A special 95 years for McGonigal
Buick/GMC dealership celebrates milestone anniversary
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Rex Gingerich still gets excited about new cars, even after 42 years of working at the preeminent General Motors dealership in the area. The owner and CEO of Chariot Auto Group recently celebrated the 95th anniversary of McGonigal Buick GMC, and his love for cars was apparent.
“I get a new car every five months,” said Gingerich. “And it’s still exciting to sit in one.”
That kind of passion for automobiles is what has kept Gingerich working for, and later with, his father Ivan Gingerich and his uncle Fenton Gingerich in the dealership that was founded in 1928 by Harry McGonigal.
On Sept. 21, customers, friends, and the Gingerich family gathered at McGonigal’s showroom on East Markland Avenue to celebrate the anniversary and honor Rex, his sister Lisa Hearn, and his father Ivan for their dedication to filling Kokomo and Central Indiana’s automobile needs.
“I started washing cars in the summer of 1981 in between my sophomore and junior year of high school,” said Gingerich. “But I enjoyed hanging around the dealership, spending time with my dad and uncle, and observing.”
Before Gingerich had a driver’s license he would visit the dealership when it was closed, just to sit in the new Buicks and Cadillacs in the showroom. After graduating from college in 1987, Gingerich started working with his family at the dealership. He appreciates working in Kokomo all those years.
“It has been a real blessing … a great gift to have the opportunity to do business in Kokomo,” said Gingerich.
Being an integral part of the GM family over the decades, Gingerich has seen many innovations of the modern auto. And he and Chariot Auto Group are readying for the future, as electric vehicles supplant those with combustion engines.
“The auto industry thinks that electrification is part of the future,” said Gingerich. “The market and consumers will ultimately dictate whether they will buy them or not. But GM has made a substantial commitment to electrification.
“We have already made the investment in all of our locations (Chariot Auto Group also has two Chrysler dealerships). We have made a commitment to be fully involved in that. We need to help our customers with whatever they want to do; to help the individual with their transportation needs.”
When asked if he would want to do anything else for a living, he said “I wouldn’t change a thing.”
“Even though I get a new car every five months due to mileage for the business, I’m reminded that buying a new car is special for people,” said Gingerich. “We can never forget how special that is. We can’t take that for granted.”