Just three years after it opened its doors, Performance Automotive is expanding its presence in Clinton by taking ownership of Ford of Clinton on U.S. 701 Business — soon to be re-branded Performance Ford.
The new management, including owner Vince Burgess, Performance Automotive comptroller Ingrid Burgess and general manager Terry Lee, plan to stay at the location, keep staff and build a brand new structure on the back of the property so a new showroom can expand forward, similar to what visitors see at the towering Performance Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram dealership on Warsaw Road.
Vince and Ingrid Burgess opened that business in September 2013. Vince said that, while there were some preliminary plans by Ford of Clinton to relocate to Sunset Avenue, he believes the current Ford location on U.S. 701 Business (Southeast Boulevard) is “more ideally suited than the Sunset side because of access.”
“I think we’ll have a new showroom coming in the near future, but certainly not on Sunset,” Vince said.
Ingrid Burgess said the decision to pursue ownership of Ford of Clinton was just a matter of “getting bigger and better.”
“We’ve been looking at dealerships around the state and it was just convenient this one came along,” she said. “We’re going to build on the opposite side of the existing building, so we can still operate out of that existing building. And once that new building is built, we will tear that old building down.”
The Performance location on Warsaw Road has roughly 30 full-time employees. The employment at the Ford location is an issue that Ingrid Burgess said management is “still trying to get our hands around,” but said plans are to keep everybody. There have been a few hired already at the Ford location, which does not have as many employees as the Warsaw Road location, she noted.
“We’re going to keep everybody who is at the Ford store. We have no plans of getting rid of anyone, but of course we want to share resources between the two where we can,” Ingrid said.
She said the Performance group took ownership of the Ford property at the end of July. It has remained in operation throughout the sale and will continue to stay open throughout any upcoming revamp.
“We will change the name, but we do have to go through that process with Ford,” she said. “We’re just excited. We want it to grow as much as Performance Chrysler has grown, and we can’t wait for that to happen.”