nashville area Ferrari dealership

remember when thoroughbred was the ferrari dealer here how long ago was that? do you all think nashville could support a new ferrari dealer with different ownership?

 

Hey nero328gts, I believe 91 or 92 was the last year for Thoroughbred to have the Ferrari franchise. Mr. Crook had Thoroughbred Motors before he sold it to Mr. Bennet. I grew up across the street from the Crook’s, I can trace my love for Ferrari’s back to those days and hanging out at Thoroughbred when it was located off West End Ave.
Mr. Crook is with us know and he has a lot of great stories. As far as a Ferrari dealer in Nashville, all I can say is that the people at Ferrari have told Mr. Crook and others that at this time they have all the dealers they need. Maybe somebody with an inside connection can get it done. I do believe Nashville could support a Ferrari dealership, it would be nice to have one close. Have a good one, David

 

are you speaking of George Crook of The Motor Car Company on Thompson Lane if so i guess he closed that and is over at Dixie I didnt know he owned Thoroughbred prior to Martin Bennett I thought it was Scott Welch.
I understand Ferrari has all the dealers they need the problem is 9 out of 10 of them are first class *******s.for example i went into Thoroughbred in 1987 when i was 9 years old when it was off West End where Palmer is now building the Intercontinental Martin was in there he had one 328 gts and no other Ferraris and he could not have been more rude. one summer later 1988 Dad took me to FAF in Atlanta the dealer there at the time we met Steve Ahlgrim Sales Manager and he took me for a ride in a black 328 (i know own a black 328) and instead of one Ferrari to look at I was encouraged By Steve and the Good People At FAF I think one of the owners was John somebody
to also sit in a 288GTO F40 and Testarossa FAF was what A Ferrari dealer should be it would be nice to bring that service back in Nashville because FAF unfortunately sold out to Ferrari of Atlanta which is another bunch of *******s like Martin Bennett

 

Yes, when Mr. Crook closed his place he came on with us. Dan Scott was also with us for roughly twenty years untill recently. Dan's wife is not in good shape and he is taking care of her. Mr. Crook bought out Dan Scott's part of Thoroughbred and then the dealership was sold to Mr. Bennet. I know I am giving a rough history, but I was young when all that went down. I just enjoy the cars and all the stories.

 

who was the welch in scott welch before it was thoroughbred

 

I loved FAF, but now the current folks at Ferrari of Atlanta have been nothing but wonderful to deal with... including sales, parts, service, management, and the owner. I have only praise for those folks.

 

With as many Ferrari's as there are in this city, at least a Ferrari authorized "service center" would be welcome. It gets to be a drag to have to go to Atlanta for service. I think it would be difficult to get a dealership here. Too much politics and competition for the few cars that come to the U.S. You might have to wait 10 to 20 years to get on a waiting list for a new car, which would take an additional four to five years to acquire. It would be like getting season tickets to the Packers. It would be a few generations before you could get your seats.

 

Strange timing, just this morning I was telling a co-worker my Thoroughbred story...

While living in Memphis as a teen in the late 80's I somehow learned that Thoroughbred was a Ferrari dealer; I suppose it was from an ad somewhere. I sent them a letter requesting a brochure and even included a $1 for postage. Sometime later I received a polite letter (with my $1!) thanking me for my interest but that brochures were limited and something to the effect they were for prospective buyers only. I believe I still have this letter but all of my "memories" are in post-Katrina storage.

Actually, until last year I thought they were still a dealer. While preparing for a Labor Day trip to Nashville I looked 'em up and found the sad news; really killed part of the excitement of the trip for me. While in music city I discovered the nirvana that is Lane Motor Museum; not a single F-car in the place (and I commented on this oversight in the guest registry) but still an incredible journey. The folks at Lane pointed me to Atlanta for Ferraris though they did have a Lambo (Urraco?) on display, which I must say is a fine example of an Italian tractor (or perhaps bull fecal matter).

 

Hey nero, sorry for the long delay, we had people over tonight. I will call Dan Scott tommorow and ask him. If he told me who Welch was I can't remember. Dan still comes by the dealership about once a month and we clean up his car. Mr. Crook is in and out, he has a home in Michigan and stays gone a good bit of the time. Mr Crook talks about how easy getting the Ferrari franchise would be quite often. He says back in the 80's it was easy to get a franchise, they were giving them away! So he made a few calls for us.......turns out things have changed...........not so easy anymore!

 

I talked to Dan Scott this morning and he said Welch is a man named George Welch III. Dan Scott and George Welch started it and then George Crook came in later. Then they sold it to Matin Bennett who I am sure many of you know and love.

Any of you guys still using Roberto's since he retired? I guess Lee is there, and maybe Roberto sometimes?

 

Roberto is never there. Lee is going to do a 30K major on my 328 soon.

 

If this areas ferrari owners really raised a hell of a ruckus maybe we could get a dealership just blow FNA's phones all to hell we could make Lee service manager and roberto service manager emeritus

 

would $10 million get it done?theres a guy named Jack at FNA im not sure what he does only friendly person ive made contact with there they act like the guys in alot the dealerships now after all it is New Jersey guess the fish stinks from the head back

 

I have to say I love Mr .Crook but he is stuck in the 80's. He was convinced that with one phone call Ferrari would stop what they were doing and bring us a truck load of cars. I have explained to him, and he has since seen how much things have changed in the last twenty five years.
I think, no, it had to be you I was behind a few months ago on Old Hickory Blvd. Your car looked great, always good to see a Ferrari on the road!

 

tell me about the 328 you saw on OHB so i can figure out if it was me or not
license plate license plate frame etc if any? is there another black 328 around here

 

WOW--This is the first time I've ever heard anyone say they preferred FAF over FOA---

 

The honest truth is it was a while back. The strange thing was it was raining and heavy traffic. I could not catch you, or whoever it was, and got caught by a light. We were going past Andrews Cadillac towards Granny White Pike, I lost you in that section. I thought it was cool to see it out in those conditions.

 

I too preferred FAF to FoA...for many reasons including the fact that FAF was only 2 miles from my office so it was MUCH more convenient. Also, back when John Apen was the owner of FAF the dealership catered to auto enthusiast rather than new money folks buying 430s and 599s...but, I guess that's just one of the many costs of so-called progress...that being said, I still like FoA just fine and many of the front end people there were at FAF back in the day..the service department is much different though...a lot more sterile and uninviting...not enthusiast-owner friendly...probably because of those damn lawyers!

 

I don't think there is any doubt that Nashville could support a Ferrari dealership, or at least a Ferrari service center, etc., but I do doubt that Ferrari would go for it.

 

I thought we might get a Maser dealership but now I don't think that will happen either. No way will we get a F car dealership.

 

Just ran into this tread by accident but I worked at Scott Welch from 1975-1978 while going to school at Vanderbilt. Dan Scott and George Welch were the active, visible owners, and George Crook had an ownership interest but was more of the "silent" partner. The employees all thought the three were equal partners, but we did not know that for sure. I left in 1978 and went into the investment business. In the early 1980's, supposedly, some of the partners exercised their buy/sell agreement and Dan Scott found himself out of the dealership. In fact he entered the investment business, at least for a short time. George Crook and George Welch were the surviving owners. At the time I was there we sold British Leyland and Saab autos. I left Memphis in the mid 1980's and do to know what happened after then.

As a young man, I learned quite a lot from Dan Scott and George Welch about cars, about selling, and about business. I had very little interaction with Mr. Crook but the other two were always great to me!

 

Absolutely, Nashville could support a dealership, and deserves one, or at least a service center. And that is coming from an Atlantan! (No disrespect to FoA, and I doubt if a Nashville location would hurt their business noticeably.)

To me the South has three "capitals" - Atlanta, Charlotte and Nashville - and they should all have dealerships or service centers. (And, for that matter, be connected by Amtrak, but that's another topic.)

 

I'm all for a dealership here in Nashville. We have all brands I think except Lambo and Ferrari.