Pub. 64 2023-2024 Issue 1

Auto retailing is in the midst of a construction boom fueled by favorable cash flow, upgrades after ownership changes and the pent-up demand for facility updates to keep up with customers and serve them efficiently. To review current construction and design trends, we talked with Joe Pella, head of National Commercial Real Estate at Truist, Jason W. Smith, head of Dealer Commercial Services at Truist, and Ryan Stancill, Principal at architecture and multidisciplinary design firm PRAXIS3.

In today’s market, we’re facing headwinds. Interest rates are significantly higher than last year, driving monthly payments to all-time highs. Inflation and increasing interest rates mean vehicles are becoming less affordable for consumers. Add additional economic factors, including overall consumer inflation — particularly with food, utilities and gas — and you have tight household budgets.

Vic Vaughan Family Foundation Donates $50,000 To Youth Program Vic Vaughan Family Foundation (VVFF), the philanthropic branch of Vaughan Automotive, donated $50,000 to Love Kendall County Kids, a youth program designed to assist children in Kendall County in any capacity. The donation covered the entire cost of the Food 4 Kids Program and the Camps

Available at https://texaslmi.com/home/populardownloads

Ewald Otto Koepp started Koepp Chevrolet 100 years ago at the age of 23. The son of a German immigrant and farmer, he began the business as a repair facility and tire store with a single gas pump. Soon he started selling Model T’s and Essex as an associate dealer for a dealership in Floresville. He became an official Chevrolet dealer himself in the late 1920s. His son, Ewald Koepp, Jr., took over the business in the 1960s, and Dwight Koepp, his grandson, after him in the 1990s.

Steve Fox, President and CEO of Fox Auto Group, was diagnosed with stage 4 tongue and throat cancer more than 20 years ago. He spent countless hours traveling back and forth to the other side of the state to get the treatment he needed. “I made a vow that if God permitted me to survive, I would spend the rest of my life helping others who followed me with cancer,” he recalled. And that is exactly what he did.

After continued growth through the month of August, Texas has once again set new records for the number of jobs, number of people employed, and size of the civilian labor force. Total nonfarm employment increased by 16,700 positions over the month to reach a 23rd consecutive series-high level with 13,979,100 jobs and a 30th consecutive month of growth. Since August 2022, Lone Star State employment grew by 402,000 positions and continued to outpace the nation in the rate of annual employment growth.

Governor Greg Abbott has appointed Darren Schlosser to the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles Board for a term set to expire on Feb. 1, 2027. Additionally, he has reappointed John M. Prewitt, Paul R. Scott and Brett H. Graham for terms set to expire on Feb. 1, 2029. The Texas Department of Motor Vehicles serves, protects and advances citizens and industries in the state with quality motor vehicle related services.