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Most would agree the latter triumphs over luck nine out of ten times. In proving it, we need look no further than the man from whom a DNA sample would probably reveal a vehicle identification number: Jim Yark, president of Yark Automotive Group.

Automobiles are clearly in Jim’s blood. At an early age Jim was captivated by them, spending countless hours building models and obsessing over their details. At age nine, Jim sold his first car—a 1959 Ford his father bought and repaired. From that point, Jim continued selling his father’s vehicles and restoring vehicles of his own.

Graduating with a business degree from The Ohio State University in 1973, Jim started working at Papenhagen Oldsmobile in Toledo, Ohio. He sensed tremendous potential in the dealership that was among the first to make a commitment to relocate and develop what would eventually become known as the Central Avenue Strip. John Yark, Jim’s younger brother and Vice President of Yark Automotive Group, shared his older brother’s passion for automobiles as well as his vision for the future. Longing to share in this vision, the two worked tirelessly in nearly every department before Jim purchased Papenhagen Oldsmobile in 1980.

By virtue of the brothers’ entrepreneurial nature, Yark Automotive Group has undergone remarkable growth since its humble beginning as a standalone Oldsmobile dealership of 50 employees. After acquiring Jeep (as well as AMC and Renault) in 1981, the company purchased BMW and Subaru from Classic Auto in 1986, Nissan from Autofair in 1998, and Chrysler from Valiton Motors in 2003. Jim and John also saw the promise of expanding to outlying communities and, in 2002, acquired Pontiac-GMC from Nofzinger in Archbold, Ohio, followed, three years later, by Chevrolet-Pontiac from Don Scott in Whitehouse, Ohio.

In January of 2009, Yark will also acquire the Dodge Franchise allowing it to sell and service Dodge cars, trucks and Sprinter vans, making Yark Automotive the Toledo area’s first Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep full-line dealership. This dealership boasts a $1.5 million improvement project with a new Chrysler Group Millennium showroom and adding a new “Express Lane” Quick Lube and medium duty truck and Sprinter van facilities.

Today, Yark Automotive Group employs over 300 and holds the distinction, as it has for the last 13 years, of being number one in retail sales of new and pre-owned vehicles in Northwest Ohio and Southeast Michigan. Yark has sold more than 7,000 new and pre-owned vehicles each of the last three years and is on track to top 7,000 in 2008. There is little doubt the business is primed for further expansion. But while some things change, others clearly remain the same.

The focus at Yark Automotive Group is unwavering. That’s according to Group General Manager Doug Kearns, who credits the company’s success largely to its commitment to employee and customer satisfaction. Employees are the lifeblood of this business, says Doug. “If you don’t have employee satisfaction, you won’t have customer satisfaction.”

The company’s philosophy of reinvesting in its personnel is evidenced in the large budget earmarked each year for training. Such programs foster a high level of competence and confidence, Doug explains, giving rise to peak performance. In return, exemplary actions don’t go unnoticed.

Yark recognizes employees’ efforts towards the company vision in several ways. The Yark Superstar Award honors the employee who most often goes above and beyond the call of their job description. The Employee Annual Awards Dinner rewards long-term commitment to the company, paying special tribute to personnel with five or more years of service. In an industry known for high turnover of personnel, Yark Automotive Group is exceptionally proud to have upwards of 125 employees with 5 years or more seniority; including over 50 employees with 10 years, 8 employees with 20 years, and 7 employees with 25 years or more.

Because consumer satisfaction levels can be more difficult to measure, the company simply lets the numbers do the talking. A customer base, year after year, of over 140,000 speaks volumes; as does Toledo City Paper’s readers-choice award for “Best Place to Buy a Car,” which has gone to Yark Automotive Group each year since 2001. Buyer incentives such as in-stock inventory of over 2,000 vehicles, access to over 65 sources for customer financing, and the 110% Price Protection Guarantee, Doug points out, “are a testament to our pledge to exceed customer expectations.”

High ratings in customer satisfaction continue to deliver high rankings among competing dealerships. According to the most recent year-end figures, Yark Automotive Group is the top volume Jeep dealer in Ohio. Figures through September 2008 indicate it is also the sixth largest volume Jeep dealer and ninth largest volume Chrysler dealer in the nation.

The business’s dedication to maintaining high standards of excellence has earned equally impressive accolades from automobile manufactures. Yark Automotive Group has received Five Star status, the highest tribute Chrysler Corporation pays for exceptional customer service, every year since the program’s inception in 1997. It is a six-time winner of BMW’s prestigious Center of Excellence award, presented annually to less than 10 percent of the nation’s BMW dealers, in recognition of sales leadership and superior customer satisfaction. Subaru has bestowed similar praise, presenting the dealership with its Certified Stellar Performer certification.

An homage of which Yark Automotive Group and Jim Yark are especially proud, is the 2006 Time Magazine Quality Dealer Award (TMQDA). Jim was selected from only 66 automobile dealers nominated, out of the more than 19,500 nationwide, to receive the most sought after honor among domestic and import dealers in the country.

Judging criteria for the TMQDA is significant and stringent, requiring demonstration of exceptional performance in the dealership and involvement in the automotive industry. Areas of evaluation include customer satisfaction, employee proficiency, new car and service sales records, ethics, and membership/participation in dealer associations.

Community involvement is also an important criterion for winning the award, and it is something in which Jim and his company have long been active. In addition to serving in local organizations, such as the Toledo Area Chamber of Commerce and Toledo Rotary, Jim and Yark Automotive Group generously support legions of medical facilities/organizations, cultural groups, needy organizations and schools. Toledo Children’s Hospital, Kidney Foundation of Northwest Ohio, Anne Grady Center, Toledo Museum of Art, Stranahan Theatre, Toledo Symphony, American Red Cross, Big Brothers Big Sisters, Planned Pethood , University of Toledo, The Ohio State University and numerous other local educational facilities are just a sampling of those to which they contribute. Yark Automotive Group also holds fund-raisers to benefit worthwhile causes, such as the Make a Wish Foundation.

For Jim and John Yark and Yark Automotive Group, success is not a destination; but a journey fraught with insatiable desire, long hours and hard work. Clearly, it’s the ride of a lifetime.

Yark Automotive Group has several convenient locations:
Chrysler-Jeep and BMW, 6019 W. Central Ave., Toledo
Nissan, 5957 W. Central Ave., Toledo
Subaru, 6000 W. Central Ave., Toledo
Pontiac-GMC, 1910 S. Defiance St., Archbold
Chevrolet-Pontiac, 9830 W. Waterville-Swanton Rd., Whitehouse
You may also visit them online at www.yarkauto.com.

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