Honda dealer keeps Lamacchia name

CNY Business Journal (1996+), May 28, 2004 by Rombel, Adam

SYRACUSE - Anthony M. Lamacchia has worked at his family's auto dealership his "whole life." Now, it's all his.

In April, the 48-year-old Lamacchia bought the family's Honda dealership, located on Syracuse's Automobile Row (West Genesee Street), from his father, Anthony P. Lamacchia, and uncle, Frank Lamacchia.

"It's always been my father's dream to keep it in the family," says Anthony M. Lamacchia, declining to disclose the financial terms of the sale. "And I enjoy the industry. It's a lot of fun."

The younger Lamacchia had been the dealership's general manager since 1994, and before that was the service manager from 1983 to 1994.

The family car business dates back to the 1930s, when Charles P. Lamacchia started selling Hudsons. In 1973, it became a Honda dealership.

The new owner has some work to do. Honda Motor Co. wants the dealership to undergo a complete makeover, including increasing the size of the showroom and service department, hiring more staff and making paint, lighting, and design changes to match its standards. Lamacchia's last renovation was about five years ago and it was a minor one, he says. Fox Honda in Auburn earlier this year completed a $300,000 revamp of its showroom and service area to meet Honda standards.

Lamacchia says that officials from Honda will soon visit the dealership to discuss exactly what changes will be required. He says he's not sure how many square feet of additional space will be required or how many square feet the dealership presently occupies. Lamacchia estimates that the renovation is likely to cost between $750,000 and $1 million and begin within the next six months. The dealer is targeting a summer 2005 completion date.

Lamacchia is banking on the upgrades to help increase sales. In 2003, the dealer sold 750 new cars, and Lamacchia would like to boost that annual sales rate to 1,000 within the next couple years.

"When dealerships put up a new facility, people tend to flock to it," he says.

Lamacchia Honda recently added three employees to its staff, and now has about 37. The dealer expects Honda Motor Co. to require it to add six more to boost service and sales efforts. One of the recent hires was for a manufacturer-mandated position, called "dealership facilitator," which works on improving Lamacchia's customer-service quality.