Jefferson City auto dealer Mike Kehoe announced Tuesday afternoon that, after nearly 20 years of ownership, he's selling his Ford and Lincoln dealerships to the Columbia-based Joe Machens company, effective Oct. 31.
"I think the timing is right," Kehoe said in an interview. "There's some opportunities for existing employees to grow and to accelerate with this new organizational structure, and we want to be able to expand some of the inventories."
Kehoe, 49, noted the Machens company is a long-time business with a good relationship with the Ford Motor Co.
"Obviously, when you're part of a larger group, you can have a better offering of both new and used cars," Kehoe said, "so, at the end of the day, I think (our sale to them) will be good for the area and the local car shoppers."
To read more of this followup story to Tuesday's initial news report, see our newspaper or e-Edition for Wednesday, Oct. 26, 2011. Newspaper subscribers: Click on an e-Edition article and log in using your current account information at no extra charge. For e-edition help, e-mail [email protected].