Pub. 58 2017-2018 Issue 2

7 WINTER 2017 Interview with Incoming TADA Chairman Tom Durant Howdidyoubecome a car dealer? Did you always aspire to be part of the automotive industry? My parents settled in Granbury, a small agricultural town outside Ft. Worth, in 1951. My father, Julian Durant started Durant Construc- tion Company. In an effort to make ends meet , t hey a l so opened a wrecking yard business behind the family home. From that wrecking yard, my father founded the family automobile business. In 1960, my father decided to ex- pand his automobile business. The local Chevrolet dealer was ready to sell and my father bought the business, the building and every- thing in it. Two months later, executives from Chevrolet showed up. My father in- troduced himself as the new owner. The gentlemen from Chevrolet dis- agreed. “No you’re not,” they told him. “You have not been approved by General Motors to own a franchise.” My father was not a man to be easily rebuked. In a matter of a few months, he was approved, and of course recog- nized as the owner. After graduating from Texas Tech in 1972, I bought Durant Chevrolet from my father. Sixteen years later, I expanded the business when I purchased Centur y Chevrolet, a dealership in downtown Fort Worth. I renamed it Classic Chevrolet. In 1992, I purchased eleven acres of land in Grapevine and moved Clas- sic Chevrolet there. To this day, the city of Grapevine gives us a lot of credit for opening up this side of the highway. We’ve been expanding ever since. We’ve grown to over forty acres on theGrapevine site, andwe havemore property nearby, which houses our huge fleet facility (The Thompson Group, which is the largest commercial facility of its kind in the nation).We also have a brand new 57,000 square foot Collision Center, and a total of 21 dealerships in Texas, Oklahoma and Florida. It’s quite an operation to have started from that small wrecking yard business behind our home. Do you have family members in the auto industry? My brother, Jerry Durant, has always been my biggest competitor. From the time we were small, Mom encouraged healthy competition – I think it’s actually whymy parents named usTomand Jerry. In 1969 Jerry was approved by Chevrolet to own his own Chevy dealership in Weatherford, Texas, becoming one of the youngest ever to be approved for a Chevrolet franchise. Ibasicallygot intothe car business so I couldoutrunmy brother. We still comparenotes as towho is selling more cars than the other. I’mwinning. My sonsBently andHagenare actively in- volved in the operations of the dealerships. AndmydaughterStormyandherhusband DannyareattendingtheNADAAcademy and will be joining the family business.