Herb Chambers gears up to unveil KIA dealership

Globe Staff

The auto industry may be taking some lumps, what with Toyota recalling some of its models, but local auto dealer Herb Chambers is pressing ahead.

Today Chambers is set to formally open a KIA dealership in Burlington – just in time for Presidents Day weekend, traditionally one of the busiest weekends of the year for the automotive industry.

The KIA dealership is located at the former site of Audi Burlington and Herb Chambers Porsche of Burlington, which were recently moved to new Burlington facilities nearby, a press release from Chambers said.

Last year, Chambers opened four new dealerships, and his regional empire now numbers 45 dealerships in total, all in Massachusetts and Rhode Island, the press release said.

In a statement, Chambers said, “As a company, we experienced significant growth in 2009, and this opening marks our first new dealership in 2010.”

But Chambers, who never attended college, actually got his start selling copy machines, not cars, before he made the transition to dealerships in 1985.

“I’ve always loved cars ever since I was a child,” he said.

Despite the brutal automotive sales market, Chambers, who operates 45 dealerships across New England, has had a decent year by most accounts. October sales were up over last year, and year over year, sales volume will be comparable, although profitability is expected to improve because of cost controls, he said. In 2009, he opened four new dealerships.

He recently sat down with Boston Business Journal reporter Lisa van der Pool to discuss business.

How is business going, post Cash-for-Clunkers?

Cash-for-Clunkers gave the industry a huge spike, but in lower-cost cars. The problem was that we weren’t prepared for Cash-for-Clunkers. The result was that we exhausted our inventory very quickly. And we had very few cars ­— at some dealerships we had no cars — left. At the same time nobody told the factories there was going to be a Cash-for-Clunkers program. So what happened with the economy, and car sales being down earlier in the year, is that the factories cut way back on production, because there was a glut of cars out there. Then all of a sudden, Cash-for-Clunkers comes along and exhausts the supply of cars. We delivered close to 1,200 cars.

What do you think of the government’s bailout of the automobile industry?

It’s too soon to judge. The domestic auto companies are in a mess. The executives are being changed almost daily. The

canceling of dealers is very troubling. They’ve had family businesses that will not be in existence any more. We are fortunate because we have been able to keep all of our dealerships — except Pontiac and Saturn.

Has advertising been a key part of your business strategy from the beginning?

We spend an awful lot of money advertising. The good news is that with the technology today we can monitor calls coming into dealerships, and people coming to our Web site. Because today about 80 percent of people, before they buy a car, they go online.

Are fuel-efficient cars here to stay?

Absolutely, positively. Everybody’s talking about bluetech diesels and hybrids. The name of the game is you’ve got to deliver great mileage. Everybody’s going to be in the hybrid business. I think it’s a great thing because we’re going to use up less oil.

What kind of car do you drive?

I change cars a lot because I love them. And I can. The people at all my dealerships hate to see me coming because they always know I’m going to take one of the nice cars. Right now, I’m driving a Bentley Coupe.

Three greatest passions?

My family, my business and automobiles. Because I love automobiles, I collect them.

How many cars do you have?

I used to have 25, now I have about 15 or 20 now. I have older cars, some from the ’50s. Part of the problem with collecting old cars is that they’re great to look at, but they drive terribly. But I like to drive, so I’ve been selling off some of the old cars that I have and replacing them with some exciting automobiles. For example I have a Mercedes-Benz SLR convertible, which is a car we sell. They ended the production on the car so I think it will be a very good investment. I have a new Lamborghini, which I think is a very exciting car to drive.

Trait that gives you a competitive edge?

Enthusiasm.

Herb Chambers

I was about 12 years old when I saw my first McLaren F1. Saw, not as millions of others did from the cover of a Road & Track issue, but saw, as in hearing my father say, “Hey, what’s that coming behind us?”, turning around, and watching the blessed Messiah of all exotic cars pass our Mercury Sable and literally part the interstate traffic.

We were mere miles from our home in Connecticut, and I was freaking out for another 20. No, Mom, that is not a kit car! It’s the fastest production car on earth.

At that time, I knew I had seen one of just seven McLarens in the entire United States, and I knew I would never see one again. I found out later that a company in Danbury, about 35 minutes away, was importing all the F1s from the factory in Woking, England, proof that Connecticut was the center of the universe.

In 2005, I witnessed the second coming of the F1 at Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts, which was holding an exhibition of Ralph Lauren’s cars. I hardly moved from the velvet rope, despite Lauren’s impressive collection. Two sightings in one lifetime? This had to be the last time I would see an F1.

McLaren made roughly 100 road and race versions between 1993 and 1998, and it’s impossible to cite the exact number in the US today. Some people say there are more than 20; Chambers thinks there’s about a dozen. (And he should know. Jay Leno bought one after taking a ride with him.) Facebook groups and message boards claiming to document each McLaren try their hardest, but the owners of these cars rarely come up in the news unless one catches on fire or gets sold at auction for more than $4 million.

Herb Chambers Car Collection - McLaren F1

Last month, Chambers decided to drop his McLaren at his new BMW showroom in Sudbury, just 20 miles west of Boston. So I asked what anyone would in this rare moment, short of begging: can I please, please, please go for a ride? Chambers obliged, and on a sunny November I found myself holed into the F1’s left side, yanking the butterfly door shut, and trying to resist a hyper fit of feet stomping and flailing arms.

To be assaulted by such a high power-to-weight ratio, deafened by a 627 horsepower V-12, and stared at by every driver on the road is the car enthusiast’s reason for living. What, I wondered, would I do now for the rest of my life? The afterlife won’t be able to match being inside a McLaren at full-bore, running and running while the planet stands still.

For Herb and all the well-heeled car lovers with McLarens, here’s hoping, then, for a long life.