“We’re targeting Ann Arbor,” says Fox Motors president and COO Diane Maher. Last year, the Grand Rapids-based group picked up the local Hyundai, Nissan, and Acura stores; in May it added Infiniti of Ann Arbor.
Owned by Amway scion Dan DeVos and his wife Pamella, Fox has been buying up automotive and power-sports (motorcycle, snowmobile, ATV) dealerships since 2000. Maher says that when they heard that the Lansing-based Spartan Auto Group was interested in selling its Ann Arbor Infiniti store, “we jumped on it.” This is the forty-second dealership in the Fox empire, which now stretches as far as Chicago and Marquette.
The Acura and Infiniti dealerships are both located in the Ann Arbor Auto Mall. Don’t manufacturers worry about conflicts of interest when a company owns competing brands in the same market? “We don’t get a lot of pushback on that, honestly,” Maher says. “It’s the way of the future, where large groups are more involved in owning multiple stores and multiple franchises … Infiniti is excited to have us aboard.”
With similar product lines and pricing, Maher says, whether a customer shops Acura or Infiniti comes down mostly to brand preference and styling. “Infiniti has come a long way in the last few years in terms of their styling,” she notes. “They really seem to have that down.” In the global herd of look-alike cars and SUVs, a chrome arrowhead at the rear window makes Infinitis stand out.
Ann Arbor Infiniti, 515 Auto Mall Dr., (734) 265-0981. Mon. & Fri. 9 a.m.-6 p.m., Tues.-Thurs & Sat. 9 a.m.-8 p.m. Closed Sun. annarborinfiniti.com
