North Carolina Chevrolet Dealer Makes A 700-Mile Joyride For Love Of The Chevy Cruze

April 25, 2011 - PRLog -- A 700-mile commute might seem like a long trip just to pick up a car.

For Mark Santilli, it meant a trip home and a brand-new Chevrolet Cruze.

He’s arranged to pick up his new vehicle from the Lordstown Ohio plant, which he remembers visiting as a Boy Scout, then drive it back home to Wilmington, N.C., where he now works as the Marketing Manager for Jeff Gordon Chevrolet.

And he’s not leaving empty-handed — nor hungry.  Before heading back  he plans to stock the Crystal Red Metallic 2011 Cruze ECO full of Wedgewood pizza, among other local favorites.

Santilli said despite living outside Ohio for most of his adult life, he still considers the Valley home. That’s one reason he’s making the trek and a major factor in his dealership taking on 100 Cruzes.

Santilli’s upbringing, which included living in a family-built house  in Canfield, epitomized the Midwestern, blue-collar family of the era.

His father, Anthony, and grandfather, Salvatore, worked for U.S. Steel; his grandfather-in-law, Leon Gibson, and brother, Howard, were both employed by the Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co.

The de-industrialization of Youngstown in the late 1970s forced Mark to relocate, first to a GM plant in Linden, N.J., and eventually down the East Coast to sunny North Carolina.

The generational ties to the auto and manufacturing industries make the success of one of GM’s newest vehicles — the Cruze — even more special.

Mark wants to see the success continue, and to show his support, last week he flew into Akron Ohio to pick up his Cruze and drive it back home, an 11-plus hour trip.

His inspiration for the idea started with his dealership’s first shipment of Cruzes shortly after its launch. Initially dealers took on about 20 Cruzes, then put in for any leftovers after all other dealers staked their claim.

Mark didn’t take another 20. He decided to get as many as he could, 100.

The Cruze has been, and in Mark’s mind, will be, a hot commodity, especially with gas surging toward $4 a gallon. Add to the fact he’s glad there are manufacturing jobs in the Valley, and he said the decision was easy, and he wants other dealers to follow his lead.

“If every single dealership would step up,” Mark said, “we could pull ourselves out of this economy we’re in. We're not having any problems selling the Cruze, the only problem is keeping them in stock."”

Jeff Gordon Chevrolet has so much confidence in the quality of the Chevrolet Cruze, that we went out and purchased a Toyota  Corolla and Honda Civic so that consumers could drive and compare each vehicle.

We want customers to be able to compare the Chevy Cruze, Toyota and Honda side-by-side and decide for themselves. Drive all three of them, climb in the back seat, examine the fit and finish, compare standard features.  We were astonished to see the glaring difference in quality, and we're sure you will be too!!

All three vehicles are available to drive at Jeff Gordon Chevrolet, 228 South College Road, Wilmington, NC

Don't live near Jeff Gordon Chevrolet?  No problem, they can arrange hassle free delivery right to your front door with our Exclusive Door To Door Delivery Program.

GM Dealer of the Year and GM Certified Used Vehicle Sales Leader for 9 consecutive years, you can rest assured we'll be there for you long after the sale.


Shop 15 acres of Chevrolet's 24 hours a day at http://www.jeffgordonchevy.com/

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http://www.jeffgordonchevy.com/

Four time NASCAR Winston Cup Champion, Jeff Gordon, displays the same winning formula he uses on the race track in his dealership.Jeff Gordon Chevrolet in Wilmington, NC is a Hendrick Automotive Group dealership and a member of Hendrickcars.com

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