by Tyler Robbins » Mon Apr 13, 2009 10:27 am
It is often unfortunate, but a reality, in that facility layouts are designed based on whatever the current servicing "trends" are at the time. Even more unfortunate how demanding the manufacturers are at dictating the design of the facility. Most have adopted an A, B, C, D, E or 1,2,3,4, 5 design, all of which are essentially the same, just different in size, and all are designed assuming land with appropriate square footage, and the assumption of no city or town by-laws or ordinances that restrict certain heights, proximity to the street, etc. Realistically, dealers HAVE TO choose one of them, with little or no customization for the dealer.
I worked for a dealer who has a fantastic "downtown" location. A wide, not deep land plot - Building on the left, inventory and parking lot on the right - simple right?
The "design" plan called for a Service Drive Entrance that faced the main road. The size of the land, and required total building size required that the drive door be approximately 1 car length from the main road. The city simply wouldnt allow this, as if there were more than 2 cars outside the drive door, cars would be backed up on the street (the main thoroughfare into the city). The solution, after years of negotiation with the manufacturer was to effectively turn the dealership 90 degrees so that the front of the dealership "faced" a side road, and the "Drive Entrance" was forced to have a lane that passed through the inventory from the side street, effectively losing inventory parking of approximately 100 units. Now as you approach the dealership on the main street from the West, you really see the "back" of the building, only from the "East" do you actually see the "front" of the dealership. What a waste... the dealer's personal "design" option was perfect and still maintained that all-important "look", but since it didnt meet the "plucked from wherever" requirements - he couldnt build it, and thats just the outside!!
I will state that there a lot of great dealers out there who do an excellent job of marketing to and retaining customers in their markets - in reality - those dealers know better than some architect sitting in an ivory tower in Detroit or LA how their dealership should be laid out to meet and exceed the needs of their customers, and not just to meet the "trend" of the day, but over the next number of years!
For those in an older facilty, your tiles may be worn, your ceiling looks terrible and the layout is challenging, but in all fairness, the biggest difference between an 80+ year old facility and a new facility is the cleanliness not the function!