Many of the Ron Tonkin’s 21 dealerships have sold to a Spokane-based company, but not the automotive business in The Dalles, or several others.
“Nothing is going to change locally,” said Steve Ross, general manager of the West Sixth Street business.
“Tonkin sold some of its dealerships but not the Subaru and Chevrolet Buick GMC stores in the gorge.”
He said Brad Tonkin, son of the late Ron Tonkin, who started the chain, is staying on with the new owner, Gee Automotive Companies, as “platform president.” And the dealerships that have sold will still retain the Tonkin name.
“There will be no change in how we operate and our commitment to community and doing business as we have for 50 years,” said Ross about the situation.
He said the gorge dealership and one in Reno, Nev., were not sold. The Tonkin family also retains ownership of their Ferrari and Gran Turismo dealerships.
According to its website, Gee is a family-run company that operates dealerships in Spokane, Kirkland and Tacoma in Washington, Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, and Gresham Subaru in Oregon.
The sale comes nearly three years after Ron Tonkin died.
In a statement to the Portland Business Journal, Tonkin co-president Edward Tonkin, Ron’s son, said “all Tonkin employees’ jobs, pay and benefits are secure.”
The Tonkin chain reportedly got its start as a used car lot in southwest Portland and grew into an empire that, by 1986, was known as one of the largest “super-dealers” in the United States, with an estimated $100 million in sales.
According to the Journal, Tonkin brought in $725 million in 2014 and employed nearly 1,000 workers as of July 2015.
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