CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. — In the early days of the auto, showrooms like those on Seattle’s Auto Row were replete with bells and whistles. Chandeliers lit up the floors, highlighting each vehicle’s chrome trim. By 1954, Frank Lloyd Wright had designed a New York City auto showroom that included a spiral ramp and a turntable interior – it was a glistening museum for the Age of the Automobile.
Now one of Clarksville’s long-standing automotive pioneers, Jenkins & Wynne, is unveiling a new era of innovation within its state-of-the-art Ford-Lincoln and Honda dealerships and service facilities at 2655 Trenton Road. In today’s age of the Apple store, adding a profusion of speedy, high-tech details to a dealership can enhance every shopper’s experience, according to experts. Jenkins & Wynne has embraced that belief.
“Our vision is to escape the idea of a typical dealership,” says Casey Jenkins, the dealership’s Internet manager and third-generation auto dealer. “We want to create a welcoming, modern space in which customers can expect a superior experience.”
Casey’s father, Don Jenkins, is the son of the late Vernon Jenkins, who founded the Jenkins & Wynne Lincoln Mercury dealership here in 1953.
He explains, “This new dealership borrows from Apple stores in that it’s more experiential than the average car dealership. It isn’t just cars parked in a big room with white walls and windows. We are using each showroom’s look and design to celebrate the history of automobiles, as well as Jenkins & Wynne’s unique position in Clarksville’s history. Plus, customers will enjoy browsing in a comfortable, stylish setting.”
For decades, the Jenkins & Wynne dealership occupied a corner of downtown Clarksville near Austin Peay State University. Having outgrown the space, Jenkins & Wynne opted to build a new 41-acre campus. After nearly 18 months of construction, the dealership is now open for business.
The three brands – Ford, Lincoln and Honda – are represented through two separate showrooms. There is 65,000 square feet square of combined showroom space for Ford and Lincoln and 44,000 square feet for Honda. Then there is on-site parking for a whopping 1,150 vehicles.
The cutting-edge mix includes a “pocket museum” that opens in May and will exhibit vintage Ford vehicles for a year, a coffee bar with free Wi-Fi and device-charging stations, free charging stations for electric vehicles and the largest capacity service centers in the area for Ford, Lincoln and Honda vehicles.
For customers with children, there is a soundproofed Kids Zone in each showroom where they can view their youngsters from a glassed-in office while working out details of a purchase or service. The Honda Kids Zone includes two Xbox 360s and the Ford-Lincoln Kids Zone includes a stadium theater and two Xbox 360s.
Formal ribbon cuttings are scheduled on April 21 for Honda and April 22 for Ford and Lincoln. A Grand Opening Weekend Celebration for customers will take place May 12, 13 and 14.
To learn more about the new improvements at Jenkins & Wynne, please visit www.jenkinsandwynne.com.
