Posted: December 23, 2009

By Vincent Schilling

Correspondent

In April 1939, C.B. "Buddy" Gifford borrowed $1,500 from his brother-in-law to start the Green Gifford car dealership with his partner Bill Green.

They set up shop in South Norfolk on Liberty Street with just three employees - two salespeople and one service person.

In 1951, the company moved to Wards Corner, referred to at that time as the "Times Square of the South."

In 1963, Green Gifford started construction on its current location on Military Highway next to Norfolk International Airport. When construction was finished in 1966, Green Gifford was a Chrysler and Plymouth dealer.

In 1969, the dealership picked up the Datsun franchise, which later became Nissan.

In 1999, Mike Galloway, general manager of the dealership who had been working there for 14 years, purchased the dealership. He added Jeep and Dodge brands and expanded the business to two separate locations along Military Highway.

In 2001, Galloway brought Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge dealerships and put them together under one roof. Plymouth had since dropped away and the Nissan dealership moved to another location.

In October of 2008, sensing the approaching GM financial crisis and having just made serious renovations to his Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge dealership, Galloway sold his Nissan assets.

"People thought I was crazy," Galloway said of the improvements he made. "We spent a lot of money renovating this facility and this is where we started. We hoped it was a one- or two-year crisis. However, we've made it and continue to make it."

Galloway credits his experience with car sales since 1975 as the reason Green Gifford has stayed in business. He said that a lot of the company's success is because of the customer service provided.

"Not much has changed since the beginning. Our product has changed, but I don't think we as a company have changed in the way we do business."

Galloway said that the business has customers who didn't buy from the dealership, but bring their cars there to be serviced.

"A lot of people buy elsewhere, but we see them here," he said.

"In automobile terminology, most dealers study and try to manage service absorption at 65 percent or greater," Galloway said. "In other words, your service department will cover 65 percent of your dealership expense, taking out direct sales expense. But our service absorption is 98 percent. It almost covers the entire expense of our dealership.

"As long as we maintain our service, our body shop and our parts sales, we can make it," he said. "I'm not the number-one retailer, but I've got the number-one service operation in terms of absorption."

The business, with 86 employees, has 60 service bays.

"Mr. Gifford said, 'People who have to tell you they have good service don't have good service,'" Galloway said.