Though at least one Kentucky service center sustained roof damage, franchised dealerships on the whole appear to have been spared during the devastating tornado event Friday night, based on trade association reports.
A storm system Dec. 10 spawned a “long track tornado” in northeast Arkansas which continued on through Missouri, Tennessee and Kentucky, according to the National Weather Service’s initial analysis. The Federal Emergency Management Agency said all four states and Illinois had experienced damage in the event, which produced other tornadoes besides the historic long-track disaster. That tornado ran for more than 200 miles in Kentucky alone.
“I know we had several close calls,” Kentucky Automobile Dealers Association Controller Melissa Peach said Monday. But she said she hadn’t heard of any damaged facilities. “Hopefully that will stay the same,” she said.
Toyota did confirm one of its dealerships in the state of Kentucky had been impacted: Toyota of Bowling Green. The facility’s service department roof had been peeled back, said Toyota spokesman Curtis McAllister. Another image shared by Toyota showed damage to a rolling door and what appeared to be a light mounted on the building’s exterior. The dealership has not yet returned a message seeking comment.
Some dealerships were engaged in relief efforts Monday.
Linwood Chevrolet Buick GMC, located in hard-hit Mayfield, Ky., has retooled its existing toy drive to serve children affected by the storm, sales manager Clayton Smith said. It has begun collecting other supplies for tornado victims as well, he said. The dealership also now serves as a temporary FedEx and UPS location, Smith said.
Smith confirmed his dealership emerged unscathed, and only one employee sustained damage to their home (in the form of blown-out windows). “We’re super-fortunate and blessed,” he said.
But some employees’ family members saw damage, as well as “a lot of people that we know.”
Toyota of Murray also retooled an existing December charity event to help storm victims while launching a new effort.
The Murray, Ky., dealership regularly gives $250 to charity for every vehicle sold during the holiday season, general manager Andy Foley said. It will put the remainder of funds collected this year for tornado relief, dividing the money between Marshall County and Graves County, two regions near the dealership which are suffering after the storm, he said.
Graves County as of Monday had experienced the highest number of confirmed deaths in the state, according to Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear’s office.
Foley expected this could mean between $5,000-$8,000 for each community, depending on sales during time of strained inventory.
The dealership plans to spend another $5,000 to fill a U-Haul with $1,000 purchases of food, water, baby items, toys and toiletries made in areas which might still have the goods. “A lot of stuff around here’s sold out,” Foley said. It has also rented a second U-Haul to carry additional supplies dropped off by the community.
Toyota of Murray will also grant employees a paid absence if they wish to volunteer in local relief work for a day.
“It’s devastating,” Foley said. “… We wanted to do something.”
As far as the other affected states, the Missouri Automobile Dealers Association, Tennessee Automotive Association, Illinois Automobile Dealers Association and Arkansas Automobile Dealers Association had no reports of damage to share Monday. The IADA planned to continue checking throughout the day.
“We were very lucky in Arkansas and didn’t have any dealerships affected,” Arkansas Automobile Dealers Association President Greg Kirkpatrick wrote in an email Monday. “One of our dealership’s did have a weather camera from a local TV station on their roof that captured a funnel cloud right behind the dealership.”