• Automotive News, Monday, December 7, 2009 10:39 AM

Gunther Volkswagen in Coconut Creek, Fla., may look like it's stuck in the Sixties with three psychedelic VW Microbuses near the entrance and a huge poster of Jimi Hendrix on the wall, among other retro window dressing, but the grooviest thing about it, as far as VW Group of America is concerned, is that it sells more cars that any other dealership in the U.S., Diana T. Kurylko reports. And so, headquarters is willing to overlook a few of the rules that the 52-year-old owner, Casey Gunther, is breaking en route to selling an estimated 3,300 to 3,500 new vehicles this year.

"This is a place where we celebrate the brand," says Gunther, replete with thinning, shoulder-length hair, beaded peace-sign necklace and a shirt covered with peace signs and doves. But while the atmosphere gets people into the store, good 'ol salesmanship is responsible for closing the deal. "Our method is volume," explains Gunther. "We get aggressive on our deals. If we sell 300 cars, it is not unusual for a good percentage of those transactions to reflect a loss."

Don Hughes, director of VW's southern region, says customers are drawn from surrounding markets because the store is "a unique shopping and buying experience, and all of the salespeople are pumped."

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