A Maryland-based automotive group has purchased a long-time Sussex County Ford dealership with a location near the beach.
Preston Automotive Group recently merged with Boulevard Ford Lincoln in Georgetown, DE and Boulevard Ford in Lewes, DE. Boulevard was founded in 1959.
The dealerships will retain their current name, with the Preston frog mascot prominantly displayed in advertising. The purchase gives Preston a presence in fast-growing Sussex County and its booming coastal area.
The company’s Georgetown location is at 40 Bridgeville Road, with the Lewes dealership at 18443 Coastal Highway. Both offer new and used cars, as well as service.
Boulevard Ford started in 1959 when Joseph L. Bateman purchased Boulevard Auto Sales Inc. from Bud Townsend, which was at the time a Ford and Mercury franchise, according to a Preston release.
Signing the dealer agreement was Ford execurtive Lee Iacocca, who went on to engineer the turnaround of Chrysler Corp., according to a release from Preston.
His son, Bernie Bateman, joined the business in 1977 and grew the business in the mid 80s as the President of Boulevard Automotive. Joseph Bateman’s two other sons also joined the business; John in 1984 and Tjark in 1990.
Bateman added an auto body and collision center in Georgetown and added Lincoln to their line of vehicles. A new service center was added to the Lincoln Mercury building of Georgetown in 1995. Joe Bateman passed away in 1999 and Bernie retired in 2006 making Jim Blecki the new President and John Bateman vice president, the release noted.
John Bateman still remains as the Vice President of Boulevard Ford and has been the spokesman for many years.
We are very excited that John Bateman will be staying on as a partner of Boulevard Ford Lincoln of Georgetown and Boulevard Ford of Lewes and continue to promote both locations” says Dave Wilson Sr., president of the Preston Automotive Group,“John shares the same love for Ford and Lincoln that we do.” John will be heading up the Business Preferred Network for both sales and service.
Preston Automotive Group offers Ford, Lincoln, Mazda, Hyundai, and Nissan brands and has three body shops in Maryland.
Using relatively inexpensive TV advertising in Delmarva, Preston has sold many vehicles to Delaware residents.
Boulevard-Preston also competes with the large, Milford-based Hertrich dealership group, which is now expanding north, with construction under way on a Chrysler dealership in Elkton, Md. Hertrich also operates a Hyundai-Accura dealership in New Castle.
