Idaho are paying about 35 cents less for a gallon of fuel, compared to prices statewide.
The average price for a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline in Idaho was about $2.90 this week, according to AAA Idaho. In Pocatello, however, competition had driven prices below $2.60 at several gas stations.
The Idaho State Journal reports the average price of unleaded gasoline in Pocatello was $2.70 on Monday, but several gas stations slashed prices down to the neighborhood of about $2.55 a gallon.
"Those prices are substantially lower than what we're finding in the rest of the state," AAA Idaho spokesman Dave Carlson said. "It's unusual to say the least."
The last time competition among Pocatello businesses drove fuel prices substantially lower than the statewide average was more than a decade ago, when a Fred Meyer store and gas station opened in November 2000.
The store's gas station charged about 40 cents less than the average price of a gallon of fuel in Pocatello at the time, and local gas stations quickly cut their prices in order to compete.
There is a higher percentage of independently run gas stations in Pocatello, compared to the rest of the state, which increases the likelihood of so-called gas wars, Carlson said.
"They're just trying to drum up a little business and get customers into the convenience store to pay the rent because gas isn't doing that right now," he said.
Statewide, drivers are paying on average about 16 cents less per gallon compared to other states. The national average was $3.07 for a gallon of unleaded fuel on Monday.
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