Make it 14

By CHANSE WATSON

Managing Editor

KELLOGG — If you were considered the best in the world at something, that would definitely be something to be proud of. But if you were the best in the world at something for the sixth year in a row and 14th year in total, that would be something else entirely. A sports team would be called a dynasty. A performer would be called an icon.

While these nouns don’t necessarily directly translate over to describing a car dealership, the fact of the matter is that Dave Smith Motors in Kellogg continues to raise the bar in their line of work.

They raised that bar even higher Tuesday morning when they were once again named the largest Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep and Ram dealer in the world for 2017.

Representatives from Fiat Chrysler Automobiles West Business Center stopped by to present owners Ken and Eric Smith with the trophy (resembling the Vince Lombardi trophy) in the dealership’s Chrysler Showroom. In the ceremony that almost felt like a tradition being kept, Steve Wagner, the director of Chrysler’s West Business Center, addressed the gathered Dave Smith Motor employees as he handed off the award.

“On behalf of FCA, this is my favorite time of the year,” he said. “Ever single year I get to come up as the Business Center Director and congratulate this team on once again being the No. 1 dealership in the entire world for FCA!”

Dave Smith Motors achieved this feat by selling 7,128 FCA vehicles in 2017. The sale of Ram brand vehicles made up a significant portion of those numbers.

Wagner also took the opportunity to thank Dave Smith employees for their hard work and explain why he believes they always come out on top.

“I actually get asked the question all the time, ‘what’s the secret over at Dave Smith? What do they do?” he said. “To me it’s really simple, you offer customers an absolutely outstanding price and you take such good care of them that they go home and tell all their friends and neighbors what a great experience buying a car can be.”

“It’s that taking care of customers that sets you apart from every other dealership in America,” he added.

Ken Smith could not have agreed more and made it clear after accepting the award who was responsible for the dealership winning once again.

“I just wanna thank my entire team here at Dave Smith Motors,” he said. “It really comes down to people and how our people treat the customers. We believe that every deal leads another customer to tell about us, tell our story and come buy from us. We’d rather not sell somebody if they aren’t happy, and we won’t. We believe in friends, meeting new friends and it all starts with our staff of close to 700 people here.”

On top of it all, the Kellogg-based dealership was also presented a Customer First Award for Excellence, which recognizes the top dealerships in the nation for customer service and satisfaction. A total of 466 have been awarded to other dealerships across the nation for 2017.

Dave Smith has been the World’s Largest Ram Truck Dealer since 1996 and the Northwest’s Largest GM Dealer since 1994. Their streak for being the top Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep and Ram dealer has only been interrupted once in 14 years, when they lost the Chrysler title in 2011.