April 2017 | Business View Magazine

40 41 Frank Byers, Sr. and George Byers, Sr., like their dad, were also forward-thinking and aggressive. They knew that the automobile was here to stay and they began buying and selling cars. “The first models of cars that we sold were Hudson, DeSoto, Essex, and Plymouth,” Kauffman contin- ues. “In 1934, we added a truck department and started our relationship with GMC. In 1954, we added our Hertz car and truck rental franchise, so we were in the retail and rental world. 1957 was when we started our import division with Subaru and Volvo. That store is still operating with Sub- aru, Volvo, Audi, Volkswagen, Porsche, and Jaguar. We once sold Triumphs there – and Sterlings, The Byers Automotive Group which were built by Honda and Land Rover.” In 1977, the company purchased the remain- ing models and all the rights to the Bricklin car brand. (The Bricklin was a gull-wing door, sports car manufactured in Canada from 1974 to 1975. It was the creation of Malcolm Bricklin, an American millionaire who had previous- ly founded Subaru of America.) “In 1982, we became a Chevrolet dealer,” Kauffman says. “In 2003, we added Toyota; in 2007, we added Ford; and in 2008, we added Kia.We don’t sell Honda or BMW. This is our 120 anniversary and we’re still family-owned and operated.We’re at 15 brands; we’ve got eight locations; and we hover around 800 employees. My grandfather, who turned 88, still comes to work three days a week. It’s pretty neat to be able to rely on his wisdom, and information, and criticism.” In fact, Kauffman has been following in his grandfather, Frank M. Byers, Jr.’s footsteps his entire life, and admits that he always wanted to be like him and do what he did.When he was little, he would play in his grandfather’s office, and when he was eight or nine, he started AT A GLANCE the byers automotive group WHAT: A family-owned new and used car dealership WHERE: Columbus, Ohio WEBSITE: www.byersauto.com